- Summary
Two men are staying at a small cabin-like house on Christmas day. Joe Potter, one of the men in the cabin, wakes up to find Matt Trent, the other man staying in the cabin, making a Christmas dinner. Matt is cheerful and happily cooks dinner while Joe looks nervous, and a bit unsure of himself. Over dinner Matt tries hard to converse with Joe who seems suspicious of Matt despite the fact that they are staying together. In order to help Joe open up, Matt begins telling his story about why he ended up in the cabin and why, in his opinion, he deserved to be there.
- Discussion
This isn't related to the overall summary of the episode, but I just wanted to point out that "White Christmas" isn't nested in either Season 2 or 3 but it is in a category in of its own. It's a Black Mirror Christmas special but despite the fact that it is centered around one of the most joyful holidays around, it is anything but sweet and lighthearted but then again what else would you expect from this show right?
After finishing the episode, I've concluded that it has a sort of "nesting doll" effect. For those of you who do not know what nest dolls are, they're basically smaller dolls being "stacked" inside a larger doll. For a more visual interpretation, click here.
There are so many stories being told here:
1. the first one of Joe and Matt being in this cabin together on Christmas day-it made me wonder what kind of place this cabin is. Is it a safe haven? Or is a place of punishment? It wouldn't be odd if Matt and Joe were friends, but it is obvious within the first few minutes that these two men barely know each other despite boarding together.
2. What is Joe's secret? Why does he look so anxious all the time?
3. What is Matt's story? Why does someone who seem so charming and sociable chose to isolate himself from others?
4. Matt's story about his darkest times and what drove him to go there
5. Joe's story about his past and his downward spiral and finally
6. the overall arch of the story, the connecting point to it all. It's really quite brilliant actually, the way the episode was told and the final reveal.
Part I: Matt's Story:
Let's backtrack a little and go back to the beginning with Matt's story or the to be more specific, the reason why he ended up in this sort of outpost.
Dating websites and dating applications are beyond popular in today's day and age from the infamous Tinder to the more well respected E-Harmony. A lot of dating websites get a lot of bad press because the majority of its user use these sites as a way to casually "hook up" with others and not really use the websites for what they were originally created for: to make a connection with another human being.
Yet the episode takes it one step further by throwing a "dating coach" into the mix. This is a really interesting take on dating applications and dating coaches because both of these activities differ vastly from one other. On one hand, a dating app is 100% up to the user at hand-the person chooses what he/she wants to upload into their personal profile, chooses their photos, chooses their potential partners, and chooses what to say to these potentials via text messaging or emailing. Yet with a dating coach, people are asking for help; therefore, the situation isn't 100% under their control. People who hire dating coaches need a bit more help because what they have been doing hasn't been working for them. It could be because they are shy and need a push in the right direction or maybe they go after the wrong partners.
So Matt is kind of this middle man-he's a dating coach-he will call the shots and tell his clients what to say and who to approach in order to steer them in the right direction- and a dating app-he does all the research so his clients don't have to do anything but dress up and show up-all in one. He's the one that found Magson Frank's Christmas party in which Harry attends, and he's the one who finds out information about the people attending the party so Harry would have an easy time fitting in with the crowd.
This is all done through what they call "Z-Eye" which is basically like a one way webcam session. Through the Z-Eye Matt is able to see everything Harry does, as if there is an invisible camera in the middle of his forehead which records everything that is happening in real time. Harry can talk to Matt and Matt can respond back. Without Harry's knowledge, Matt also shares these "dating episodes" with a bunch of people who pay him in order to "peep" into other people's dates. Although it could be argued that Matt's application could be used to help others find love, it's obvious from the vulgar comments from the peanut galley that it's more to help guys get laid for the night then anything more. The fact the there is a general audience watching the clients have sex is quite disturbing for both the client and for the women they sleep with. It's a large invasion of privacy, and Matt would face many charges if he gets caught.
Despite knowing that what he is doing is wrong, it's hard not to enjoy the Christmas party scene. Harry's awkwardness is very coherent and he is exactly the kind of guy you would expect to hire a dating coach. He's shy and timid, and even his body language-slouching and not making eye contact-shows how insecure he is. It is because of Harry's social awkwardness that the audience really gets to see the technology in this episode.
