this is by far my favourite episode of black mirror and you guys still pointed out little things that flew right over my head great video thanks (hopefully Boston dynamics doesn't get any fishy ideas)
What bugged me about this episode is how stupid Bella is. Yeah this is a dystopian world with no backstory, in B&W that is fine with me. Her character annoyed the piss out of me, they appear to be somewhat veteran scavengers, with the knowledge of the danger of the "dogs" out there and to have the forethought of having they're car ready to go if there's a problem. But every time the dog attacks she makes a dumb move like some cheap ass horror flick. There's at least 5 times she could've gotten away, The guy sacrificing himself so she can get away, nope let me stare at him as he dies. The other guy dying in the van and her stopping because the van stopped. Calling on the radio for a status report, but not securing herself first (and willfully knowing that the dog could track her radio). I did like her powering down the dog at night, but her not throwing her jacket over the dog so it wouldn't power up when the sun came out (I'm not the smartest person in the world but good grief you could see that coming). And lastly not shooting the dog when it was stabbing at a wall. If I wanted to watch a cliched budget horror movie I'd watch it (there are plenty on Netflix). I like watching Black Mirror because it expands my view of things, and this episode had none of that. I was rooting for the dog half way through the episode. So for me this was just a drawn out episode of her dying.
Well, now these *dogs* are being used by NYPD;one was seen coming out of a apartment house in Manhatten. You can see the images at Dahboo7 or Dahboo77. Peace and HOPE for us all in a dystopian future...
Linda Nguyen I hate black mirror because it will do something and it will make me sad but not to the point of crying, and then it socks me in the face. For this one it was the final shot of the teddy bears. Smh I was sobbing. Kudos to the creators they make this show so amazing.
One interesting thing I noticed in this episode was how in the opening scene they are talking about how pigs are undignified because their noses or snouts are the same level as their butts. And then when you see the "dog" walking around, its butt is higher than its face/snout.
This episode was a lot better than people are giving it credit for there was setup for the event the conversation about pigs casually mentions “the Dogs dealt with them” it’s subtly setting up the machines the music was amazing it made the entire episode a lot more tense the revel of even more dogs at the end made it feel like humanity is finished and I loved the “twist” with it Turning out that they were just getting a teddy bear for a dying child
Space Penguins no it was ass. Main character was dumb as shit. The dog was the best actor out of them all. I'm kinda mad they gave us hang the dj and then give us sum trash ass shit like dis. Das tuff. Worst episode in all of black mirror tbh
This was my least favorite episode of the season but I I liked that it was filmed in Black and White. I just wish there was more to it. Something was missing for me, maybe I was expecting some sort of twist. It felt like I just started watching a movie when it had already started and I missed the first part of it and this was the second or last act of the movie.
It’s called picaresque narrative, it is not about the plot or backstory, it’s about the main character undergoing an adventure to explore the world he/she is living in
I think the point of the black mirror as a series is to really think deeply into how these fictional realities are or can be a reality in our day to day lives.
Personally, this was one of my favourite episodes. I understand why some people might have not enjoyed the episode or found it lacklustre. I believe one of the main reasons is because (unlike the other BM episodes from this season) the meaning/plot behind this episode was left ambiguous. Those are the best kinds of episodes! Leave the ending and backstory up to your imagination. I see a lot of people overthinking it and attempting to find some deeper meaning behind it. Stop scratching your heads! It basically summed up human nature. We feel empathy and emotions, whereas an AI dog doesn't have this ability to feel. The characters knew the dangers and yet they still persevered. The humans were trying to alleviate someone's pain before death, with love. However, the machine's goal was ultimately death. I find that terribly fascinating. We cannot escape our hardwiring. Similarly, the dogs can't escape theirs. This is why I believe that although AI can be useful in the future, it's also dangerous. If anything, we're the reason for our untimely demise. Anyways, those are my two cents! Great video btw!
FashionFanatic my problem is it's too ambiguous, it literally answered nothing at all from start to the end, no questions at all we had in the start were answered in the end, no backstory to make it interesting
Milbox R That's actually false. We learned RIGHT at the end that what they were attempting to collect was a new teddy bear. Did you know that in the beginning? No. Plus, we don't know if she lived or died. I mean I suppose it can be inferred that the dogs were out to get her, and she had no backup. You don't need a backstory for everything. Use your imagination lol.
FashionFanatic oh wow one single thing we learned, that didn't answer anything, it just brought up more questions, I like being able to leave things for interpretation but when it's too ambiguous it just feels wrong, there's a fine line of being too ambiguous and too little ambiguous
You could at least admit that your analyzation was off, but you're choosing to be unnecessarily defensive. Technically, I pointed out two things that we learned: Their goal was the teddy bear and their Achilles heel was their humanity. You're just expecting too much. There is simplicity in complexity. I can't help you if you can't comprehend it.
Wow! Why are people bitching about this episode? This is a fucking awesome episode. Not everything in BM has to be mind bending twist after twist. This episode scared the shit out of me because it shows you that every crime in the future will get you killed by these robot dogs. The storytelling is also fantastic with the peppermints coming back around. Please, for the love of God, why do people not like this episode?
The reason I didn’t like it was it was mundane. You could tell what was gonna happen every step of the way. Then they didn’t explain any of the story. The whole point of a black mirror episode is the payoff you get. The only thing we got was jack was a kid not an adult and they were going for bears. However, it still was pretty shitty compar d to all of their other episodes. But that’s just me, I’m glad someone liked it.
It was boring trash. People are saying it's scary fuckin hell lol when I saw the stupid robot thing I had to turn it off it just so comical and shitty cgi too
Loved it. Way to close to current technology, if Boston Dynamics delve into military models this kind of dog could happen sooner than later and that's what made the episode so terrifying. How it works just makes sense and that's what made it so different from other "killer robot" movies.
For me it was just missing a "point". BM has in the past conveyed some sort of commentary on society or underlying message where as "Metalhead" didn't seem to have one (or at least it wasn't overt enough that I really saw one). I didn't hate the episode but it's definitly among the weaker ones IMO.
I get why people didn't like this one, but I think it's the most underrated of the season. Whereas Arkangel and Crocodile didn't really utilize their concepts to a satisfying degree imo, Metalhead had a very simple premise and was a great exercise in just giving us this survival horror show. It was very weird and probably one of the more experimental deviations from the show's format, but I thought overall it was very well done and I loved the stark black and white cinematography and sound design, which really made the robots menacing in my eyes
Any deviation from the formula will attract critics. I loved this episode, but I felt it was artier than the others. I love art films, so that was perfect for me, but I think people looking for something more straightforward weren't happy. I say, if they could do such a better job they should go make their own show instead of complaining about this one.
Jonathan Ramirez It wasn't without it's merits - I think it had the best musical score of any episode this season, which was great at building up a sense of tension. It also had great cinematography and I loved the Icelandic environment it took place in. The biggest issue is it never felt, to me, that it didn't take enough risks with the story, so it ended up feeling like a murder mystery with little mystery to it. The element of viewing memories was interesting but didn't seem too thematically tied to the rest of the episode, and basically served as an alternative to boring interview scenes where witnesses share their stories. I would have liked the episode much more if they explored the idea of memory more, even how it can faulty. I like thinking about possibilities like this during episodes and I thought it would have been a great dramatic reveal if Mia had committed all these murders under the false recollection that she was responsible, possibly influenced by her friend over time.
I don’t think she’s fleeing for her life as she realized a tracker was in her throat she was going to kill herself since running was no longer an option that monologue was a goodbye
Lady Wanderer she thought shooting it shut it down completely maybe something they hadn’t done before but if she wasn’t familiar with them how would she know to keep it up to drain the battery and know that the shrapnel contained tracking devices that she had tools to cut out why would the first person killed by it instantly panic before it shot shrapnel at him
The whole episode is weak and poorly executed. What happened to earth? Who are the people she's radioing? Who were the two guys she's with at the beginning? Who's controlling the dogs? It's just a really poor episode.
Daniel I think that's kind of the point. This episode doesn't explain a lot, it just drops you in on this mission with Bella and the other two guys and you have to figure it out from there. Finding out what happened to the world/who are controlling the dogs isn't really important as realizing what kind of world they are living in now and what they have to do to survive.
To me, the teddy bears were symbolic and not sign of how dire the situation is. There is no rational reason risking your life for it, because death is the opposite of a morale boost. This is why the robots are a threat to begin with. We are humans not robots. We will do irrational things and learn by failure. That one dude failed with the car code, she nearly fell of the tree, someone made a loud noise in that logistic hall. And she really had a tough time contacting her people. Also she wasted time washing her hands because she touched dead people (morale), something a robot wouldnt care about at all. Robots will mercilessly pursue their targets no matter the cost. This was shown by the robot not giving up. They are connected like a hive mind. But they also rely too much on their built in abilities. The dog mindlessly followed that tracker in the bottle. So she was able to fool the robot with an easy trick. Also the dog wasn´t able to climb that tree, at first I thought he wouldnt be able to get over that wall because of the same reason, but it just hacked the gate. This also shows somewhat that houses and technology wont protect us, but nature or simple things might. Additionally I think the reason why they showed this episode in black & white is exactly because of how robots work. The only know 0 or 1. Do or don´t. There is no in between. This is what makes them dangerous. In the end she nearly defeated it, by being creative with the paint and an outdated shotgun. But she still failed the mission because even if the dog is gone, she is marked and cant go back, which is a deathsentence to most humans.
NigmaTerra Cool analysis. I was confused as to why they would risk their lives just for a teddy bear. But it makes more sense if it is to show the extreme contrast between emotional & irrational humans and completely logical robots. I liked the concept of this episode, even if it was a bit boring. This is a "robots gone wrong" story on the surface, but it mainly serves as an extreme reminder that AI can do everything better than humans except love. That human (emotional) connection trumps ~maximally efficient AI systems.
I did not enjoy this episode very much, but I appreciate it so much more after reading your analysis. I guess I had trouble just... Putting it all together because the style was enough to lose my attention. Thank you for posting this!
