Seriously, it was a very cool twist. Not that predictable as in Nosedive and San Junipero... and the rest of the eps really. Damn "15 million merits" gotta be its counterpart, so overrated and basic to my liking. Such a great metaphor for these crude times we're living right now with the refugees and race supremacy and what not.
shareIt was a cool twist, but my problem was with the military unit. Something about them just felt off, like a direct to DVD Starship Trooper movie. The dialogue and interactions within the unit were very cliche and didn't feel fresh to me at all.
The message was great, but the rest was so-so.
You are what you choose to be. You choose. Choose.
i thought it was very predictable. It was an ok idea, pretty simple, but they dragged it on without doing anything that amazing with it.
shareThe reason I personally rated it as the weakest Black Mirror of the season and 2nd weakest of all time is like many people - the twist was too obvious too early on.
It's not about being smart - perhaps I just watch/read a LOT of scifi/psych thrillers, but they gave too many hints too early and then drew out the twists for too long a time. For instance in 'Hated By The Nation' it was obvious to me very early on who/what was causing the deaths but they didn't string me a long very long.
I figured it out early, felt clever for a few minutes and then they revealed it to anyone who didn't catch on shortly after. That's is how you do a solvable twist in fiction. You have to ensure you didn't give too many clues too early on. This one did not do that properly. They left way too long of a gap between figuring out the twist and revealing it - making me bored of the plot and giving me too much time to flesh out all of the related details. I wasn't engaged at all for most of it.
If you are going to make a big twist, don't give too many breadcrumbs too early on - you have to keep all viewers guessing and I agree it isn't an easy balance because different people figure out things at different speeds (Sometimes I am totally behind the curve too, don't worry) - you have to find a happy middleground to keep all viwers engaged. This episode failed miserably at it.
Outside of that I have other issues - the 2nd last scene was too drawn out with a kind of silly scooby doo exposition that made me roll my eyes too many times.
As far as the main theme goes - I liked it. Definitely Black Mirror standard, I'm with you there. Too bad the episode failed me on too many other fronts, and I know I'm not alone.
Sometimes you're behind the curve too?? Wow, that's pretty amazing for a smart guy like you. I feel a lot better about myself now though, thanks :)
shareI never said I was smart. In fact I specifically stated being smart had nothing to do with figuring out the episode. Looks like we are both smart guys, because you know you never said you were smart just like I didn't, but I will claim you did.
Now we can both be smart.
And to further explain my post - if you were referring to the 'behind the curve' remark, I simply meant that the curve was figuring out the plot early on and not figuring out at all until it was revealed on the other extreme. If it came off as arrogant I do apologize. I liked the person's post and never would have remarked otherwise. I have definitely watched lame James Bond films and have been totally lost while everyone around me is not only completely on top of the plot but also bored of it. Our brains simply work in different ways, it has nothing to do with being "smart" or "stupid".
Anyhow that was my thought process when making the reply.
Good analysis.
The best twists, though, are executed less by just the right amount of bread crumbs or clues, but by making your audience think you're going one way, then - POW!
Maybe this won't be up your alley at all, but Neil LaBute is a genius at this. He's a playwright, though.
If you want to dive into some absolutely brilliant contemporary writing that does a good job of keeping you guessing, read LaBute's Bash. (Actually a lot of his stuff is like that - I'm particularly thinking of The Shape of Things. But others do this masterfully as well.)
"What else do you like? Lazy? Ugly? Horny? I got 'em all."
"You don't look lazy."
Nosedive and San Junipero weren't MEANT to be unpredictable (San Junipero maybe a little), but it's all about the message of the story.
___________________
In Nolan I Trust.
Favorite TV shows: www.imdb.com/list/ls002906535
I wondered that too since it's among one of my favorite episodes.
share^ This ^. Perfectly said
shareKinda of reminded me of the show Utopia
shareNot that predictable as in Nosedive and San Junipero...