When Harry walks into the party he looks around and is compelled by Jennifer, a quiet and beautiful woman standing with her coworkers. When Matt instructs Harry to walk on over and introduce himself to Jennifer's coworkers, he taps on their faces through the computer screen and the computer pulls up information about the workers through social media. This is quite similar to "Be Right Back" where the individual is able to pull up information about a certain person through a data base. The only difference between the two is that in "Be Right Back" the user is pulling up memories through interactions, and in "White Christmas" Matt pulls up information through a social media database. It's kind of like when you meet someone you want to know more about, and you type this person's name in the Facebook search panel and begin to read up on their profiles except it's in real time.
Before the whole downfall of this episode, it does start off quite fun and light. Matt is able to pull up information on one of Jennifer's coworkers when he begins to suspect, rightfully so I might add, that Harry doesn't work at the office. Matt feeds him information that he finds and Harry regulates it back, and after awhile the guy confusingly agrees that Harry does indeed know him. I mean what else could he think right?
Harry recalls information about him only someone who knew him or has met him before would know, and this is another point to consider when it comes to dangers of social media. The concept of most people being an open book when it comes to their public profiles is very true. This is why the whole "stalking" someone's profile has become so popular because it's kind of like a sneak peak, try before you buy deal. If you meet someone you find attractive but you go on their page and find them writing vulgar status or posting scandalous photos, you might want to reconsider getting to know them. Or maybe you like that, and it gives you the green light to go ahead and proceed.
Still despite being very invasive, it is still a pretty cool concept. Imagine what would happen if Matt wasn't instructing Harry, he would have been so embarrassed and security would have came to escort him out. If the company is really big on privacy, they might even file a police complaint. After all the party is invite only and it is not open to the public as it says on the invitation. It would also be a great helper if you are meeting someone new and find that you don't know what to talk to them about. If you knew their interests you could bring it up in conversations, a simple "so I am out right now but I can't seem to have fun because my dog is at home alone." If the person you are interested in is a huge animal lover, well you definitely gained some brownie points. Or if the person is a vegan, you can save yourself the embarrassment of asking them whether or not they thought the steak was any good.
As with any technological advances, there is an up side and there is a downside. We're about to discuss the downside right now in case you were wondering. It takes stalking to a whole other platform, a very dangerous one might I add. Social media makes it easy for people to stalk one another before actually meeting them, but what Matt was able to do wasn't something that anyone could do with an ordinary search bar. He was able to pull up information in seconds, and use what people choose to openly share against them. It kind of makes you think twice before you post a picture or update a status on social media because you never know who might be watching.
If this were an ordinary situation, then Matt's job would have been done the moment Jennifer invites Harry into her bed. Well, done in the sense that Harry would believe that Matt has signed off but the audience knows that isn't the case. Matt along with the other paid users would watch Harry have sex without his knowledge, and thus the process will continue again probably next week when someone contacts Matt for his help. Yet Harry's situation quickly turns dangerous when Matt and the other guys realize that Jennifer doesn't intend to sleep with Harry, she intends to kill him. She starts to tell Harry that he understands her and she knows he also hears voices, voices telling her to end it all and the only way for them to silence those voices is to end their lives.
While she pours the poison down Harry's throat, we are able to hear the commotion on the other end with Matt and the other guys freaking out. Honestly, I had a feeling she was going to kill him even before she brought him home. There was just something really sad about Jennifer, that made it seem like she was barely hanging in there. The first hint of her depression came when Matt instructed Harry to ignore Jennifer, stating that women hate being ignored and if he continues to talk to her coworker, it would pipe Jennifer's interest. Yet as Harry ignores her, Jennifer doesn't even seem to notice and like Matt states, this is because she is someone who is used to being ignored, used to being the outsider. For me though, I have to disagree. I don't think she is aloof because she is an outsider, but it's more so because she has disconnected herself from the rest of the world. She isn't someone who is pouting in the corner because she wasn't asked to dance, but she's more like someone who is always in her own head and has lost touch with reality.
The conversation Harry and Jennifer had about "leaving" the company now makes perfect sense. While Harry thinks that Jennifer is unhappy with her job and wants to leave, Jennifer is actually unhappy with her life and wants to leave this realm. There is a massive misunderstanding between the two despite the fact that they are face to face having the same conversation; yet, this conversation means something entirely different for each person.
Harry and Jennifer's death should have been reported because despite this being in the far future, witnessing a murder and not reporting it is still a crime which shows that this alternative reality is at least somewhat just. Matt's failure to do the right thing because he is scared is yes cowardly but also very understandable. The fact that he coaches men to get laid is one thing but if the authorities find out he is watching these intimate moments as well as sharing them with paid online users without consent, then he would be in more trouble then he bargains for. So he deletes the file in hopes that his sins would also be wiped clean as well.
