Black Mirror 5.02 "Rachel, Jack, and Ashley too"

Season 5 of black mirror drops on Netflix tomorrow. Since it’s only three episodes, and because some people like to space them out while others binge all three at once and it becomes a pain in one thread talking about three different things that dropped at once while some people are only looking to discuss the first episode, I’m going to make three separate threads for each episode.

5.01 is here..
This thread is for 5.02
5.03 is here.

I’m not a big fan of Miley Cyrus and she has the husky voice of a 60-year old, 3-pack a day smoker, but she was really well cast in this and did a fantastic job.

I liked how the Perils of Technology theme was also balanced by a story that was a straight up fairytale, a damsel being held hostage by a jealous, evil guardian and the two plucky kids have to save her.

Picked out the Nine in nails similarity quickly which was a nice piece of foreshadowing. Good cast, too. Miley did great.

It’s called a bass, not a guitar! The second of the two times in the episode that the instrument in question was referenced out loud, I was sorely hoping for the girl who played it to say “it’s called a bass”, but was let down.

It’s a bass guitar. Just as either an alto or tenor saxophone is colloquially referred to as a “saxamaphone”. :slight_smile:

I like Miley a lot and I enjoyed this episode. I wasn’t expecting an ending I’d be happy with. I just knew he (Brooker) was going to mess with me.

This I agree with. In fact, I hated everything about the episode.

This felt like three episodes mushed together. Two were interesting and one was less. There was a story about a young girl getting confidence from an AI only to fail. There was a story about how a famous singer was a cash cow for sleazy hangers on. These both were the interesting ones. Then the second half turned into The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Saves Hannah Montana. The turnaround was very weird.

I really liked the Ashley too robot though, even before it went full Miley.

Worst of the new batch. But still worth seeing. Though I don’t need to see it again.

Best of the batch. Well not much competition but it was at least interesting.

Overall I think they’ve played out the Black Mirror premise. This show should be done now.

I wasn’t too impressed with this season, but felt this was the best episode of the season.

The first one just felt tacked on.

I was hoping Ashley would sing “P.S. I Love You” at the end.

I thought it worked well for that reason. None of the three individually would have worked, but I felt it had a nice vibe mixing it all together. #2 was a stinker, but #1 and #3 were very solid episodes.

Anyone notice the Easter Eggs? The TV headline said something about how a video game designer got an award for Striking Vipers and something about a museum owner dying in a blazing inferno.

#2 had a headline about PM Callow doing something.

Didn’t they include a bit of that song from the episode where everyone was peddling bicycles and the girl wanted to be a star?

There was also the ad for memory grains …

But it really doesn’t seem that all the eps are in the same universe.

I don’t think that’s true, but I think they perhaps have played out the “someone’s consciousness trapped inside something” premise. This is FAR from the only near-futuristic speculative plot conceit that exists, and there is still plenty of potential.

Best of the season. I do think the real consciousness is in the AI is a bit overdone in Black Mirror, but enjoyed how this story worked (where the AI saves the physical person - although accidentally).

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Best episode of the season, but a weak season.

I thought we were going to learn that the real Ashley was also a robot and the mini-ones are just the same computer made smaller.

Finished watching all three episodes about 3 this morning, and I was headbanging with the crowd at the end. Never thought I’d like Miley Cyrus, but she owned that role. Excellent episode. I’d rate it a B+ or A- among Black Mirror offerings.