Lady Wanderer I don’t really know but that does not mean this is a simulation. I mean don’t get me wrong, you could be right but there could be another explanation for this.
Lady Wanderer like what if whoever lived in the house went to the US and got that and brought it back for some reason or what if the episode doesn’t really take place in the UK. I didn’t really see any evidence in the episode that shows where the location is. If there is proof tho I’d appreciate it if you told me other than the characters accents because that doesn’t really mean anything. They could have just traveled somewhere else. There could have been dialogue I missed that proved where the story takes place but I must have missed it.
Lady Wanderer If the dogs were just an extension of “men against fire”, set out to cleanse the human race, an American would not be a target and would need to sit there and watch all his friends get killed by these dogs, resulting in??? Suicide
Are people that keep saying this is the weakest episode just upset that it broke format in that there is no "twist"? That's not the point in this episode.
Lola Rella the episode sucks not because there was no twist, but because there was no point. We have no idea what the dogs are or where they came from. We have no idea why the main characters are after the bears. And we don't know anything about the world. It's literally just an hour long chase scene
Aj graves hated in the nation is pretty strong minus its slow pace. It shows that the hate you put into the world will not only affect others, but come back at you to sting you. And that the internet is a hivemind (ha, get it) where everyone thinks theyre safe to say whatever they want. If it was just in someone else's perspective and not a random detective, it wouldve been a lot more effective in delivering the message, though.
yyflame When shes talking on the walkie she mentions she was trying to replace something. Which we find out is the teddy bear for im assuming is her child or someone she is looking after. And I dont remember which ep it is but on a news ticker it says “the US military has introduced robotic dogs” so metalhead is essentially towards the end of the black mirror universe timeline
I don't think the dogs were designed to be like a "guard dog", they have in their core system to kill, and invade wich we see it doing multiple times, not to defend, i understood it more like a robot created for war, and i think it is a more likely subject that black mirror would tackle on
They are based off of the "Robot Dogs" that Boston Dynamics has already created for military purposes for the US Military Forces. This is definitely a reference to what could happen if they were perfected as actual military-grade mobile weapons instead of the "helping hands" they more or less are now (they can carry things, different models can actually pick things up and move them, that sort of stuff).
Sark Aztik or perhaps they were creating heaven on earth. When AI is advanced enough, they will without a doubt realize the cancer that humanity. In fact, the AI probably won't even look further than RUclips comments section to make their final decision to eliminate humanity.
What if the teddy bear isn't for comfort of the dying child, but for a container of his consciousness, which we only get to understand in Black Museum?
We also get to know in black museum that a human contained like that should be able to have at least five emotions and putting the consciousness in the Teddy was illegal. This episode is different from other episodes because they showed empathy in a human and the love they have instead of misusing technology.
littlemisspiggy - hello there. illegal yes. What if this episode is set way in the future of Black Mirror when people realized some technology was bad and banned it, criminalized their use, collected them, and secured them in warehouses like the one in this episode? They'd need something to guard it with relentless tenacity -- hence the metalhead doggy thingy. At least that's how (in my head) it explains why an otherwise cheap teddy bear is guarded with expensive lethal technology.
I loved this episode and I felt the actress' emotion the whole way. Its easy for me to empathize I'm simply an emotional thinker and person and that episode was intense all the way until she's picking the remaining trackers on her face and sees one in her throat she knows she has to end it. ALSO people please be kind to one another we are all HUMAN beings so let's not insult people for liking something after all we aren't vicious machines that are programmed to be inflexible. Funny how Black Mirror criticizes the human experience involving technology when people are quite literally insulting each other over liking this episode or not. Please keep it civil.
Look up Boston Dynamic SpotMini on RUclips; which is funded by DARPA that works under a military contract. Then this episode will get more real to you.
Alizabeth The USS Callister is to blame for this, mark my words. What happens when you cant die and you know your going to live forever in a digital world for eternity. They found a way to the real worls but not like before, they became jealous of people in the real world and decided to eliminate human life permanently just as human life damned them to an eternal hell from which there is no escape.
+Guts 505 Technically their world is better then ours. Not only did they regain their genitals. They are all coders who are now in an expanded universe with unlimited opportunities. Compared to the mundane lives they had in the outside world. They achieved what most people couldn't which is immortality. As they can live out their lives with several million if not billion people in that new open universe. Basically their lives are a lot more richer now. Given from what we can tell. They can now have sex again but always had the sense of smell, taste, and vision. If anything their new life is a blessing. Plus as time passes by because they are stuck in that world. They'll eventually be able to make cybernetic replicas of their real bodies in the outside world after enough time passes. Given they showed that clearly can make contact with the outside world through the game. They have more then enough time in that world to find someone capable of doing so; while disclosing and providing their personal builds to that person.
I feel they utilized the black and white filming to get across real gore such as the decaying body and the gunshots to the head they might not be able to do with colour as it would be too graphic...
I think this season will really have some split favorites among the fans. I watched all 6 today and liked them all, however Metalhead was my favorite. The ad pic and the tag line “We found a dog at the warehouse” had me skipping episode 4 to get to it. This is a classic, could be developed into a 2 hr movie.
Charlie Brooker stated that there was originally supposed to be a person seen controlling the dog from a different location. The scene where it has to recharge was meant to be the operator going away to give his own kid a bath.
It wasn't bad. It would be make more sense. The way they edited it implied the robots were autonomous. In order for a robot to be autonomous like humans. It will need all the sensors that emulate all 5 senses, a complicated and inexhaustible algorithm and programmed to protect that storage room with a mission to kill the trespassers not just stop them which makes the owner of that place a little nuts. It looks like the owner died. I'm not sure why they would have a box of teddy bears in that storage room. Of course for that woman to get one for her kid or something... but why the owner would have them there and programmed the robot dogs red for any trespassers. A little more back stor would have been good. Nonetheless, I've enjoyed it myself.
this episode doesn't feels like "Black Mirror" episode to me, which why I think this is actually a sci-fi movie entertainment in Black Mirror world, like that militaristic clean house episode in season 3.
black mirror shows scary tech in the near future. google boston dynamics. we basically already have these dogs up and running. they just need AI to kill us all..
It was a great season. USS Callister was absolutely brilliant. This episode was a letdown though. I know a lot of people enjoyed it but I watch Black Mirror for the mindfucks. Metalhead did not deliver.
For some reason when I think about this episode I see it as colored I see the beginning part as black and white But I think that’s because it stood out to me in the beginning After that i got used to it And for some reason i can’t see the episode as black and white in my mind Anyone knows why my mind is doing this if its a common thing or whatever
Jaded Jv My guess is that, since you don’t see life in black and white, your brain just fills in the colors for you. You’re probably right that since the beginning was impressionable it stays black and white in your memory. I know it’s a whole psychology thing that you remember the first and last things on a list so maybe that ties in. But idk if that’s actually correct.
the twist felt like a crazy coincidence and gimmick, I think that episode could've done a million different things based on the fallibility of human memory but it barely touched on that.
Lyn The point is that there is none. It’s not a reference to White Bear and has no deeper meaning besides the scavengers dying for a simple act of trying to help a sick child.
I felt this episode was made to give you a break from all the psychological thrills/suspense and horror the show usually supplies us with and took there shot of a more physical thriller/horror/suspense which visually did a great job, but poor payout on the ending, I honestly think if the episode was based on her stuck in the tree and trying to figure out how to outsmart the dog while the dog is trying get up or take down the tree would of made a better plot for this episode, like a black mirror version of "the grey"
Juicyest Prime I agree with the other guy. That ending is something we’ve seen before whereas the actual one where she has too many trackers to remove is new and dire. It helps develop the dogs features and gives a heroic end to the woman instead of a hopeless one
No its not, this is because of the USS Calister. Intelligent conciousness's that believe they are human which cannot escape back to the real world, escapes to an open game network connected to the internet. If they cant physically die either than whats stopping them from accessing military and defense networks.
I actually didn't see this movie until 6 years ago but I Remeber loving the ending. Someone told me it was based off a true story. but yea I like it cuz I love the idea of real freedom. living the life you want to live and dying by your own means seems really pleasant. now that's my own bias view on the ending but a for a movie of its time I also think it was quite impressive and beautiful way to end kinda reminds me of the ending of Romeo and Juliet, If you gonna die to do it with the one you love I guess. plus if its a true story idk how else would they end it.
I actually enjoyed this most out of all the episodes. It's really very creative, different, and Maxine Peake really is one the best actors around. I found the other episodes to be quite underwhelming, overwritten pastchiches of ideas already covered in earlier seasons.
It's an isolated tale about machines designed presumably for human security turning on their creators. Humanity has dwindled, and our protagonist, Bella, (along with her friends, Tony and Clarke,) go on a mission to retrieve a replacement teddy bear for Jack, a child who is dying of a disease, and only has a few days to live. The point here is that humanity would go to great lengths to ease the suffering of others. Bella & co. unwittingly awaken a guard dog at the warehouse while trying to track down the teddy bear, and it kills off Tony & Clarke, and proceeds to spend the rest of the episode hunting Bella down. Bella's sister, Ali, and her lover, Graham, are waiting for her to return to the human sanctuary, but after defeating the guard dog, she triggers its fail-safe where it shoots shrapnel that contains location trackers to clue in other the guard dogs to where she is. After realizing she couldn't remove the trackers from her body fast enough, she relays to her sister and lover that she will not be able to make it to the sanctuary, as the guard dogs will have gotten to her soon enough.
thewhatness nice explanation. The only thing that I would change is that she realized that she had a tracker in her jugular, which if tried to remove it, she would die.
Toy Fan Agreed. Also don't agree that she gave up per se, because she couldn't remove them fast enough - I believe it was because one of the trackers lodged into her neck. If she would have removed it, she likely would have bleed to death; hence, her giving up.
For me it's 1) USS Callister 2) Black Museum 3) Crocodile 4) Arkangel 5) Metalhead 6) Hang the DJ I would have put Hang the DJ second but Amy is too arrogant for my liking. In fact, quite a few of the actresses in season 4 have an element of trying too hard to prove their respective point(s). That's what put metalhead above Hang the DJ for me. Bella's is a far more organic character than Amy.