Still...this is Black Mirror and we know his mistakes will come back to punish him ten folds.
Now onto Matt's real job...and this is where the story starts to really pick up. Matt tells Harry that his job is to understand the human mind using advanced technology. The scene then switches to a woman name Greta who is getting ready for some sort of surgery, in which she is able to have toast and orange juice before the surgery. Greta sees that the toast is slightly burnt and refuses to eat it. The toast scene shows how stuck up Greta is but it is also important to keep this scene in our mind for what later happens to her.
Matt then goes on to explain the extraction of a small chip in the brain called a "cookie" in which after its extraction, is put inside an electronic device shaped like an egg. We then enter Greta's story where Matt inputs this cookie into the electronic device, and gives the cookie a body, in which looks like a miniature version of the real Greta.
He explains to the cookie that it is not human nor is it alive, but the cookie refuses to listen believing that it is the real Greta. This concept is really interesting because the cookie was inside of Greta's head, it could be argued that it is a part of Greta; therefore, it is real. Yet as Matt continues to explain to the cookie, it is just a part of Greta's consciouses. He tells the cookie that the real Greta agreed to this surgical removal of her cookie because she wants a sort of assistant to help her with her schedule and to control her smart house. Basically Greta wants a maid and a personal assistant but because she is so uptight, she won't hire another person to do it. She would rather hire herself in a sense because who knows her better than she herself right?
This takes me back to the beginning scene where Greta complains about her burnt toast, and how she would rather not eat the toast than force herself to accept anything less than perfect. Most people would just eat it or they would politely not say anything, but Greta makes sure that the nurse knew she had messed up her breakfast. Greta is a woman who wants things done her way, and the only person she can trust to make her happy is herself.
However, Greta does not see what the audience is able to see. Yes, the cookie is just a digital copy of her consciousness, it's not in fact alive but does that make what Matt and Greta did any better? When Matt gives the cookie a digital body he not only gave an identity for the cookie, but he also gave the audience someone to sympathize with. Note I said someone and not something because what Matt did to break this cookie into submission is cruel.
This "it's not human" concept also leaks into science today with animal testing. In the past, medicines were tested on animals first before they were given to humans. To some people this might be seen as cruel because animals are living beings with feelings and fears, and to test on them is worst than testing on human being because they have no choice. There are people who volunteer as patients for many procedures whether it medicinal or cosmetics, but for animals who do not understand our language and our culture, they are confused to why they are being injected with vials. All they know is that they are being tortured, and whether or not it's for the greater good is something they don't know nor care about.
The question here isn't whether or not the torture of the cookie or of animals is cruel, but it is the question of worthiness. If we take it one step further, there are many accounts in history of human beings testing on other humans beings. Whether that be prisoners of war or the criminal insane, people have tested on their own before. Yet how do these "volunteers" get chosen? Obviously they can't be wealthy or they can sue, they obviously can't be well known either or else it would cause panic and violent outburst in the media. It has to be people that no one really cares about, it has to be the people whose voices can easily be silence by those of higher power. When an animal gets tortured you can hear it scream, you can understand its pain, but you can also choose to ignore it because it can't speak directly to you. When the Greta's cookie is screaming and looks like its in pain, no one can hear it. No one but Matt, so therefore, the only person who can change her fate is the only person that doesn't care. It all comes back to the question of being worthy: is a cookie, a piece of our consciousness, real? Is it worthy of choice and freedom?
Part II: Joe's Story
Joe's story starts off with him talking about his girlfriend Beth and how much he loves her, although he points out that her father never liked him. This little piece of information could be brushed over as an after thought because many fathers do not approve of their daughter's partners simply because they think no one is good enough for their little girl. Yet, this isn't just a line that Joe says as an afterthought since Beth's father does have a role in all of this.
Despite the fact that Joe found their relationship to be solid, Beth has her doubts about him. This is shown when they went to a karaoke bar with some friends, and Joe, being absolutely drunk, sings horribly to her and makes a fool of himself. While many other girls might find it sweet that their boyfriends are up on stage singing a song about them, to them, Beth looks annoyed and this probably means she has dealt with a drunken Joe many times before.
