Season 1:
Episode 1 "The National Anthem"
- Quick Synopsis:
Britain's Prime Minster Michael Callow, discovers that the Duchess of Beaumont, Princess Susannah, has been kidnapped. In order to insure her safe return, the kidnapper asks Callow to do one task. However that one task is both humiliating and immoral, and it is one that must be performed for the entire population to watch. The kidnapper gives Callow a deadline to complete his "request", and after the video ends, the clock starts ticking.
- Analysis:
The usage of Youtube in this episode really shows how far technology has come since the good old days of snail mail. A simple letter could have taken days or weeks to get to its receiver, but now thanks to power of email and text messaging, it will get there in a matter of seconds. The same thing with the ransom video-the fact that it was only uploaded a few minutes ago but it has already been viewed and downloaded by so many people really shows the power of the internet. It is so easy, a little too easy, to share anything and everything these days.
However, the access to share anything and everything has its price-there are no take backs. Sure you can delete that photo you posted two days ago and it's gone from your profile, but is it really gone? Someone could have saved it or it might still be floating around somewhere, you don't know. In the show, even if the government deletes the video, it is not gone. The video has been downloaded and passed on, and before they know it, the media already has access to it. The government cannot do anything but push through with their original plan because they know information like that will continue to spread, and it cannot be contained.
What also cannot be contained is the reaction of the general public. At first they are horrified by the Princess' kidnapping, and are applaud at the kidnapper's demand, thinking it is degrading and sick. Yet as time goes on, they start to grow reckless as the kidnapper sends another video, one where he apparently cuts off one of the Princess' finger. By then, they are throwing Callow into the lion's den telling him to go on with the plan. After all, his dignity sure is worth less than someone's life right? Especially that of a princess, and when he has loss the support of the people he knew he had lost the war. This just hows how quickly people can turn on one another, and how scary that turn of event can be. 
It is really difficult to not feel for Callow. He has to do a degrading and dehumanizing act to an innocent animal, on national television where people can save and download the video and have it for the rest of their life. He may go down as a brave and selfless minister, but most people will remember him as "the man who had sex with a pig on national television." The public was disgusted by the act; yet, they all stopped what they were doing to watch it because society is intrigued by taboo acts like these. Who really wants to watch a grown man have sex with a pig? They were grossed out by it, but at the same time strangely intrigued by it. There were also remarks of whether or not the pig will be female or not and everyone is so busy watching this that they forget what this whole ordeal is about...
I really like the scene where Princess Susannah was release and despite the fact that she's the princess and all eyes should be on her, she is left to wander the streets alone until she faints. We are shown a wide shot of the streets and not a single soul was outside because they were all glued to their television watching their prime minster embarrass himself, instead of searching for their princess.
The government tried to get a replacement for Callow by bribing an actor to perform the act, and they thought they could have gotten away with it. While they do some photoshop magic to place Callow's head on the actor's body, the kidnapper sees through their trick right away. This just goes to show how technology can be used for evil. How an invention so advance can be used to cover up and deceive, and how easy that deception can be. Photoshop and edits are not uncommon these days from magazines airbrushing their models, to people photoshopping memes for fun. With the technology to lie and conceal at the ends of our fingertips, how can we tell what is really genuine in the world anymore? 
The ending scene with the prime minster and his wife was really powerful, and that twist really made the episode for me. A year after his live broadcast, Callow is seen being loved and respected by his people. They applaud him for his bravery, and he is able to keep his political image intact. Yet the one person who doesn't applaud him, is his wife, Jane. She was against him doing the ordeal from the start, and despite smiling and posing with him for photos, behind closed doors she shows her true emotions: she is really disappointed in her husband. I found it very sad that she isn't able to express her true emotions out in public because she is scared of what it will do to his reputation. They have to been photographed and video tapped as this happy couple because she knows what is at risk if the facade is revealed. Also, it's important to note how hazy the perception of social media truly is. By watching videos of Callow with his wife, people will assume that their marriage is filled with happiness. She's by his side throughout everything and they fake it so well for the camera, that no one would ever suspect a thing. The same can be said with social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram-nothing is what it seems. A person with millions of followers and post amazing photos will make other believe that his/her life is perfect. Yet people only post the top 10% of their lives on social media, and the rest of stuff, the things that aren't that glamorous, gets left behind. You'll never completely know someone if you only look at their social media, and many people are good at hiding the "not so perfect" parts of their lives.
All in all this wasn't my favorite episode of the bunch, but like I mentioned earlier, it definitely packed a punch. There was so much going on that it was easy to get sucked up in Callow's degrading scene, and forget everything else that was going on. This episode set a bar for the rest of the show, and so far (I'm currently on Season 2), it only gets better from here.
★ ★ ★ /5
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