But this episode was a commentary on modern technology particularly a commentary on Boston Dynamics and the desire to create robot soldiers. They are a robotics company that have worked with the US Military and are coming very close to creating a robot just like the one seen in this episode. Metalhead clearly is making a reference to the robots they have built in the way how the robot is designed. in fact they look so much alike that they pretty much plagiarized them. the episode is trying to give us a glimpse into what could go wrong if you replace human Soldiers with machines. Humans can understand complex morality, emotion and ethics, which a machine cannot. A machine can only see things in "black and white", which is one of the two reasons why this episode was filmed this way. the black and white filming Style Symbolizing the machines inability to see complex Nuance that a human soldier would have been able to see. The ability to tell the difference between civilian and enemy, friend or foe, when to use Force or withhold it, and able to make proper judgment on what action is appropriate for any individual situation. Instead the machine just sees an enemy then think attack and kill, just as it was programmed to do so. To make this more clear at the start of the episode we see the human characters sneaking into a building and trying to steal something. At first we are led to believe that maybe this is some kind of weapon they can use against the machines, but instead it turns out to be a box full of teddy bears that are female protagonist wants to give to her dying child. Not not a weapon or anyting to use in Warfare. This is something that a robot solder would not be able to understand. these people were technically breaking the rules by stealing the toys but are still harmless to the robot but Westville program to see stealing as an act of hostility, making them an enemy and it's mind. it still follows its own programming to kill anything it's coding has taught it to be an enemy regardless of the context of the situation, so a parent trying to give a toy to their dying child becomes on par with a terrorist in its head. since all humanity is flawed it's safe to say that this robot military eventually turned against all of humanity under this extreme black and white thinking, which is why you don't see anyone else in this world. On the plus side for the robot but another downside for Humanity, being a machine still make it tougher to take down than a human's soldier. It never gets tired, is unable to feel pain, moves and will never stop following you. so you're being chased by a thing that you can't escaped from or fight back against and has no moral conscience. It only has one goal: to kill you. Sounds just like a monster in horror slasher movie, right? Well you would be right. That's the second reason why this episode is filmed in black and white and used music that very reminiscence of a horror movie. the robot even grabs hold of a butcher knife much like the killer from Psycho or Halloween. An attempt to deliberately link the robot to Hollywood monsters and Psychopaths. The episode is trying shows you the end results of a world that replaces human soldiers/cops with robots like the ones Boston Dynamics is trying to create by filming it like a classic horror movie In the same spirit as Psycho or Frankenstein. Suggesting that Boston Dynamics is creating what will be a new monster that Humanity will soon have to deal with. I know this gets into the whole robot apocalypse cliche that you find in sci-fi a lot, but it is a real concern among some of the great scientific minds of today like Elon Musk, who has voiced his concerns about making AI to advance. If we start to make machines that are too advanced but are incapable of showing any Humanity we can find ourselves dealing with something truly terrifying. These are approaching questions that are simply too big for a show like Black Mirror to ignore. Can we make robot soldiers that are able to understand something like the difference between an enemy combatant and a mom just trying to give her dying kid a teddy bear? or are we creating our own Frankenstein that is destined to turn on us and become just like a monster from a slasher film?
Before she notices the tracker at her jugular vein, the angle and the mirror makes her head look separate to her body, hinting at the fact she's going to behead herself. Both in Crocodile and Metalhead there were peppermints, like you mentioned and also the car wouldn't start for both the characters which ultimately lead to their death (although in metalhead she probably would of died anyways). I absolutely loved this episode!! I can't believe people think this is the weakest in the whole of season 4. I personally think arkangel was my least favourite (although it was still pretty good).
Arkangel was hard to watch, because the mother character was so painfully daft. The peppermints represent buffering time. Humans are serving their desire for empty pleasures and cheap thrills while the A.I. is gradually booting up to conquer the world. When we run out of peppermints, the buffering is complete. Game over, man!
I think the reference for the bears was a setup for episode 6, where they discuss uploading the conscious of a person into a stuffed animal. That's why the dog was guarding the box and why they needed so many bears.
I kept thinking it can be: 1) some sort of gaming reality 2) a real life quest using technology (also gaming sort of) 3) something similat to "The white bear" where these people are actually in a prison and are sentenced to trying to get away from those creaures 4) some weird society where it's an entertainment (or something else) to hunt people based on whatever reason (maybe like in "men against fire") 5) Brooker did that episode kind of unfinished on purpose to make a sequel in the next season to explain what is actually going on If it's just good old "robots are gonna get us" it's kinda boring...
After watching the last episode of the season black museum, I thought that the teddy bears in this episode might have digital copies of consciousness from people, but idk
Agree, and it's interesting from the artistic point, with all the references to older horror movies but you cannot not wonder what reality of the episode is. Plus it's basically the only episode in all seasons where they don't reveal it, I wasn't sure while watching whether they are going to keep it concealed or tell us. So your brain is still looking for an answer almost automatically.
I liked the unique-ness of the episode format and loved that it was in B&W- however, it did NOT feel like Black Mirror at all. Something was missing- no twists, no real MESSAGE.
Lady Wanderer Theyre more sentimental value if anything, showing that humans are more emotional than AI like the dogs will ever be, willing to risk their lives all for a teddy bear.
So I have a thought about this episode and its so little weird but hear me out. I found that Metalhead shared a lot of themes with the movie Schindlers List, not only because of the colour choice (although i'll admit that's what got me thinking) but because of the human themes involved. In Schindlers List, we see a man who ends up opening his eyes to the horror around him after it's too late to use his influence to stop what was happening, and gives up everything he has to save the Jews from genocide. In Metalhead, we see a woman who lives in a post apocalyptic world destroyed by human ignorance and apathy risking everything to bring comfort to a dying child. Though both films are objectively different, the message about human nature is strikingly similar; Even when we as the human race fail, individualy, people are selfless and good. In the hopeless environment displayed in these two films, and in particular through the parallelism between the arguably grim symbols of the little Jewish girl's red jacket in Schindlers List and the white teddy bears in Metalhead, we're being told that no matter how often we almost destroy ourselves, we're never beyond repair because the same compulsion to make things better for the ones we care about can not only harm (as black mirror proves time and time again through near future technology meant to help us going wrong, most of the time with deadly concequences) but can motivate us to do what we can to love those around us. Honestly, while many view this episode as weaker than others and generally bleak, I think it's one of the more hopeful episodes in the series. It veers from the usual Book of Revalations Black Mirror message of "we are all objectively terrible people, we're building our own electric chairs and we don't even know it" and presents a story about a character who puts her life on the line to comfort a dying child with nothing to gain and everything to lose.
For me this is one of the best of all seasons. Worldbuilding at it's finest, feeding off of mystery, forcing the audience to ask questions about the world, what happened, letting the imagination blow up with possibilities. It's just interesting to observe the world, investigate the scenery and connect the dots left in dialogues in order to understand what's going on. A feast for a conscious spectator. Imagine you knew from the beginning that the enemy is beyond lethal and relentless. Suspense is the key in this episode. Crocodile is quite the opposite - predictable and hard to believe for me, because of how little we know about what actually goes on in Mia's head. The lack of exposure in Crocodile is a design flaw, in Metalhead it's a conscious choice. But you have the right to just not like it, of course.
Not my favourite episode but i like that they did this episode. You can see Charlie & Annabel have really experimented with different genres this season, like sci-fi, noir thriller, horror, romance, etc. Not everything is gonna be a hit but I hope they keep experimenting cause tbh, thats the only way they will be able to churn out so many episodes for Netflix so quickly. 7 episodes from 2011 to 2014 (including the special) and then 12 in 2 years for Netflix, you obviously will have to keep trying new things and maybe the quality wont be as good as the earlier ones but production wise it surely has improved.
I liked this episode a lot. I loved the way it was shot. I liked the suspense and thrill in it. I think ppl do not like it because the plot has been done a million times over with a lot of zombie apocalypse movies. It missing the Black Mirror plot twist but it is very enjoyable. The plot has been done repeatedly but it has not been executed so nicely.
I thought the robot was doings its job - guarding - not that anything had gone wrong with it's A.I. It's A.I. lacked any moral greyness: guard the products, prevent it happening again. I liked how stripped-down it was too. The socio-psychological thrillers are great, but not all episodes need it. This episode is about purely visceral technology. It's about the physical survival of human vs. robot. It didn't need anything extra.
Black Mirror episodes have predominantly been about a technological device that while built as an accessory to everyday life, ends up leading to variety of dire consequences for the characters in question. While traditional episodes explore every aspect of introduced technology(the good, followed by the bad), Metalhead skips past the introductory phase and gets right to the matter at hand. In my opinion, Black Mirror can tend to get a tad too preachy in a few of its episodes, with too little subtlety in its social comentary. Metalhead stays away from traditional Black Mirror and provides a tightly written, thrilling audio-visual feast that immediately sets itself apart. Also, now 4 seasons into this show, narratives and technologies introduced have begun to overlap each other and pursue mostly the same social commentary that has come with preceding seasons. With the novelty of the Black Mirror concept fading away I think it is essential that from time to time, specific genre episodes like this one, that trade exposition and gratuitous plot twists for taut, more tangential world building sequences within a chapter in a person's life can truly provide the occasional shot in the arm that philosophical sci-fi like Black mirror may need. The narrative structure in addition to the B/W visual aesthetic and the refreshingly un-Black Mirror like score and sound design make Metalhead one of the best episodes of the season. Black Museum comes a close second thanks to its phenomenal lead performances and plot density.
Right? It bothered me how the lady who collected memories throughout the episode didn't even attempt to fight back lol in a real world scenario fight or flight mode would of kicked in and she stood a fair chance to defend herself. Also, the possibility of the woman slamming that big guy to the ground with ease and he couldn't get her off him when he also had ample time to react. All in all I was glad she got caught in the end.