What I found interesting was how their friend Tim was somehow included in the frame. Black Mirror is a show that is so well loved because of their little subtle hints that most viewers do not catch. Each episode has a sort of wow factor, a "who done it" vibe lingering in the air. Also, during their dinner scene, Beth is drinking wine while the camera "accidentally" focuses on Tim. This is where I thought I had it figured out: Beth is in love with Tim BUT Tim is with Gita. I didn't know where this would lead, but I figured Beth would leave Joe for Tim and Joe probably did something unforgivable in the end.
The pregnancy test and the possible abortion talk was a part of the episode that many people had strong opinions on. Many viewers believed that Joe was out of hand, and despite the baby being his or not (emphasis on the not), he had absolutely no right to tell Beth what she can and cannot do. Yes it takes two to create a child, but Beth is the one that has to carry this child; therefore, she gets the final say.
Yet some people believe that Joe should have some say since the child is his, and it is wrong of her to want to abort the child without telling him first. A relationship consists of two people, making decisions together, and coming to a compromise and many found Beth's decisions very immature. One because she decided to abort the child without telling him, two when she deliberately drinks wine knowing that alcohol will poison the baby, and three when she blocks him and refuses to tell him anything.
I'm a bit on the fence about all of this because I do see both sides. I do agree that it is her body, and if she doesn't want to keep the child then she doesn't want to keep the child. Yet, I do agree that they are in a relationship and the least Beth can do is sit him down and calmly explain to him why she didn't want to keep the child. Not because she needs his consent, but because she wants to communicate with him. Communication is everything in relationships and maybe if she would have communicated with Joe, then there would have been a different ending to this tragic story.
Was anyone surprised that the baby wasn't Joe's? I wasn't at all, but what did surprise me was the block that Beth had put on Joe extended to the child as well. This does make sense since the child is under her protection until she comes of age, but I wonder when the child reaches adulthood if she could ask to have it removed. When Beth died, the block she put on Joe was gone and he could finally see her face in photos again. The block also was removed from her daughter as well, which I found strange. I understand that Beth has died but shouldn't the block still be on her daughter until she reaches adulthood? This whole blocking of another person is taken to such an extreme in this reality, and I wish that they would further explore this in later episodes.
Part III: The Confession
I thought I had the whole twist figured out but I was wrong. I didn't even think to put two and two together, and realize that all the stories connect. I just assumed that Joe and Matt both did some horrible crime and they were both hiding out in this cabin, and are sharing stories to pass the time.
Matt's usage of Joe's cookie is nothing short of brilliant. It shows how manipulative Matt is and can be when he wants to be. He is a charmer, I mean he used to be an online dating coach. He knows what women want to hear, he knows what kind of guys to target; the man knows how to get what he wants. He uses this skill on Joe's cookie because he knows what Joe wants, deep down even if he doesn't know Joe personally.
It turns out that Joe has refused to speak about what happened that Christmas morning at the cabin where he killed Beth's father, and where her daughter died days later when she froze to death looking for help. All the guilt he felt, was trapped inside of him and he thought that if he didn't speak about it, then maybe it wouldn't be real. Yet Matt knows that Joe wants to talk about it. It is in our nature as human to want to connect with other humans. We want to be heard, we want to be consoled, and we want to be forgiven. Matt plays this role perfectly-he tells Joe of his life and work and how he's also not a good person, and Joe opens up to him feeling like he could confide in him.
Matt's betrayal of Joe's trust is revealed at the end when we find out that he only did that so he can be released of his own punishment. Matt states that in the stimulation he set it so Joe's cookie would believe that it has been stuck in the cabin for 15 years but in reality it was only 70 minutes. Matt's gloating of getting Joe's confession when no one else could is cut short when Officer Holder states that there is more to his bail than she had mentioned. He is free to go but he is now labeled as a sex offender in the official system, which means he is now blocked by everyone. When people see him he isn't just a gray outline like other people who get blocked are, he is a red outline which everyone knows to mean that he is dangerous.
Matt's speech about human connection and their need to interact comes back in full circle because now despite him being free from prison, he has actually been placed in a bigger prison. He cannot communicate with anyone, and they cannot communicate with him either. If this was in our reality, then they might have a choice. He would be able to stop people and tell them his story if they want to listen, and they can talk to him if they want but in this reality there isn't that luxury. When a person is blocked it also means that they are blocked to the person that blocked them. Like when Beth blocked Joe, he is seen as nothing more than an outline and she is also seen the same way by him. It works both way, leaving both parties unable to see and hear the other person, as if they never existed at all.
Joe's punishment is that he is now charged for his crime, but his cookie's punishment is that it has to be stuck in the cabin listening to "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday." Instead of turning the machine off, the officers decide to leave it on, increasing it to 1,000 years per minute. That means that for every minute that passes in the real world, the stimulation makes the cookie believe it's actually 1,000 years.
