Everything shown in this episode already exists in the world as we know it, and the threats are real. There have been reports of people being blackmailed via footage taken from their own web cams.
The Premise
We follow the trials and tribulations of teenager Kenny as he is made to jump through hoops after being blackmailed by a team of anonymous hackers. This culminates in tragedy for him and all the other victims involved.The Characters
Alex Lawther as the shy, awkward Kenny, whom we are first led to believe is guilty of little more than being caught on camera masturbating to porn. Until, at the end, we find out that it was child porn. Lawther is astonishing in the role. As the role demands, he appears as a timid teenager who has a certain charm with kids, and as he begins getting blackmailed, his panic and fear are palpable. And there are times when he looks proper demented. Every time he bursts into tears on-screen, I'm marvelling at that talent.Jerome Flynn is Hector. He's also Bronn from Game of Thrones, and damn does he channel shades of Bronn here! He's snarky, rough around the edges and cusses an awful lot... thugh that's where the similarity ends because he's nowhere as physically capable as Bronn. Still intensely watchable though! He gets the best lines, that's for sure.
What... jerking off? Well everyone's done that. The fucking pope probably does that.
And this. It's not so much the dialogue, it's the way Flynn delivers it.
That's what they got, yeah? Your hot little face, blurred fist, dick burping fucking spunk everywhere - your mum's gonna love that on Facebook, Twitter, Insta-fucking-whatever. And her friends, all eyes on you. Giving you that... Toss in the cunts at work, calling you 'Spurty McGoo', laughing at your cum face, making it their desktop wallpaper...it's not just weeks, we're talking years here. Pictures hang about on Google like a gypsy fucking curse! There's no cure for the internet, it would never go away. It would be glued to your name, a fucking stain on you! I'd hang myself if that was me. Crack my fucking neck at the first opportunity.
Ivanno Jeremiah as delivery guy. Barely showed up, could have done more with him.
Susannah Doyle as another blackmail victim who did something or other with a car at the start of the episode. Disposable, barely noticed her.
Paul Bazely as the other pedophile. He's drunk and shaking, and I like the way the actor transitions to naked aggression. He did a great job; I could almost taste the heady mixture of desperation and resignation rolling off him.
Natasha Little as Karen, who's a pleasant enough lady that you feel bad for being annoyed with her for holding up Hector and Kenny with her request for a ride, and her incessant chatter inside the car.
Maya Gerber as Kenny's cheeky irreverent sister, Lindsay. She seemed like a fun character, wish we could've seen more of her.
Camilla Power as Kenny's mother Sandra, who appears to be the typical single mom out for a date.
The Mood
It starts out quiet, and then gets grim really quick, with high-stakes tension and gritted teeth. Near the end, things get literally dark as the episode ends at night with Kenny being arrested.What I liked
The sequence where Kenny rides his bike on a race against time. It's done POV, intercut with scenes of his progress on his phone. This adds to the suspense and is masterfully done.
The foreshadowing of Kenny being good with kids, and that brutal twist when it turns out he jerks off to child porn.
That final handshake between Hector and Kenny, like they've formed some kind of trauma bond. It's a nice touch!
And can I just say, that music at the end when they're all outed, plus the trollface!
What I didn't
I have trouble believing that Kenny managed to kill this guy, who definitely outweighs him, had longer to mentally prepare and just as desperate not to be outed as a pedophile.
The blackmailers strike me as just a little inefficient. The whole mess with Karen could have been avoided if they'd made sure the car's tank was full. Maybe this was a way to introduce some filler into the episode, ratchet up the tension. Who knows?
The victims comprise of four men (that we can see) and one woman. The woman's "crime" is racism. As for the men? Two of them are blackmailed due to child pornography, one for something "perverted" and one for adultery. Like seriously, does the writer of this episode have this preconception in his or her mind that men are obsessed with sex and nothing else?!
Conclusion
No one is the hero of this story - not the victims, not Kenny and certainly not the anonymous hackers who destroy their lives with vigilante justice. The victims aren't rich and powerful and therefore harder for the long arms of justice to reach. In the case of some of the other victims, their crimes - adultery, racism and pornography - aren't technically crimes in the sense that they aren't illegal. And even in the case of pedophiles, they are entitled to a fair trial.I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The increasing desperation of the victims and the amazing twist at the end... all goes to show that we don't need futuristic tech or pretty cars (not that there's anything wrong with that) to build a good chilling tech tale.
My Rating
9.5 / 10Final thoughts on Black Mirror Series Three so far...
There's more to follow; another three episodes when I have the time. But honestly, after the slight letdown that was Series Two, this was pretty good! I was undeniably entertained and none of the episodes I've watched so far, strike me as particularly weak.Nosedive was vintage Black Mirror in the vein of other high-tech episodes, a case of Social Media sucking to high heaven. Playtest was another high-tech affair, though I take points off for being a little too conventionally horrific. The third and final one in this review made sure that things continued on a strong note, with modern-day tech this time and very relatable human evil.
Yep, Series Three is looking pretty damn promising. Can't wait to see the rest!
The fucking pope probably reads my reviews!
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