Rumer Priestly they were trying to add in a curve ball but it made no sense considering the concept worked only through asking questions and getting the subject to specifically "think" about what was asked.
Nail biting episode! Loved it. Definitely an episode that leaves you thinking about it after it ends. Sorry though, I know it's done for style reasons and effect, but the black and white color was really distracting for me. In a series that is full of color, the b&w just took me out of black mirror, but I get it. (Some of the slowmo shots were striking with the lighting and b&w)
I totally did! They made us care about the character thru actions, not just backstory by way of exposition. They show us why we should sympathize with her over the action scenes instead of just telling us!
The music in this episode was Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima by Krzysztof Penderecki. Also used in The People Under the Stairs and Season 3 of Twin Peaks, but not The Shining.
You missed another eater egg when she enters the house. As she opens the drawer to look for the car keys there is a card that reads "San junipero". Possibly indicating it's in the same universe as the San Junipero episode but in the future, or past.
How about the Hunger Games reference? That scene where she climbs the tree trying to flee from a killing machine immediately reminded me of Katniss in the first Hunger Games. The backpack, the wound at exactly the same spot (upper leg) causing the limping, the way the whole scene was shot, the tree being a safe spot to wait it out.... All of that was EXACTLY like in the Hunger Games!
MrPandaBear321 a predictable plot with no twists that followed the boring drama of an average family experiencing situations thatd happen even without the arkangel device. Underage sex and drugs? Not uncommon.
Heads up... You missed the Easter Egg to San Juipero with the Postcard from San Junipero time code roughly 25:13 just after she first gets into the posh house trying to find the Land Rover keys it’s on top of the desk.
Jake Johnson I second that. Despite the lack of back story in metalhead I found episode two to be rather annoying and the characters didn't draw you in at all. By the end of the episode I felt no emotion whatsoever.
Really? When the ending was revealed, I proceeded to sob uncontrollably for minutes on end. Great directing made this episode perfect for me. It felt like it was very inspired by No Country For Old Men.
I don't think they're meant to be interpreted as "advanced guard dogs". Instead, a comment on our current day AI. It's a depiction of what can (and will) happen if (and when) the military moves onto AI defense. The model is eerily similar to our 'Boston Dynamics Robot'.
As for the B&W, amazing choice. It's used in film a lot as a metaphor on "seeing in black and white". Webster dictionary defines the term, "involving a simple choice between things that are clearly opposite and especially between good and bad or right and wrong". AI and Human are polar opposites. The episode expresses that by having her character kill herself. She died by choice, something robots could never do.
Why didn't she destroy the dog when it ran out of battery in the forest? I think She should have just hit it with a stone and destroy it before it recharged!
Shrikar Parashar Your able to reason because your in comfort, this lady probably didn’t know how long she had and she was running for her life. You are correct though.
how much force would you need to smash it though?.. I mean it took 2 direct shotgun blast in the head?.. it would take quite a few stone smashes don't you think, even if you found a stone big enough to do the job. I don't think i' d risk it waking up and not being in a safer place.
Why didn't she just pull out a ball and throw it. Dogs will be dogs. I personally would've hugged it the entire time so that when it wakes up would realize I actually have nothing against bots and that I'm sorry the rest of mankind drove the robo dogs to genociding humans. Then I'd become robo dog King and order all the dogs to keep doing what they doing, they're just so adorable when they're exploding people's heads.
The soundtrack is Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima by Penderecki. It’s been in more than one film than The Shining. In fact, only this year, it was used incredibly prominently in another black and white sequence from an episode of Twin Peaks: The Return, which I have no doubt was an influence for this episode.
Tv fans confuse me. People are comparing that this episode doesn’t fit the typical black mirror structure. Yet if every episode did, people would complain that all the episodes have a repetitive structure. Make up your damn mind.
My theory of Metalhead. I think the White teddy bears are a callback to the White Bear episode.....The girl in White Bear and us the audience thought she was the hero too but she turned out to be a criminal... Maybe the real reason the robot Dog was hunting her so much was because she was actually a criminal, like the Hunter in White Bear...Why else would they make the bears in the box White and have the White bears be the last scene of the episode.
Muyanzi Reid It's interesting you say that because the actress who plays the lead in Metalhead, Maxine Peake played the child killer Myra Hindley in a drama about the The Moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady and their crimes in the sixties .And White Bear was partially based on The Moors Murderers and how they tortured their young victims and recorded it .It's also interesting that the landscape used in Metalhead looks very much like the landscape of the Yorkshire Moors .I'm not saying that there's a direct correlation between my observations and the episode used intentionally by the creators of Black Mirror but I do think it's an interesting observation.
sarah lilith a replacement for the toy bear the child lost I think it was showing how they all ended up dying over what her partners thought at the beginning was pointless since the person was dying and we were supposed to be less to think it’s medical equipment but instead it’s more sentimental as it’s a toy for a kid
Gerard Lacey That's not a plot twist... The main character and the 2 guys were talking about getting the toy for the kid before they arrived at the warehouse.
This episode was beautifully directed. Every shot was terrifying. Every close-up was intense. The scene in the building with the robo-knife was incredible!!
Maureen Njanga I completely disagree I was in tears at the end. You experience her struggle throughout the whole episode and she loses everyone until she realizes she must die also. It just MESSED me up. I loved/hated it bc of the emotional rollercoaster I felt
Jonathan B. I don't need a twist to be satisfied. I just didn't like this episode as much as the others. You don't have to be condescending just because someone has different opinion than you 😒
This episode also looked really similar to The Twilight Zone episode where there's a man who jumps off the bridge and goes into a river. The scene where the man is jumping looks exactly like the bridge and river at 8:52 Edit: The episode from TTZ is called An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, S5E22
i just finished watching the episode. I feel like this episode, comparing to the other ones, didn't really have a moral. But maybe i didn't fully understand...
Its the scary possibility of automated warfare. What if somebody sends in a robot army to kill every human being in an enemy country for as long as it can. And what if the robots cant be turned off because whoever knew how to deactivate them died after America nuked them or something. So the robots just keep killing forever. Theres actually a lot of very smart people in the real world including Stephen Hawking who signed a petition asking the world not to make military A.I because of stuff like this...
Once it shut down when she climbed down the tree she could have covered it with her coat so it couldn't recharge. Also once she covered it with paint in the house she could have left the area and it would not have been able to track her but she stuck around to trap it. Other than those two loopholes and risking their lives to get a Teddy bear I loved the episode and rewatched it quite a few times.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
How many horror movie references did you spot?
GameSpot Universe I felt some Hitchcock vibes. I'm thinking of Psycho
Blair Witch Project?
this is by far my favourite episode of black mirror and you guys still pointed out little things that flew right over my head great video thanks (hopefully Boston dynamics doesn't get any fishy ideas)
For me i see jason vorhees or michael myers
What bugged me about this episode is how stupid Bella is. Yeah this is a dystopian world with no backstory, in B&W that is fine with me. Her character annoyed the piss out of me, they appear to be somewhat veteran scavengers, with the knowledge of the danger of the "dogs" out there and to have the forethought of having they're car ready to go if there's a problem. But every time the dog attacks she makes a dumb move like some cheap ass horror flick. There's at least 5 times she could've gotten away, The guy sacrificing himself so she can get away, nope let me stare at him as he dies. The other guy dying in the van and her stopping because the van stopped. Calling on the radio for a status report, but not securing herself first (and willfully knowing that the dog could track her radio). I did like her powering down the dog at night, but her not throwing her jacket over the dog so it wouldn't power up when the sun came out (I'm not the smartest person in the world but good grief you could see that coming). And lastly not shooting the dog when it was stabbing at a wall. If I wanted to watch a cliched budget horror movie I'd watch it (there are plenty on Netflix). I like watching Black Mirror because it expands my view of things, and this episode had none of that. I was rooting for the dog half way through the episode. So for me this was just a drawn out episode of her dying.
This was the most stressful episode for me
Name and whats even more stressful is that there were more robots coming at the place the girl died at
Agreed lol!
This episode didn't follow the broad formula that usual black mirror episodes do... But probably the scariest one I've seen. Enjoyed a lot.
What? White bear or white christmas is definetly the scariest.
Scary?!?? Give me a fucking break Finding Nemo was scarier than this trash
This was scary?
ER I agree 100%
How on earth was this scary
this episode stressed me out so much
I KNOW I WAS FRUSTRATED AF
Well, now these *dogs* are being used by NYPD;one was seen coming out of a apartment house in Manhatten. You can see the images at Dahboo7 or Dahboo77. Peace and HOPE for us all in a dystopian future...
After realising that they all died for one teddybear.. im shook
Linda Nguyen I hate black mirror because it will do something and it will make me sad but not to the point of crying, and then it socks me in the face. For this one it was the final shot of the teddy bears. Smh I was sobbing. Kudos to the creators they make this show so amazing.
One interesting thing I noticed in this episode was how in the opening scene they are talking about how pigs are undignified because their noses or snouts are the same level as their butts. And then when you see the "dog" walking around, its butt is higher than its face/snout.
Katie Golan cool observation!
I noticed that as well. Also they say dogs took them all out, and at that point in the episode you think they are talking about actual dogs
Yes! I think there's a lot to uncover with this episode. A lot of symbolism.
Eli Shoals especially the bears
Katie Golan it’s a robot dog lol
This episode was a lot better than people are giving it credit for there was setup for the event the conversation about pigs casually mentions “the Dogs dealt with them” it’s subtly setting up the machines the music was amazing it made the entire episode a lot more tense the revel of even more dogs at the end made it feel like humanity is finished and I loved the “twist” with it Turning out that they were just getting a teddy bear for a dying child
Space Penguins no it was ass. Main character was dumb as shit. The dog was the best actor out of them all. I'm kinda mad they gave us hang the dj and then give us sum trash ass shit like dis. Das tuff. Worst episode in all of black mirror tbh
This was my least favorite episode of the season but I I liked that it was filmed in Black and White. I just wish there was more to it. Something was missing for me, maybe I was expecting some sort of twist. It felt like I just started watching a movie when it had already started and I missed the first part of it and this was the second or last act of the movie.