This episode reminds me so much of "White Christmas" because it makes me wonder about crime and what levels of punishment should be fitted for each crime. Despite the horrors of the episode, the ending still made me feel sympathy for both Matt and Joe. Did these men do things they should be punished for? Absolutely, but were their punishments just or just plain sadistic?
★ ★ ★ ★ .5/5
After finishing the episode, I've concluded that it has a sort of "nesting doll" effect. For those of you who do not know what nest dolls are, they're basically smaller dolls being "stacked" inside a larger doll. For a more visual interpretation, click here.
There are so many stories being told here:
1. the first one of Joe and Matt being in this cabin together on Christmas day-it made me wonder what kind of place this cabin is. Is it a safe haven? Or is a place of punishment? It wouldn't be odd if Matt and Joe were friends, but it is obvious within the first few minutes that these two men barely know each other despite boarding together.
2. What is Joe's secret? Why does he look so anxious all the time?
3. What is Matt's story? Why does someone who seem so charming and sociable chose to isolate himself from others?
4. Matt's story about his darkest times and what drove him to go there
5. Joe's story about his past and his downward spiral and finally
6. the overall arch of the story, the connecting point to it all. It's really quite brilliant actually, the way the episode was told and the final reveal.
Part I: Matt's Story:
Dating websites and dating applications are beyond popular in today's day and age from the infamous Tinder to the more well respected E-Harmony. A lot of dating websites get a lot of bad press because the majority of its user use these sites as a way to casually "hook up" with others and not really use the websites for what they were originally created for: to make a connection with another human being.
Yet the episode takes it one step further by throwing a "dating coach" into the mix. This is a really interesting take on dating applications and dating coaches because both of these activities differ vastly from one other. On one hand, a dating app is 100% up to the user at hand-the person chooses what he/she wants to upload into their personal profile, chooses their photos, chooses their potential partners, and chooses what to say to these potentials via text messaging or emailing. Yet with a dating coach, people are asking for help; therefore, the situation isn't 100% under their control. People who hire dating coaches need a bit more help because what they have been doing hasn't been working for them. It could be because they are shy and need a push in the right direction or maybe they go after the wrong partners.
So Matt is kind of this middle man-he's a dating coach-he will call the shots and tell his clients what to say and who to approach in order to steer them in the right direction- and a dating app-he does all the research so his clients don't have to do anything but dress up and show up-all in one. He's the one that found Magson Frank's Christmas party in which Harry attends, and he's the one who finds out information about the people attending the party so Harry would have an easy time fitting in with the crowd.
This is all done through what they call "Z-Eye" which is basically like a one way webcam session. Through the Z-Eye Matt is able to see everything Harry does, as if there is an invisible camera in the middle of his forehead which records everything that is happening in real time. Harry can talk to Matt and Matt can respond back. Without Harry's knowledge, Matt also shares these "dating episodes" with a bunch of people who pay him in order to "peep" into other people's dates. Although it could be argued that Matt's application could be used to help others find love, it's obvious from the vulgar comments from the peanut galley that it's more to help guys get laid for the night then anything more. The fact the there is a general audience watching the clients have sex is quite disturbing for both the client and for the women they sleep with. It's a large invasion of privacy, and Matt would face many charges if he gets caught.
Despite knowing that what he is doing is wrong, it's hard not to enjoy the Christmas party scene. Harry's awkwardness is very coherent and he is exactly the kind of guy you would expect to hire a dating coach. He's shy and timid, and even his body language-slouching and not making eye contact-shows how insecure he is. It is because of Harry's social awkwardness that the audience really gets to see the technology in this episode.
When Harry walks into the party he looks around and is compelled by Jennifer, a quiet and beautiful woman standing with her coworkers. When Matt instructs Harry to walk on over and introduce himself to Jennifer's coworkers, he taps on their faces through the computer screen and the computer pulls up information about the workers through social media. This is quite similar to "Be Right Back" where the individual is able to pull up information about a certain person through a data base. The only difference between the two is that in "Be Right Back" the user is pulling up memories through interactions, and in "White Christmas" Matt pulls up information through a social media database. It's kind of like when you meet someone you want to know more about, and you type this person's name in the Facebook search panel and begin to read up on their profiles except it's in real time.
