BLACK MIRROR: SEASON 5 REVIEW…

Charlie Brooker’s anthology show ‘Black Mirror’ has returned fro three more stunning episodes involving the craziness of future tech wreaking havoc on our world.

With smartphones, ever more efficient gadgets and the often demoralizing effects on ourselves, these three darkly-twisted episodes will have you turning off your gadgets as you prepare for your Sunday family roast.

Bloody technology, eh?

The best episodes of Black Mirror suggest that familiar technological ideas — things like social networks, artificial intelligence, or gamification — carry with them some sinister, heartbreaking, or alarming possibility for a dystopian future.

In its three-episode fifth season, which debuted last week, all of Black Mirror’s central impulses are still there. It is telling stories about the possibilities of technology and the unexpected ways tech and humanity intersect.

It sets up ideas and then further complicates them as each episode rolls along…

But, gone are the dark and cynical reputation of previous seasons (nearly) all of the three episodes have a certain charm, with a lot of very poignant moments and bleak moments, but also Charlie Brooker has adapted his winning formula with a lot of playfulness too.

Each BM episode is dedicated researched for television, and are beautifully made and filled with impressive acting.

The first episode, “Striking Vipers,” features Anthony Mackie as a man in a functional but unsatisfying marriage, a character he makes both restrained and yearning.

His one escape is a lifelike VR fighting game, given to him by an old friend (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). They’re able to play together online, just like they used to side by side on the couch. At first, the episode seems like it’s exploring the connections we have with our gamer friend lists.

There’s always that rush of excitement when you receive a game invite, and it’s not uncommon to spend hours chatting together over headsets. But it’s not too long before the realistic VR game is used exactly like you’d expect: for sex.

Brooker treats the idea of two male friends hooking up virtually with an appropriate amount of nuance. It’s even more interesting when you consider that their avatars are male and female, allowing the episode to explore how a masculine guy can learn to appreciate the experience of sex as a woman.

Perhaps if “Striking Vipers” had room to flesh out the story, we’d get something a bit more unique. But at the least, the ending shows respect for nontraditional relationships: By the end of the show, the two gamers are allowed to have their intimate get-togethers while the wife of Mackie’s character (played by Nicole Beharie) is free to have flings of her own.

The second episode, starring Sherlock’s Andrew Scott- very much in the spotlight with his work on the hit show Fleabag- alongside Damson Idris and Monica Dolan, and Topher Grace who are both fantastic in “Smithereens,” respectively portraying a man traumatized by grief and a tech company mogul.

The taxi driver blames himself for the car accident that killed his wife because he couldn’t help but check his notification from the Twitter-like social network Smitheeren.

It’s meant to be a commentary on our dopamine-driven social media addiction (and it works, as you begin to notice that people are stuck in their phones, the addictiveness of ‘Likes’ and ‘Swipes’), something that’s brought up directly when the driver and CEO finally get to chat.

“Smithereens” juggles some interesting ideas, especially once we start to see how a powerful social network could quickly learn more about people than the police through digital eavesdropping.

The final episode, “Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too,” has two effective performances by the young actresses, Angourie Rice, and Madison Davenport as sisters Rachel and Jack — and notably, compelling work by Miley Cyrus as a disillusioned pop star.

A lonely high school girl (Rachel, played by Angourie Rice) finds comfort in pop star Ashley O’s music and personal robot toy, Ashley Too.

But it turns out, the real Ashley O doesn’t appreciate her aunt’s domineering management style over her career. After they fight, she’s placed into a coma…

It is funny, but also darkly unnerving as you never know what fame might do to the closest ones around you. Miley, who chafes under her management and longs to escape the restraints of her cheerful, girl-empowering, rainbows-and-hearts celebrity image.

Without revealing the specifics of this episode’s arc, the general concept is that it seems possible to replace Ashley Q with some digital version of the star, which would eliminate the real Ashley from the equation and allow the celeb persona to live without any reference to what Ashley actually thinks or feels.

And you begin to suspect and feel for (the young celebrity), are her friends, family, and entourage doing the best for her? Or are they in it for themselves?

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Getting Miley, and Anthony Mackie and Andrew Scott on board for the new season was a fantastic piece of astute business. The supporting cast in each episode gives the main leads and Hollywood Elite a run for their money.

Here’s the thing: These aren’t necessarily bad episodes of television. But they don’t live up to Black Mirror’s legacy of cultural criticism.

In the end, BM could be better, but at this time in how the world is shaping up, you’d be hard pressed to find more off an addictive show that can predict where future tech is going too.

4.5/5 stars