Simon James exactly how I felt. One of the worst episodes I’ve seen from this show but still pretty good compared to other modern tv shows
Simon James it was shot in black n white cuz that's how Dog's see
Rebecca Byam totally agreed with you
It’s called picaresque narrative, it is not about the plot or backstory, it’s about the main character undergoing an adventure to explore the world he/she is living in
Damn this was actually one of my faviroate The creator said that originally they were going to show a guy controlling the dogs. Then when
Most people don’t like this episode because they’re over thinking it. This episode was amazing.
They're overthinking it because they're trying to find meaning. Which I don't blame. The episode was really boring imo
Monique Lola LaShae I loved it tooo
Agreed. The robot was terrifying. Emotionless and the fact it has no face doesn't get tired etc is scary
Can someone explain I still don’t get it
I think the point of the black mirror as a series is to really think deeply into how these fictional realities are or can be a reality in our day to day lives.
Personally, this was one of my favourite episodes. I understand why some people might have not enjoyed the episode or found it lacklustre. I believe one of the main reasons is because (unlike the other BM episodes from this season) the meaning/plot behind this episode was left ambiguous. Those are the best kinds of episodes!
Leave the ending and backstory up to your imagination. I see a lot of people overthinking it and attempting to find some deeper meaning behind it. Stop scratching your heads!
It basically summed up human nature. We feel empathy and emotions, whereas an AI dog doesn't have this ability to feel. The characters knew the dangers and yet they still persevered. The humans were trying to alleviate someone's pain before death, with love. However, the machine's goal was ultimately death. I find that terribly fascinating. We cannot escape our hardwiring. Similarly, the dogs can't escape theirs.
This is why I believe that although AI can be useful in the future, it's also dangerous. If anything, we're the reason for our untimely demise.
Anyways, those are my two cents! Great video btw!
FashionFanatic my problem is it's too ambiguous, it literally answered nothing at all from start to the end, no questions at all we had in the start were answered in the end, no backstory to make it interesting
Milbox R That's actually false. We learned RIGHT at the end that what they were attempting to collect was a new teddy bear. Did you know that in the beginning? No. Plus, we don't know if she lived or died. I mean I suppose it can be inferred that the dogs were out to get her, and she had no backup. You don't need a backstory for everything. Use your imagination lol.
FashionFanatic oh wow one single thing we learned, that didn't answer anything, it just brought up more questions, I like being able to leave things for interpretation but when it's too ambiguous it just feels wrong, there's a fine line of being too ambiguous and too little ambiguous
You could at least admit that your analyzation was off, but you're choosing to be unnecessarily defensive. Technically, I pointed out two things that we learned: Their goal was the teddy bear and their Achilles heel was their humanity. You're just expecting too much. There is simplicity in complexity. I can't help you if you can't comprehend it.
FashionFanatic wait why is my analyzation factually wrong? I'm sorry my opinion is apparently false I'll try to be better next time...
Wow! Why are people bitching about this episode? This is a fucking awesome episode. Not everything in BM has to be mind bending twist after twist. This episode scared the shit out of me because it shows you that every crime in the future will get you killed by these robot dogs. The storytelling is also fantastic with the peppermints coming back around. Please, for the love of God, why do people not like this episode?
Cinema Cola exactly
The reason I didn’t like it was it was mundane. You could tell what was gonna happen every step of the way. Then they didn’t explain any of the story. The whole point of a black mirror episode is the payoff you get. The only thing we got was jack was a kid not an adult and they were going for bears. However, it still was pretty shitty compar d to all of their other episodes. But that’s just me, I’m glad someone liked it.
It was boring trash. People are saying it's scary fuckin hell lol when I saw the stupid robot thing I had to turn it off it just so comical and shitty cgi too
Loved it. Way to close to current technology, if Boston Dynamics delve into military models this kind of dog could happen sooner than later and that's what made the episode so terrifying. How it works just makes sense and that's what made it so different from other "killer robot" movies.
For me it was just missing a "point". BM has in the past conveyed some sort of commentary on society or underlying message where as "Metalhead" didn't seem to have one (or at least it wasn't overt enough that I really saw one). I didn't hate the episode but it's definitly among the weaker ones IMO.
I get why people didn't like this one, but I think it's the most underrated of the season. Whereas Arkangel and Crocodile didn't really utilize their concepts to a satisfying degree imo, Metalhead had a very simple premise and was a great exercise in just giving us this survival horror show. It was very weird and probably one of the more experimental deviations from the show's format, but I thought overall it was very well done and I loved the stark black and white cinematography and sound design, which really made the robots menacing in my eyes
Any deviation from the formula will attract critics. I loved this episode, but I felt it was artier than the others. I love art films, so that was perfect for me, but I think people looking for something more straightforward weren't happy. I say, if they could do such a better job they should go make their own show instead of complaining about this one.
S Scholex dame, I did enjoy crocodile tho. Arkangel is my least favorite from the season
Jonathan Ramirez It wasn't without it's merits - I think it had the best musical score of any episode this season, which was great at building up a sense of tension. It also had great cinematography and I loved the Icelandic environment it took place in. The biggest issue is it never felt, to me, that it didn't take enough risks with the story, so it ended up feeling like a murder mystery with little mystery to it. The element of viewing memories was interesting but didn't seem too thematically tied to the rest of the episode, and basically served as an alternative to boring interview scenes where witnesses share their stories. I would have liked the episode much more if they explored the idea of memory more, even how it can faulty. I like thinking about possibilities like this during episodes and I thought it would have been a great dramatic reveal if Mia had committed all these murders under the false recollection that she was responsible, possibly influenced by her friend over time.
S Scholex yeah I can see that :)
The actresses' monologues over the radio were way too drawn out for a fleeing-for-your-life situation.
I don’t think she’s fleeing for her life as she realized a tracker was in her throat she was going to kill herself since running was no longer an option that monologue was a goodbye
Lady Wanderer she thought shooting it shut it down completely maybe something they hadn’t done before but if she wasn’t familiar with them how would she know to keep it up to drain the battery and know that the shrapnel contained tracking devices that she had tools to cut out why would the first person killed by it instantly panic before it shot shrapnel at him
The whole episode is weak and poorly executed. What happened to earth? Who are the people she's radioing? Who were the two guys she's with at the beginning? Who's controlling the dogs? It's just a really poor episode.
Daniel I think that's kind of the point. This episode doesn't explain a lot, it just drops you in on this mission with Bella and the other two guys and you have to figure it out from there. Finding out what happened to the world/who are controlling the dogs isn't really important as realizing what kind of world they are living in now and what they have to do to survive.
Lyn yes my thoughts exactly
To me, the teddy bears were symbolic and not sign of how dire the situation is.
There is no rational reason risking your life for it, because death is the opposite of a morale boost.
This is why the robots are a threat to begin with.
We are humans not robots. We will do irrational things and learn by failure. That one dude failed with the car code, she nearly fell of the tree, someone made a loud noise in that logistic hall. And she really had a tough time contacting her people. Also she wasted time washing her hands because she touched dead people (morale), something a robot wouldnt care about at all.
Robots will mercilessly pursue their targets no matter the cost. This was shown by the robot not giving up. They are connected like a hive mind.
But they also rely too much on their built in abilities.
The dog mindlessly followed that tracker in the bottle. So she was able to fool the robot with an easy trick.
Also the dog wasn´t able to climb that tree, at first I thought he wouldnt be able to get over that wall because of the same reason, but it just hacked the gate.
This also shows somewhat that houses and technology wont protect us, but nature or simple things might.
Additionally I think the reason why they showed this episode in black & white is exactly because of how robots work. The only know 0 or 1. Do or don´t. There is no in between. This is what makes them dangerous.
In the end she nearly defeated it, by being creative with the paint and an outdated shotgun. But she still failed the mission because even if the dog is gone, she is marked and cant go back, which is a deathsentence to most humans.
NigmaTerra Cool analysis. I was confused as to why they would risk their lives just for a teddy bear. But it makes more sense if it is to show the extreme contrast between emotional & irrational humans and completely logical robots. I liked the concept of this episode, even if it was a bit boring. This is a "robots gone wrong" story on the surface, but it mainly serves as an extreme reminder that AI can do everything better than humans except love. That human (emotional) connection trumps ~maximally efficient AI systems.
I did not enjoy this episode very much, but I appreciate it so much more after reading your analysis. I guess I had trouble just... Putting it all together because the style was enough to lose my attention. Thank you for posting this!
Beautiful analysis!! This is exactly why this episode was my favourite from season 4.
I really like the killer robot dogs. They are kinda cute, especially when they are trying to stab you with a kitchen knife....
Empty Slot A weapon to surpass metal gear.
I was rooting for the robot dog lol
Nobody noticed the San Junipero post card when she was looking for the keys?
Lady Wanderer no it doesn’t. It could be like an advertisement for San Junipero.
Yeah, I was suprised this was mentioned in the video.
Lady Wanderer I don’t really know but that does not mean this is a simulation. I mean don’t get me wrong, you could be right but there could be another explanation for this.
Lady Wanderer like what if whoever lived in the house went to the US and got that and brought it back for some reason or what if the episode doesn’t really take place in the UK. I didn’t really see any evidence in the episode that shows where the location is. If there is proof tho I’d appreciate it if you told me other than the characters accents because that doesn’t really mean anything. They could have just traveled somewhere else. There could have been dialogue I missed that proved where the story takes place but I must have missed it.
Lady Wanderer If the dogs were just an extension of “men against fire”, set out to cleanse the human race, an American would not be a target and would need to sit there and watch all his friends get killed by these dogs, resulting in??? Suicide
Are people that keep saying this is the weakest episode just upset that it broke format in that there is no "twist"? That's not the point in this episode.