Before the whole downfall of this episode, it does start off quite fun and light. Matt is able to pull up information on one of Jennifer's coworkers when he begins to suspect, rightfully so I might add, that Harry doesn't work at the office. Matt feeds him information that he finds and Harry regulates it back, and after awhile the guy confusingly agrees that Harry does indeed know him. I mean what else could he think right?
Harry recalls information about him only someone who knew him or has met him before would know, and this is another point to consider when it comes to dangers of social media. The concept of most people being an open book when it comes to their public profiles is very true. This is why the whole "stalking" someone's profile has become so popular because it's kind of like a sneak peak, try before you buy deal. If you meet someone you find attractive but you go on their page and find them writing vulgar status or posting scandalous photos, you might want to reconsider getting to know them. Or maybe you like that, and it gives you the green light to go ahead and proceed.
Still despite being very invasive, it is still a pretty cool concept. Imagine what would happen if Matt wasn't instructing Harry, he would have been so embarrassed and security would have came to escort him out. If the company is really big on privacy, they might even file a police complaint. After all the party is invite only and it is not open to the public as it says on the invitation. It would also be a great helper if you are meeting someone new and find that you don't know what to talk to them about. If you knew their interests you could bring it up in conversations, a simple "so I am out right now but I can't seem to have fun because my dog is at home alone." If the person you are interested in is a huge animal lover, well you definitely gained some brownie points. Or if the person is a vegan, you can save yourself the embarrassment of asking them whether or not they thought the steak was any good.
As with any technological advances, there is an up side and there is a downside. We're about to discuss the downside right now in case you were wondering. It takes stalking to a whole other platform, a very dangerous one might I add. Social media makes it easy for people to stalk one another before actually meeting them, but what Matt was able to do wasn't something that anyone could do with an ordinary search bar. He was able to pull up information in seconds, and use what people choose to openly share against them. It kind of makes you think twice before you post a picture or update a status on social media because you never know who might be watching.
If this were an ordinary situation, then Matt's job would have been done the moment Jennifer invites Harry into her bed. Well, done in the sense that Harry would believe that Matt has signed off but the audience knows that isn't the case. Matt along with the other paid users would watch Harry have sex without his knowledge, and thus the process will continue again probably next week when someone contacts Matt for his help. Yet Harry's situation quickly turns dangerous when Matt and the other guys realize that Jennifer doesn't intend to sleep with Harry, she intends to kill him. She starts to tell Harry that he understands her and she knows he also hears voices, voices telling her to end it all and the only way for them to silence those voices is to end their lives.
While she pours the poison down Harry's throat, we are able to hear the commotion on the other end with Matt and the other guys freaking out. Honestly, I had a feeling she was going to kill him even before she brought him home. There was just something really sad about Jennifer, that made it seem like she was barely hanging in there. The first hint of her depression came when Matt instructed Harry to ignore Jennifer, stating that women hate being ignored and if he continues to talk to her coworker, it would pipe Jennifer's interest. Yet as Harry ignores her, Jennifer doesn't even seem to notice and like Matt states, this is because she is someone who is used to being ignored, used to being the outsider. For me though, I have to disagree. I don't think she is aloof because she is an outsider, but it's more so because she has disconnected herself from the rest of the world. She isn't someone who is pouting in the corner because she wasn't asked to dance, but she's more like someone who is always in her own head and has lost touch with reality.
The conversation Harry and Jennifer had about "leaving" the company now makes perfect sense. While Harry thinks that Jennifer is unhappy with her job and wants to leave, Jennifer is actually unhappy with her life and wants to leave this realm. There is a massive misunderstanding between the two despite the fact that they are face to face having the same conversation; yet, this conversation means something entirely different for each person.
Harry and Jennifer's death should have been reported because despite this being in the far future, witnessing a murder and not reporting it is still a crime which shows that this alternative reality is at least somewhat just. Matt's failure to do the right thing because he is scared is yes cowardly but also very understandable. The fact that he coaches men to get laid is one thing but if the authorities find out he is watching these intimate moments as well as sharing them with paid online users without consent, then he would be in more trouble then he bargains for. So he deletes the file in hopes that his sins would also be wiped clean as well.
Still...this is Black Mirror and we know his mistakes will come back to punish him ten folds.
Now onto Matt's real job...and this is where the story starts to really pick up. Matt tells Harry that his job is to understand the human mind using advanced technology. The scene then switches to a woman name Greta who is getting ready for some sort of surgery, in which she is able to have toast and orange juice before the surgery. Greta sees that the toast is slightly burnt and refuses to eat it. The toast scene shows how stuck up Greta is but it is also important to keep this scene in our mind for what later happens to her.
