Professional cynic Charlie Brooker’s new series recently dropped on Netflix, leaving the world feeling #blessed at a new series of one of the best TV shows of the decade.
From somewhat unsettling to downright grotesque, the show manages to comment on the ethical implications of new technology and its impact on human nature without (mostly) generalising or churning out the conventional anti-technology hot takes. Thanks to a move from Channel 4 to Netflix, this third series sees more interesting locations, better graphics and even a feature length episode. Considering the episodes are, in fact, all pretty good, WIRED ranks the new series from amazing to still great.
Click here to read how we ranked the episodes in season one and two.
Perhaps it's the technophobe protagonist played by Kelly Macdonald, the Hitchcock allusions, or the ‘so you’ve been publicly shamed’ narrative, but something about this episode feels a bit stale. The drone hacking isn’t given the sophistication the viewer requires and the idea of a deadly hashtag sounds like a fearmongering story that holds no weight. Drone bees are pretty cool, though.
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This episode is good - but as far as interesting technological metaphors go, it isn’t the most imaginative. Of course, the fact it's set in present day gives the writers slightly less scope and it certainly touches on the ever-present cyber risk (and the terrifying extension of that) but the low-key threat throughout the episode seems underwhelming when compared to the risk of other episodes in the series. However, it’s subtlety and the underlying malice that grows throughout the episode is fantastic, even if the narrative is, at times, clunky.
The issue with this episode is that it moves far too close to that dull and flawed hot take of technology that it’s ‘all making us care too much what other people think’ or ‘ruining our friendships’. Social media can be problematic, but it’s also an incredible tool, and this episode seems to veer too far down a simplistic critique of that (with a touch of facist segregation) rather than offering a nuanced extension of its outcomes. This palette and aesthetic of Nosedive successfully creates an immersive alternate future, but it’s core focus seems simplistic. Just because it focused on concerns often pejoratively described as ‘feminine’, doesn't mean it couldn’t have gone darker.
This has a superb reveal. Technology in warfare is something Black Mirror hasn’t touched upon before and its speculation is a horrifying, believable and clever imagining of how it could be used and who exactly it would affect. The scene between Malachi Kirby and House of Card’s Michael Kelly on warfare and morality is a highlight, even if the core metaphor (we other people in order to kill them) is a bit basic.
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Black Mirror does horror well, and when it comes to the implications of AR, this episode gets it spot on. The form of this episode mimics the plot’s concern with the unknown fantastically: leaving us viewers as uncertain of the real as the unwitting male volunteer. In real life, gamers are frequently willing to be pushed further and immersed deeper, and this episode twists and turns to depict this unclear line between leisurely gaming and pernicious immersion. Detachment from our own understanding of the real world is terrifying, and this episode captures that while also commenting on the logical conclusion of a lot of gaming technology.
This beautiful love story is brilliantly paced, mysterious, and not a total grotesque nightmare that will leave you shaking in the foetal position. It’s a clever, believable extension of the concept of virtual consciousness beyond life, and questions the concept of eternity, consciousness and the real. Gugu Mbatha-Raw gives a heart-wrenching performance (that is heightened by the great writing) with superb dramatic accentuation, and the 80s aesthetic is an interesting relief from the constant futuristic aesthetics of the series. This one sticks with you.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