Lola Rella the episode sucks not because there was no twist, but because there was no point. We have no idea what the dogs are or where they came from. We have no idea why the main characters are after the bears. And we don't know anything about the world. It's literally just an hour long chase scene
Lola Rella weakest episode is Hated in the Nation
This was ok but kind of explained nothing
Aj graves hated in the nation is pretty strong minus its slow pace. It shows that the hate you put into the world will not only affect others, but come back at you to sting you. And that the internet is a hivemind (ha, get it) where everyone thinks theyre safe to say whatever they want. If it was just in someone else's perspective and not a random detective, it wouldve been a lot more effective in delivering the message, though.
yyflame When shes talking on the walkie she mentions she was trying to replace something. Which we find out is the teddy bear for im assuming is her child or someone she is looking after. And I dont remember which ep it is but on a news ticker it says “the US military has introduced robotic dogs” so metalhead is essentially towards the end of the black mirror universe timeline
The way the robot dog sees reminded me of how Toph sees or when she metal bends.
thisssss
WHITE BEARS
Muyanzi Reid yellow bears officially.
Holy shit you're right
No Talking, Keep Your Distance, SKYNET IS THE MATRIX
This is the fictional future of Amazon drone and the Boston Dynamics(Google)
Yeah when I first saw Boston Dynamics 4 legged dog thing it freaked me out, still does.
I ARKANGEL AGREE
:)
I thought they were just like the Boston Dynamic dogs too!! It freaks me out! Maybe that was the director’s inspiration
I don't think the dogs were designed to be like a "guard dog", they have in their core system to kill, and invade wich we see it doing multiple times, not to defend, i understood it more like a robot created for war, and i think it is a more likely subject that black mirror would tackle on
They are based off of the "Robot Dogs" that Boston Dynamics has already created for military purposes for the US Military Forces. This is definitely a reference to what could happen if they were perfected as actual military-grade mobile weapons instead of the "helping hands" they more or less are now (they can carry things, different models can actually pick things up and move them, that sort of stuff).
Sark Aztik or perhaps they were creating heaven on earth. When AI is advanced enough, they will without a doubt realize the cancer that humanity. In fact, the AI probably won't even look further than RUclips comments section to make their final decision to eliminate humanity.
What if the teddy bear isn't for comfort of the dying child, but for a container of his consciousness, which we only get to understand in Black Museum?
Interesting,
We also get to know in black museum that a human contained like that should be able to have at least five emotions and putting the consciousness in the Teddy was illegal. This episode is different from other episodes because they showed empathy in a human and the love they have instead of misusing technology.
littlemisspiggy - hello there. illegal yes. What if this episode is set way in the future of Black Mirror when people realized some technology was bad and banned it, criminalized their use, collected them, and secured them in warehouses like the one in this episode? They'd need something to guard it with relentless tenacity -- hence the metalhead doggy thingy.
At least that's how (in my head) it explains why an otherwise cheap teddy bear is guarded with expensive lethal technology.
LadyWanderer... I like that too. That's even darker!
I loved this episode and I felt the actress' emotion the whole way. Its easy for me to empathize I'm simply an emotional thinker and person and that episode was intense all the way until she's picking the remaining trackers on her face and sees one in her throat she knows she has to end it. ALSO people please be kind to one another we are all HUMAN beings so let's not insult people for liking something after all we aren't vicious machines that are programmed to be inflexible. Funny how Black Mirror criticizes the human experience involving technology when people are quite literally insulting each other over liking this episode or not. Please keep it civil.
I felt that the AI in this episode was a future mutation on the ADI bees from "Hated in the nation"
Alizabeth I kind of thought monkey lady went insane and somehow ended up running the dogs. Monkey needs a hug...
Look up Boston Dynamic SpotMini on RUclips; which is funded by DARPA that works under a military contract. Then this episode will get more real to you.
Alizabeth The USS Callister is to blame for this, mark my words. What happens when you cant die and you know your going to live forever in a digital world for eternity. They found a way to the real worls but not like before, they became jealous of people in the real world and decided to eliminate human life permanently just as human life damned them to an eternal hell from which there is no escape.
+Guts 505 Technically their world is better then ours. Not only did they regain their genitals. They are all coders who are now in an expanded universe with unlimited opportunities. Compared to the mundane lives they had in the outside world. They achieved what most people couldn't which is immortality. As they can live out their lives with several million if not billion people in that new open universe. Basically their lives are a lot more richer now. Given from what we can tell. They can now have sex again but always had the sense of smell, taste, and vision. If anything their new life is a blessing. Plus as time passes by because they are stuck in that world. They'll eventually be able to make cybernetic replicas of their real bodies in the outside world after enough time passes. Given they showed that clearly can make contact with the outside world through the game. They have more then enough time in that world to find someone capable of doing so; while disclosing and providing their personal builds to that person.
I feel they utilized the black and white filming to get across real gore such as the decaying body and the gunshots to the head they might not be able to do with colour as it would be too graphic...
Wtf? No its not bruh
@@imovedtoanotherplaceuwu9355 lol k...
yea as seen in human centipede 2 - made it alot more bearable to watch
I think this season will really have some split favorites among the fans. I watched all 6 today and liked them all, however Metalhead was my favorite. The ad pic and the tag line “We found a dog at the warehouse” had me skipping episode 4 to get to it. This is a classic, could be developed into a 2 hr movie.
God, yes!! This could become a whole new series. Lol. Honestly, the best episode. This one shook me down.
This is the worst episode in the entire series I felt like it was made by a shitty film student we need serious episodes not this Syfy movie trash
I’ve only seen the first five episodes but this is the worst in my opinion.
Charlie Brooker stated that there was originally supposed to be a person seen controlling the dog from a different location. The scene where it has to recharge was meant to be the operator going away to give his own kid a bath.
Ace777 that would have added so much to the story! Why would they cut that?!
That could have made this the best episode in the series. But instead its this crap
Akil E. ...what would it have implied
It wasn't bad. It would be make more sense. The way they edited it implied the robots were autonomous. In order for a robot to be autonomous like humans. It will need all the sensors that emulate all 5 senses, a complicated and inexhaustible algorithm and programmed to protect that storage room with a mission to kill the trespassers not just stop them which makes the owner of that place a little nuts. It looks like the owner died. I'm not sure why they would have a box of teddy bears in that storage room. Of course for that woman to get one for her kid or something... but why the owner would have them there and programmed the robot dogs red for any trespassers. A little more back stor would have been good. Nonetheless, I've enjoyed it myself.
this episode was just nothingness to me, it has no point . But they should have kept that part in, would have made it worth the 40 minutes
This was my least liked episode of the season but I loved the music and cinematography
Charlie pollock The music and cinematography is the only thing likable in this episode i guess. Only my opinion tho
I'm Jack , yes I agree
Completely agree
Wow you people are really damn shallow.
Brallan Dublan You're calling them shallow ... based on what? I'm sure you have great reasons for doing so, with your obviously superior intellect
this episode doesn't feels like "Black Mirror" episode to me, which why I think this is actually a sci-fi movie entertainment in Black Mirror world, like that militaristic clean house episode in season 3.
black mirror shows scary tech in the near future. google boston dynamics. we basically already have these dogs up and running. they just need AI to kill us all..
kenneth schaijk lol how is this not a black mirror episode FREAKING TECHNO DOGS
everybody's a fucking critic hahhaha. black mirror delivers another awesome season
It was a great season. USS Callister was absolutely brilliant. This episode was a letdown though. I know a lot of people enjoyed it but I watch Black Mirror for the mindfucks. Metalhead did not deliver.
this season is definitely my least favorite.
I thought of like The Walking Dead but with tech monsters.
For some reason when I think about this episode
I see it as colored
I see the beginning part as black and white
But I think that’s because it stood out to me in the beginning
After that i got used to it
And for some reason i can’t see the episode as black and white in my mind
Anyone knows why my mind is doing this if its a common thing or whatever
you are probably in a computer simulation and you are just a bunch of code based on the real Jaded Jv's DNA...sorry
For the Love of Film aw dammit that’s a bummer
Too bad i guess
Jaded Jv My guess is that, since you don’t see life in black and white, your brain just fills in the colors for you. You’re probably right that since the beginning was impressionable it stays black and white in your memory. I know it’s a whole psychology thing that you remember the first and last things on a list so maybe that ties in. But idk if that’s actually correct.
I think the weakest episode was episode 3 Crocodile. That was boring af, only thing i liked was the twist at the end.
the twist felt like a crazy coincidence and gimmick, I think that episode could've done a million different things based on the fallibility of human memory but it barely touched on that.
Ay Ski Mask is 🔥
For the Love of Film Archangel was pretty weak
I agree completely.
Is it bad that it was my second favorite in season 4? I mean it was just so dark and different it reminded me of White Bear
The bears were also technically yellow but only appeared white.
What's the significance of yellow vs white?
Lyn The point is that there is none. It’s not a reference to White Bear and has no deeper meaning besides the scavengers dying for a simple act of trying to help a sick child.
Well the bear in Black Museum was yellow...
I felt this episode was made to give you a break from all the psychological thrills/suspense and horror the show usually supplies us with and took there shot of a more physical thriller/horror/suspense which visually did a great job, but poor payout on the ending, I honestly think if the episode was based on her stuck in the tree and trying to figure out how to outsmart the dog while the dog is trying get up or take down the tree would of made a better plot for this episode, like a black mirror version of "the grey"
Juicyest Prime I agree with the other guy. That ending is something we’ve seen before whereas the actual one where she has too many trackers to remove is new and dire. It helps develop the dogs features and gives a heroic end to the woman instead of a hopeless one
No its not, this is because of the USS Calister. Intelligent conciousness's that believe they are human which cannot escape back to the real world, escapes to an open game network connected to the internet. If they cant physically die either than whats stopping them from accessing military and defense networks.
How did you feel about the ending of "Thelma and Louise"?
I actually didn't see this movie until 6 years ago but I Remeber loving the ending. Someone told me it was based off a true story. but yea I like it cuz I love the idea of real freedom. living the life you want to live and dying by your own means seems really pleasant. now that's my own bias view on the ending but a for a movie of its time I also think it was quite impressive and beautiful way to end kinda reminds me of the ending of Romeo and Juliet, If you gonna die to do it with the one you love I guess. plus if its a true story idk how else would they end it.
