We have another three stories, all set in a reimagined UK where the prevalence of tech changes lives in the bleakest ways possible. And the horror of it all is, these changes are insidious, with positive developments the most obvious and the less positive aspects all but invisible until it's too late.
Warning
Strong language and the ugly parts of human nature acerbated by technology. Also, spoilers. You've been warned!The Premise
The first story is Be Right Back, and it deals with the death of Ash Starmer. An A.I gleans data of his speech patterns and mannerisms from from footage of Ash himself, to create a facsimile of Ash for his grieving girlfriend. This eventually escalates to a physical manifestation instead of just text and audio.
The Characters
Domhnall Gleeson as Ash Starmer, a guy who's somewhat addicted to Social Media and is often pretty distracted. The actor later has to play a robotic version of himself, and he does a decent job, I suppose. At least he doesn't ham it up to unbelievable levels.The insanely hot Hayley Atwell of Captain America fame is his snarky artist girlfriend Martha, who turns to A.I after his death in a desperate attempt to feel him once again. I found myself surprisingly sympathetic to her struggles.
Claire Keelan as her sister Naomi, who has her own family and is preoccupied with them all the time. She's caring and concerned, but has very little to say.
Sinead Matthews as Sara. She looks a little like Sarah Michelle Gellar who played Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That's how I remember her, anyway. She serves as a plot device to the A.I, signing her up for it and giving her the starter explanation as to how it works. She looks a right mess, by the way.
The Mood
Other than the original rainy nights, most of this episode takes place in good old country weather - sunny and cloudy. Later on, things get grim and foreboding but it never goes full creep. The music is slow and wistful, and the entire setting is more melancholy than scary.What I liked
This is a recurring theme. Martha checks that Ash is paying attention to her, by saying the most outrageous things. That level of snark!
This is a nice touch. The two of them lived in Ash's grandma's house, and there's this shot of the doorframe being used to measure little Ash's height.
The storyline was good up to the whole A.I angle, where all the data was derived from Social Media. It's an interesting concept. The distinct message is that Social Media only shows a small percentage of what a person is really like. Ash Starmer's public persona was mostly sardonic and funny, but the A.I can't really speak much to his inner, private persona. Ultimately, the copy was hollow.
Generally, the setting is beautiful and serene. It's by a country seaside and all.
What I didn't
The entire storyline just got a bit much near the end. Seriously, a full-on sentient robot?!
Oh yeah, we all knew this was gonna devolve to the sexbot angle at some point.
The ending is a bit of a head-scratcher. So the robot is allowed to live, but in the attic, and Martha's daughter now has some kind of dad?
Conclusion
Not much to this plot. Just a lot of sorrow, and a heavy and somber atmosphere. I'll be honest - I liked the story a whole lot better before the robot showed up, and from there on, it all got increasingly ridiculous. Honestly, it would have been a nice touch if the robot turned homicidal or something.This episode, quite tellingly, has a very small cast.
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