Matt then goes on to explain the extraction of a small chip in the brain called a "cookie" in which after its extraction, is put inside an electronic device shaped like an egg. We then enter Greta's story where Matt inputs this cookie into the electronic device, and gives the cookie a body, in which looks like a miniature version of the real Greta.
He explains to the cookie that it is not human nor is it alive, but the cookie refuses to listen believing that it is the real Greta. This concept is really interesting because the cookie was inside of Greta's head, it could be argued that it is a part of Greta; therefore, it is real. Yet as Matt continues to explain to the cookie, it is just a part of Greta's consciouses. He tells the cookie that the real Greta agreed to this surgical removal of her cookie because she wants a sort of assistant to help her with her schedule and to control her smart house. Basically Greta wants a maid and a personal assistant but because she is so uptight, she won't hire another person to do it. She would rather hire herself in a sense because who knows her better than she herself right?
This takes me back to the beginning scene where Greta complains about her burnt toast, and how she would rather not eat the toast than force herself to accept anything less than perfect. Most people would just eat it or they would politely not say anything, but Greta makes sure that the nurse knew she had messed up her breakfast. Greta is a woman who wants things done her way, and the only person she can trust to make her happy is herself.
However, Greta does not see what the audience is able to see. Yes, the cookie is just a digital copy of her consciousness, it's not in fact alive but does that make what Matt and Greta did any better? When Matt gives the cookie a digital body he not only gave an identity for the cookie, but he also gave the audience someone to sympathize with. Note I said someone and not something because what Matt did to break this cookie into submission is cruel.
This "it's not human" concept also leaks into science today with animal testing. In the past, medicines were tested on animals first before they were given to humans. To some people this might be seen as cruel because animals are living beings with feelings and fears, and to test on them is worst than testing on human being because they have no choice. There are people who volunteer as patients for many procedures whether it medicinal or cosmetics, but for animals who do not understand our language and our culture, they are confused to why they are being injected with vials. All they know is that they are being tortured, and whether or not it's for the greater good is something they don't know nor care about.
The question here isn't whether or not the torture of the cookie or of animals is cruel, but it is the question of worthiness. If we take it one step further, there are many accounts in history of human beings testing on other humans beings. Whether that be prisoners of war or the criminal insane, people have tested on their own before. Yet how do these "volunteers" get chosen? Obviously they can't be wealthy or they can sue, they obviously can't be well known either or else it would cause panic and violent outburst in the media. It has to be people that no one really cares about, it has to be the people whose voices can easily be silence by those of higher power. When an animal gets tortured you can hear it scream, you can understand its pain, but you can also choose to ignore it because it can't speak directly to you. When the Greta's cookie is screaming and looks like its in pain, no one can hear it. No one but Matt, so therefore, the only person who can change her fate is the only person that doesn't care. It all comes back to the question of being worthy: is a cookie, a piece of our consciousness, real? Is it worthy of choice and freedom?
Part II: Joe's Story
Joe's story starts off with him talking about his girlfriend Beth and how much he loves her, although he points out that her father never liked him. This little piece of information could be brushed over as an after thought because many fathers do not approve of their daughter's partners simply because they think no one is good enough for their little girl. Yet, this isn't just a line that Joe says as an afterthought since Beth's father does have a role in all of this.
Despite the fact that Joe found their relationship to be solid, Beth has her doubts about him. This is shown when they went to a karaoke bar with some friends, and Joe, being absolutely drunk, sings horribly to her and makes a fool of himself. While many other girls might find it sweet that their boyfriends are up on stage singing a song about them, to them, Beth looks annoyed and this probably means she has dealt with a drunken Joe many times before.
What I found interesting was how their friend Tim was somehow included in the frame. Black Mirror is a show that is so well loved because of their little subtle hints that most viewers do not catch. Each episode has a sort of wow factor, a "who done it" vibe lingering in the air. Also, during their dinner scene, Beth is drinking wine while the camera "accidentally" focuses on Tim. This is where I thought I had it figured out: Beth is in love with Tim BUT Tim is with Gita. I didn't know where this would lead, but I figured Beth would leave Joe for Tim and Joe probably did something unforgivable in the end.
The pregnancy test and the possible abortion talk was a part of the episode that many people had strong opinions on. Many viewers believed that Joe was out of hand, and despite the baby being his or not (emphasis on the not), he had absolutely no right to tell Beth what she can and cannot do. Yes it takes two to create a child, but Beth is the one that has to carry this child; therefore, she gets the final say.
