The Premise
We follow the trials and tribulations of a middle-aged woman named Bella, who is being hunted by - get this - a robotic dog.
Were you expecting more? Too bad, then, this is all there is. Honestly, what else do you need?!
The Characters
Maxine Peake does a fantastic job as Bella. Plucky, tenacious and compassionate. I was rooting for her to survive, but this is Black Mirror, after all. That being the case, this was a heroine I could really get behind.Clint Dyer as Tony. The weary black dude who gets killed in the first few minutes.
Jake Davies as Clarke. Jumpy fella. Comes across as someone who wants to do the right thing but has to be persuaded by deal-sweeteners.
Holy shit, the Dogs are terrifying. Just the fact that they look like large iron roaches already made my skin crawl. Add the penchant for wanton violence and, well, dogged persistence, make them an extremely scary threat. Not to mention that part of their arsenal includes tracking devices embedded in shrapnel bombs, and short-range bullets! Their silence and obvious intelligence, as well as the inherent wrongness about the way they move, serve to make them intensely creepy in addition to being dangerous.
Not just their weapons - the little devices they have in their "paws" that enable them to commandeer vehicles and hack into houses. The plot points really revolved around those too!
The scanning from the dog's point of view is grainy, monochrome and nightmarish. Nice work!
I really liked the way Bella outsmarts the AI of the Dog hunting her and even takes the fight to the Dog. This gave me shades of Sarah Connor in Terminator.
Bella's tearful farewells on the comms are really poignant. They bring up an extended cast whom we never hear from (much) but add to the backstory.
But hey, I enjoyed it. The monochrome really reminded me fondly of Sin City.
Jake Davies as Clarke. Jumpy fella. Comes across as someone who wants to do the right thing but has to be persuaded by deal-sweeteners.
The Mood
Dark, man, it's dark. Visuals aside, this is probably the most depressing Black Mirror episode ever, period. All hope goes out the window. Humanity is doomed.What I liked
The fact that this episode was filmed entirely in monochrome. Think about it - dogs are color blind.
Holy shit, the Dogs are terrifying. Just the fact that they look like large iron roaches already made my skin crawl. Add the penchant for wanton violence and, well, dogged persistence, make them an extremely scary threat. Not to mention that part of their arsenal includes tracking devices embedded in shrapnel bombs, and short-range bullets! Their silence and obvious intelligence, as well as the inherent wrongness about the way they move, serve to make them intensely creepy in addition to being dangerous.
Not just their weapons - the little devices they have in their "paws" that enable them to commandeer vehicles and hack into houses. The plot points really revolved around those too!
The scanning from the dog's point of view is grainy, monochrome and nightmarish. Nice work!
I really liked the way Bella outsmarts the AI of the Dog hunting her and even takes the fight to the Dog. This gave me shades of Sarah Connor in Terminator.
Bella's tearful farewells on the comms are really poignant. They bring up an extended cast whom we never hear from (much) but add to the backstory.
What I didn't
If I had to quibble, this was thematically one of the worst fits in the Black Mirror universe. I mean, normally we see hints of advanced technology and humans screwing it up due to being human. This one was outright apocalyptic. Doesn't make it less fun, but I watch Black Mirror for certain things, y'know? There wasn't any of it here.Conclusion
Not too heavy on the social commentary. There is basically one main character in here. If you're looking for an action-survival hour, this episode ain't too bad at all. However, if what you really want is some urban drama revolving around tech, maybe not so much.But hey, I enjoyed it. The monochrome really reminded me fondly of Sin City.
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