evandronius

Would probably rate this an 8, but it needs to be higher to weight it toward a better score. People are missing the point. Or maybe they get it but don't care, I don't know. But making an ending that would satisfy them would be contrary to the entire message of the film. It is not about the result, it is about how the entire system is built to fail. There really is no right answer when you're talking about nuclear weapons. Something that destructive simply should not exist in the hands of people who are still biologically not far removed from the Stone Age, let alone in the hands of a single one of those people. There is way too much unpredictability and numerous paths toward mutually assured self destruction. It is an absurd reality. And that is the point.

What a great ending to a mostly great season of black mirror. There were a couple of clunkers this season (don't get me started on hotel reverie), but the last two episodes really hit gold.

This episode in particular had pretty much everything going for it. Great characters/character development. Great acting (Jimmi Simpson is my new favorite. Jesse Plemons and Cristin Milioti, incredible and as underrated as always). Great story, with the exception of a couple of plot holes, which were totally fine and the grand scheme of things.

Finally, it had a great ending that in my opinion, totally nailed it. Im not going to classify this as a spoiler because it doesn't actually reveal any plot, but there may be some thematic spoiling involved here, if you will. I understand other reviewers criticism of the ending due to the story maybe not wrapping up in a totally satisfactory way, but this would not have truly been a black mirror episode if we were not faced with an ethically complex and nightmarish consequence of our technological advancements.

The whole point of the show is to put in check our unfettered fascination with advancing technology for the purpose of bettering our lives as well as just plain human curiosity. It's not just that these powerful advancements even if made in a vacuum are extremely consequential, it's that said human nature is still operating as if it were in the Stone Age, and is truly incapable of predicting and understanding consequences, let alone dealing with the fallout.

Keeping this theme in mind, I feel as if the story developed and ended brilliantly.

This was an episode that could stand alone on its own two feet apart from any series including black mirror, but also fit well in the overarching black mirror theme. Just a genuinely touching story. One cannot help but feel the heartache portrayed so well by Paulie G. What an unbelievable actor.

Also, can people please contrast this with the acting performed by the lead in the hotel reverie episode. Complete polar opposite performances.