Yet some people believe that Joe should have some say since the child is his, and it is wrong of her to want to abort the child without telling him first. A relationship consists of two people, making decisions together, and coming to a compromise and many found Beth's decisions very immature. One because she decided to abort the child without telling him, two when she deliberately drinks wine knowing that alcohol will poison the baby, and three when she blocks him and refuses to tell him anything.
I'm a bit on the fence about all of this because I do see both sides. I do agree that it is her body, and if she doesn't want to keep the child then she doesn't want to keep the child. Yet, I do agree that they are in a relationship and the least Beth can do is sit him down and calmly explain to him why she didn't want to keep the child. Not because she needs his consent, but because she wants to communicate with him. Communication is everything in relationships and maybe if she would have communicated with Joe, then there would have been a different ending to this tragic story.
Was anyone surprised that the baby wasn't Joe's? I wasn't at all, but what did surprise me was the block that Beth had put on Joe extended to the child as well. This does make sense since the child is under her protection until she comes of age, but I wonder when the child reaches adulthood if she could ask to have it removed. When Beth died, the block she put on Joe was gone and he could finally see her face in photos again. The block also was removed from her daughter as well, which I found strange. I understand that Beth has died but shouldn't the block still be on her daughter until she reaches adulthood? This whole blocking of another person is taken to such an extreme in this reality, and I wish that they would further explore this in later episodes.
Part III: The Confession
I thought I had the whole twist figured out but I was wrong. I didn't even think to put two and two together, and realize that all the stories connect. I just assumed that Joe and Matt both did some horrible crime and they were both hiding out in this cabin, and are sharing stories to pass the time.
Matt's usage of Joe's cookie is nothing short of brilliant. It shows how manipulative Matt is and can be when he wants to be. He is a charmer, I mean he used to be an online dating coach. He knows what women want to hear, he knows what kind of guys to target; the man knows how to get what he wants. He uses this skill on Joe's cookie because he knows what Joe wants, deep down even if he doesn't know Joe personally.
It turns out that Joe has refused to speak about what happened that Christmas morning at the cabin where he killed Beth's father, and where her daughter died days later when she froze to death looking for help. All the guilt he felt, was trapped inside of him and he thought that if he didn't speak about it, then maybe it wouldn't be real. Yet Matt knows that Joe wants to talk about it. It is in our nature as human to want to connect with other humans. We want to be heard, we want to be consoled, and we want to be forgiven. Matt plays this role perfectly-he tells Joe of his life and work and how he's also not a good person, and Joe opens up to him feeling like he could confide in him.
Matt's betrayal of Joe's trust is revealed at the end when we find out that he only did that so he can be released of his own punishment. Matt states that in the stimulation he set it so Joe's cookie would believe that it has been stuck in the cabin for 15 years but in reality it was only 70 minutes. Matt's gloating of getting Joe's confession when no one else could is cut short when Officer Holder states that there is more to his bail than she had mentioned. He is free to go but he is now labeled as a sex offender in the official system, which means he is now blocked by everyone. When people see him he isn't just a gray outline like other people who get blocked are, he is a red outline which everyone knows to mean that he is dangerous.
Matt's speech about human connection and their need to interact comes back in full circle because now despite him being free from prison, he has actually been placed in a bigger prison. He cannot communicate with anyone, and they cannot communicate with him either. If this was in our reality, then they might have a choice. He would be able to stop people and tell them his story if they want to listen, and they can talk to him if they want but in this reality there isn't that luxury. When a person is blocked it also means that they are blocked to the person that blocked them. Like when Beth blocked Joe, he is seen as nothing more than an outline and she is also seen the same way by him. It works both way, leaving both parties unable to see and hear the other person, as if they never existed at all.
Joe's punishment is that he is now charged for his crime, but his cookie's punishment is that it has to be stuck in the cabin listening to "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday." Instead of turning the machine off, the officers decide to leave it on, increasing it to 1,000 years per minute. That means that for every minute that passes in the real world, the stimulation makes the cookie believe it's actually 1,000 years.
This episode reminds me so much of "White Christmas" because it makes me wonder about crime and what levels of punishment should be fitted for each crime. Despite the horrors of the episode, the ending still made me feel sympathy for both Matt and Joe. Did these men do things they should be punished for? Absolutely, but were their punishments just or just plain sadistic?
★ ★ ★ ★ .5/5
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