Sometimes we have to focus on today before tomorrow
Here it is, the best episode of season five of Black Mirror and it could hit a lot of people really hard. I wish this was an episode I could write a lot about but its plot is so crucial to the overall effect of the episode that it’s best to watch it for yourself. This episode takes a look at how social media and the constant use of our phones isn’t just affecting our brains but everyone around us and our futures.
Smithereens stars the great Andrew Scott as Chris a Uber-style driver who has been waiting outside the office of Smithereens, Black Mirror’s version of Facebook/Twitter. He picks up a worker from the building and takes him hostage in the hope to get into contact with the creator of Smithereen.
This episode has a cruel and harsh message that is very relevant to many people around the world, myself included. It is something that I’ve been trying to be better at but ultimately failed at being. Some of my favourite Black Mirror episodes are when I can relate to the episode in some way and being on my phone and using social media too much is, well, something I can relate too.
Black Mirror creator and writer Charlie Brooker takes a different approach to explore this issue in Smithereens. With the different approach, he ends up creating one of his best episode of the show yet. It isn’t an episode that is going to blow your mind or make you talk to your friends about it. It is a calm yet frantic episode which relays to you a single message, one that could end up saving many lives.
Smithereens works well as it leaves you feeling sad and thinking about your life. It works as both a look at our society and our own personal lives in a way that isn’t just making fun of the situation. Where some shows choose to joke about being on social media and phones too much, Black Mirror chooses to address the problem head-on and shows not only the outcomes that can happen from doing that but also the control that some social media companies can have in the world. In the episode, which is at times funny, the police and Smithereen work together to calm down the situation which is so ridiculous that it feels real.
The key to the episode is definitely Andrew Scott, an actor who should definitely be in a lot of bigger things because of how great he always seems to be. His character is crazy whilst also being calm and friendly and its a crucial part that makes the episode work. Smithereens is my favourite episode of this season and by far one of my favourite of the entire show’s history. It just makes you think, that could happen to you!