Jon just how this episode is already
I actually enjoyed this most out of all the episodes. It's really very creative, different, and Maxine Peake really is one the best actors around. I found the other episodes to be quite underwhelming, overwritten pastchiches of ideas already covered in earlier seasons.
elaborate on the term "overwritten" please
Loved the straightforwardness of this episode. Snapshot of a post apocalyptic world where someone forgot to switch off the guard dogs
Bullshit. Crocodile and black museum was way better. This one was action packed which made it great Still. But no...
Couldn't have said it better myself.
I totally agree
I didn’t understand anything about this episode, someone could explain me ?
It's an isolated tale about machines designed presumably for human security turning on their creators. Humanity has dwindled, and our protagonist, Bella, (along with her friends, Tony and Clarke,) go on a mission to retrieve a replacement teddy bear for Jack, a child who is dying of a disease, and only has a few days to live. The point here is that humanity would go to great lengths to ease the suffering of others. Bella & co. unwittingly awaken a guard dog at the warehouse while trying to track down the teddy bear, and it kills off Tony & Clarke, and proceeds to spend the rest of the episode hunting Bella down. Bella's sister, Ali, and her lover, Graham, are waiting for her to return to the human sanctuary, but after defeating the guard dog, she triggers its fail-safe where it shoots shrapnel that contains location trackers to clue in other the guard dogs to where she is. After realizing she couldn't remove the trackers from her body fast enough, she relays to her sister and lover that she will not be able to make it to the sanctuary, as the guard dogs will have gotten to her soon enough.
thewhatness thank you so much 😊
thewhatness nice explanation. The only thing that I would change is that she realized that she had a tracker in her jugular, which if tried to remove it, she would die.
ty man
Toy Fan Agreed. Also don't agree that she gave up per se, because she couldn't remove them fast enough - I believe it was because one of the trackers lodged into her neck. If she would have removed it, she likely would have bleed to death; hence, her giving up.
1) Hang the DJ
2) USS callister
3) Black Museum
4) crocodile
5) arkangel
6) metalhead
In my opinion
Joe Friend I would just exchange number 1 and 6 🤔😅 in my opinion...
Joe Friend imo I would switch uss callister with black museum, I thought black museum was brilliant. Uss callister was also great.
Who fucking kills a baby?
For me it's
1) USS Callister
2) Black Museum
3) Crocodile
4) Arkangel
5) Metalhead
6) Hang the DJ
I would have put Hang the DJ second but Amy is too arrogant for my liking. In fact, quite a few of the actresses in season 4 have an element of trying too hard to prove their respective point(s). That's what put metalhead above Hang the DJ for me. Bella's is a far more organic character than Amy.
kudos for not being dead inside and liking Hang the DJ. to me it was just 'meh, another stupid love story, is it any different form twilight?'
Does anyone think maybe the teddy bear was going to used for a consciousness transfer like in Black Museum? The number was pretty specific...
But this episode was a commentary on modern technology
particularly a commentary on Boston Dynamics and the desire to create robot soldiers.
They are a robotics company that have worked with the US Military and are coming very close to creating a robot just like the one seen in this episode. Metalhead clearly is making a reference to the robots they have built in the way how the robot is designed. in fact they look so much alike that they pretty much plagiarized them.
the episode is trying to give us a glimpse into what could go wrong if you replace human Soldiers with machines. Humans can understand complex morality, emotion and ethics, which a machine cannot. A machine can only see things in "black and white", which is one of the two reasons why this episode was filmed this way. the black and white filming Style Symbolizing the machines inability to see complex Nuance that a human soldier would have been able to see. The ability to tell the difference between civilian and enemy, friend or foe, when to use Force or withhold it, and able to make proper judgment on what action is appropriate for any individual situation. Instead the machine just sees an enemy then think attack and kill, just as it was programmed to do so. To make this more clear at the start of the episode we see the human characters sneaking into a building and trying to steal something. At first we are led to believe that maybe this is some kind of weapon they can use against the machines, but instead it turns out to be a box full of teddy bears that are female protagonist wants to give to her dying child. Not not a weapon or anyting to use in Warfare. This is something that a robot solder would not be able to understand. these people were technically breaking the rules by stealing the toys but are still harmless to the robot but Westville program to see stealing as an act of hostility, making them an enemy and it's mind. it still follows its own programming to kill anything it's coding has taught it to be an enemy regardless of the context of the situation, so a parent trying to give a toy to their dying child becomes on par with a terrorist in its head. since all humanity is flawed it's safe to say that this robot military eventually turned against all of humanity under this extreme black and white thinking, which is why you don't see anyone else in this world. On the plus side for the robot but another downside for Humanity, being a machine still make it tougher to take down than a human's soldier. It never gets tired, is unable to feel pain, moves and will never stop following you. so you're being chased by a thing that you can't escaped from or fight back against and has no moral conscience. It only has one goal: to kill you.
Sounds just like a monster in horror slasher movie, right?
Well you would be right. That's the second reason why this episode is filmed in black and white and used music that very reminiscence of a horror movie. the robot even grabs hold of a butcher knife much like the killer from Psycho or Halloween. An attempt to deliberately link the robot to Hollywood monsters and Psychopaths.
The episode is trying shows you the end results of a world that replaces human soldiers/cops with robots like the ones Boston Dynamics is trying to create by filming it like a classic horror movie In the same spirit as Psycho or Frankenstein. Suggesting that Boston Dynamics is creating what will be a new monster that Humanity will soon have to deal with.
I know this gets into the whole robot apocalypse cliche that you find in sci-fi a lot, but it is a real concern among some of the great scientific minds of today like Elon Musk, who has voiced his concerns about making AI to advance. If we start to make machines that are too advanced but are incapable of showing any Humanity we can find ourselves dealing with something truly terrifying. These are approaching questions that are simply too big for a show like Black Mirror to ignore. Can we make robot soldiers that are able to understand something like the difference between an enemy combatant and a mom just trying to give her dying kid a teddy bear? or are we creating our own Frankenstein that is destined to turn on us and become just like a monster from a slasher film?
Before she notices the tracker at her jugular vein, the angle and the mirror makes her head look separate to her body, hinting at the fact she's going to behead herself.
Both in Crocodile and Metalhead there were peppermints, like you mentioned and also the car wouldn't start for both the characters which ultimately lead to their death (although in metalhead she probably would of died anyways).
I absolutely loved this episode!! I can't believe people think this is the weakest in the whole of season 4. I personally think arkangel was my least favourite (although it was still pretty good).
Arkangel was hard to watch, because the mother character was so painfully daft. The peppermints represent buffering time. Humans are serving their desire for empty pleasures and cheap thrills while the A.I. is gradually booting up to conquer the world. When we run out of peppermints, the buffering is complete. Game over, man!
Thinkb4utype ah yeah! Never thought of it like that before
I think the reference for the bears was a setup for episode 6, where they discuss uploading the conscious of a person into a stuffed animal. That's why the dog was guarding the box and why they needed so many bears.
there was a san junipero reference on a postcard thing in the house
alex g where you saw it, please let me know
alex g can u give a time stamp if it’s in the video please?
Ron Burrell Jr in the episode, its around the 25:13 mark
Yep, I was going to point it out, but you already did. gg, alex g
I
I kept thinking it can be: 1) some sort of gaming reality 2) a real life quest using technology (also gaming sort of) 3) something similat to "The white bear" where these people are actually in a prison and are sentenced to trying to get away from those creaures 4) some weird society where it's an entertainment (or something else) to hunt people based on whatever reason (maybe like in "men against fire") 5) Brooker did that episode kind of unfinished on purpose to make a sequel in the next season to explain what is actually going on
If it's just good old "robots are gonna get us" it's kinda boring...
After watching the last episode of the season black museum, I thought that the teddy bears in this episode might have digital copies of consciousness from people, but idk
Anastásia S The episode wasn’t really about the robots it was about the main character and her journey.
Agree, and it's interesting from the artistic point, with all the references to older horror movies but you cannot not wonder what reality of the episode is. Plus it's basically the only episode in all seasons where they don't reveal it, I wasn't sure while watching whether they are going to keep it concealed or tell us. So your brain is still looking for an answer almost automatically.
I thought the music was more like something hitchcock would use
I liked the unique-ness of the episode format and loved that it was in B&W- however, it did NOT feel like Black Mirror at all. Something was missing- no twists, no real MESSAGE.
Dystopian Amazon
Kylie Blair The main character was the focus
I don’t think they pointed out that is was black and white in the video, it was killing me
are you sure they were not trying to use the teddy bears as an escape to upload their conciousness into, to get away from the dogs forever.
Christian Montague I like this theory the most
Christian Montague like there are consciousness transferring devices in Metalhead.
MoldyPizzaRoll metalhead supposedly is way after all the other episodes so why wouldnt there be? Its black mirror.
Lady Wanderer thats also possible, yeah, but with the possibility that it isnt, a consciousness transfer would exist
Lady Wanderer Theyre more sentimental value if anything, showing that humans are more emotional than AI like the dogs will ever be, willing to risk their lives all for a teddy bear.
Maybe those teddy bears at the end had people's essence transferred into 'em like Black Museum?
Anyone else notice the Shining soundtrack
Yeah I noticed it in Crocodile as well. Suited so well
So I have a thought about this episode and its so little weird but hear me out. I found that Metalhead shared a lot of themes with the movie Schindlers List, not only because of the colour choice (although i'll admit that's what got me thinking) but because of the human themes involved. In Schindlers List, we see a man who ends up opening his eyes to the horror around him after it's too late to use his influence to stop what was happening, and gives up everything he has to save the Jews from genocide. In Metalhead, we see a woman who lives in a post apocalyptic world destroyed by human ignorance and apathy risking everything to bring comfort to a dying child. Though both films are objectively different, the message about human nature is strikingly similar; Even when we as the human race fail, individualy, people are selfless and good. In the hopeless environment displayed in these two films, and in particular through the parallelism between the arguably grim symbols of the little Jewish girl's red jacket in Schindlers List and the white teddy bears in Metalhead, we're being told that no matter how often we almost destroy ourselves, we're never beyond repair because the same compulsion to make things better for the ones we care about can not only harm (as black mirror proves time and time again through near future technology meant to help us going wrong, most of the time with deadly concequences) but can motivate us to do what we can to love those around us. Honestly, while many view this episode as weaker than others and generally bleak, I think it's one of the more hopeful episodes in the series. It veers from the usual Book of Revalations Black Mirror message of "we are all objectively terrible people, we're building our own electric chairs and we don't even know it" and presents a story about a character who puts her life on the line to comfort a dying child with nothing to gain and everything to lose.
Ok Bella definitely killed herself at the end right?
Larsen Birdsong yeah and even if she didn’t the other dogs would have definitely killed her
she did or she did not. It doesn't matter. Not all story threads need to be concluded. Ambiguity is what makes stories interesting.
For me this is one of the best of all seasons. Worldbuilding at it's finest, feeding off of mystery, forcing the audience to ask questions about the world, what happened, letting the imagination blow up with possibilities. It's just interesting to observe the world, investigate the scenery and connect the dots left in dialogues in order to understand what's going on. A feast for a conscious spectator. Imagine you knew from the beginning that the enemy is beyond lethal and relentless. Suspense is the key in this episode. Crocodile is quite the opposite - predictable and hard to believe for me, because of how little we know about what actually goes on in Mia's head. The lack of exposure in Crocodile is a design flaw, in Metalhead it's a conscious choice. But you have the right to just not like it, of course.
Anyone else catch twilight zone vibes?
Matheus Barbosa definitely. The black and white really zoomed that in for me too.
Marja Israel exactly. Plus the lack of dialog and the tense music
Marja Israel in the beginning I thought I wasn't going to like it also haha. Ended up liking it by the end
It's most like the episode The Invaders from the Twilight Zone.
californiahummus is that the one with the lady in the strange house?
What about Kujo??? U forgot about that
Exactly
Not my favourite episode but i like that they did this episode. You can see Charlie & Annabel have really experimented with different genres this season, like sci-fi, noir thriller, horror, romance, etc.
Not everything is gonna be a hit but I hope they keep experimenting cause tbh, thats the only way they will be able to churn out so many episodes for Netflix so quickly.
7 episodes from 2011 to 2014 (including the special) and then 12 in 2 years for Netflix, you obviously will have to keep trying new things and maybe the quality wont be as good as the earlier ones but production wise it surely has improved.
I liked this episode a lot. I loved the way it was shot. I liked the suspense and thrill in it. I think ppl do not like it because the plot has been done a million times over with a lot of zombie apocalypse movies. It missing the Black Mirror plot twist but it is very enjoyable. The plot has been done repeatedly but it has not been executed so nicely.
The lady disables the sensors in the robot by throwing paint on it?
I thought the robot was doings its job - guarding - not that anything had gone wrong with it's A.I. It's A.I. lacked any moral greyness: guard the products, prevent it happening again. I liked how stripped-down it was too. The socio-psychological thrillers are great, but not all episodes need it. This episode is about purely visceral technology. It's about the physical survival of human vs. robot. It didn't need anything extra.
The San junipero postcard
Black Mirror episodes have predominantly been about a technological device that while built as an accessory to everyday life, ends up leading to variety of dire consequences for the characters in question. While traditional episodes explore every aspect of introduced technology(the good, followed by the bad), Metalhead skips past the introductory phase and gets right to the matter at hand. In my opinion, Black Mirror can tend to get a tad too preachy in a few of its episodes, with too little subtlety in its social comentary. Metalhead stays away from traditional Black Mirror and provides a tightly written, thrilling audio-visual feast that immediately sets itself apart.
Also, now 4 seasons into this show, narratives and technologies introduced have begun to overlap each other and pursue mostly the same social commentary that has come with preceding seasons. With the novelty of the Black Mirror concept fading away I think it is essential that from time to time, specific genre episodes like this one, that trade exposition and gratuitous plot twists for taut, more tangential world building sequences within a chapter in a person's life can truly provide the occasional shot in the arm that philosophical sci-fi like Black mirror may need.
The narrative structure in addition to the B/W visual aesthetic and the refreshingly un-Black Mirror like score and sound design make Metalhead one of the best episodes of the season. Black Museum comes a close second thanks to its phenomenal lead performances and plot density.
For me a lot of the music and editing reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock movies
This ep fucked with my anxiety badly!
Crocodile is worse than this, this was effective for what it was.
X'O Host Right? So many people are praising Crocodile. But it made me mad! Fucking guinea pig memories...
Yeah crocodile was such a let down
Right? It bothered me how the lady who collected memories throughout the episode didn't even attempt to fight back lol in a real world scenario fight or flight mode would of kicked in and she stood a fair chance to defend herself. Also, the possibility of the woman slamming that big guy to the ground with ease and he couldn't get her off him when he also had ample time to react. All in all I was glad she got caught in the end.
Rumer Priestly they were trying to add in a curve ball but it made no sense considering the concept worked only through asking questions and getting the subject to specifically "think" about what was asked.
Im Poppy agree with you 100%
wait just curious, I dont remember a peppermint in Crocodile. Can someone explain what does it have anything to do in crocodile?
My Rating:
1. Metalhead
2. Black Museum
3. Crocodile
4. Hang the DJ
5. USS Callister
6. Arkangel
Very dope list
Mine's
Hang the DJ
Metalhead
Black Museum
Crocodile
USS Callister
Arcangel
I really like how everyone rate the episodes differently.
No mention of the San Junipero postcard in the entrance hall of the house? About 25:10 in to the episode
Nail biting episode! Loved it. Definitely an episode that leaves you thinking about it after it ends. Sorry though, I know it's done for style reasons and effect, but the black and white color was really distracting for me. In a series that is full of color, the b&w just took me out of black mirror, but I get it. (Some of the slowmo shots were striking with the lighting and b&w)
Justin Ross we figured the reason its b&w. Because dogs' eyesight are b&w? Or maybe its just too graphic.
Raf Melgarejo interesting, they see a little bit of color apparently, but I could see that as a reason. I think the bw worked well with the slow mo
Nerds annoying eachother with they're separate opinions 4:00 to 6:00 observe the dialogue and eachothers reactions to them
Didn't you think it was similar to mad Max, cus I did
Ford smith not really there's no future tech In mad max
David Salganicoff , yeah I guess your right.
I totally did! They made us care about the character thru actions, not just backstory by way of exposition. They show us why we should sympathize with her over the action scenes instead of just telling us!
Does anyone know the name of the music that plays at the end? The violin is beautiful.
Why would three people out of a group go out and risk their lives to get a box of stuffed bears?
Why does children decides to leave their houses and work in factories in poor countries? The answer to this will respond your question.
Her sister’s son was dying and lost his bear at some point they were fulfilling a dying boys wish
thank you, Gerard
Not Sure because that’s humanity
I thought the bear was like a prototype of last bear where the dying boy could put his subconscious there but not sure
The music in this episode was Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima by Krzysztof Penderecki. Also used in The People Under the Stairs and Season 3 of Twin Peaks, but not The Shining.
Although it's my least favorite episode, it actually has the greatest potential to be a great series, in the spirit of The Walking Dead.
Somebody should definitely pick this story up to develop a series. It has a lot of room for story development.
You missed another eater egg when she enters the house. As she opens the drawer to look for the car keys there is a card that reads "San junipero". Possibly indicating it's in the same universe as the San Junipero episode but in the future, or past.
Weakest episode?
I thought it was the best of the season.
azdgariarada ouch
How about the Hunger Games reference? That scene where she climbs the tree trying to flee from a killing machine immediately reminded me of Katniss in the first Hunger Games.
The backpack, the wound at exactly the same spot (upper leg) causing the limping, the way the whole scene was shot, the tree being a safe spot to wait it out.... All of that was EXACTLY like in the Hunger Games!
Arkangel is the weakest episode of the season
Crocodile's pretty weak too
I agree
how?!!!?
MrPandaBear321 a predictable plot with no twists that followed the boring drama of an average family experiencing situations thatd happen even without the arkangel device. Underage sex and drugs? Not uncommon.
Quinton Wilde No no no no
When the dog got the knife I freaking DIIEEDDDD! Lmfaoo
Was it just me or did anyone else REALLY like this one? And the main woman looks like younger Jessica Lange
the fact that they trolled us on the car monitor was so perfect to me lol “WHY DID YOU BOTHER PAUSING THIS YOU FREAK”
Metalhead was my favorite of this season
Heads up... You missed the Easter Egg to San Juipero with the Postcard from San Junipero time code roughly 25:13 just after she first gets into the posh house trying to find the Land Rover keys it’s on top of the desk.
My top 6:
6- Arkangel
5- Crocodile
4- Hang The DJ
3- Metalhead
2- Black Museum
1- USS Callister
Park Productions Wait is it from worst to best or best to worst
The1dBumblebee i think its from worst to best
Screw Google Correct
If its from best to worst,then im sorry but you have so screwed taste.
uddeshya gupta 6 is worst, 1 is best
You guys missed the San Junipero reference. When she was initially shuffling through the drawers, there was a pamphlet that advertised San Junipero.
It was at the mark where there is 15:50 left in the episode.
My least favorite this season.
Likewise. The lack of plot, backstory and character development made it hard for me to really take this one in.
I really hated episode 2 just because of how much it felt like a cheesy teen drama
Same! I was waiting for them to give a bit more detail as to what was going on, but it never came. Felt disappointing.
Jake Johnson I second that. Despite the lack of back story in metalhead I found episode two to be rather annoying and the characters didn't draw you in at all. By the end of the episode I felt no emotion whatsoever.
Really? When the ending was revealed, I proceeded to sob uncontrollably for minutes on end. Great directing made this episode perfect for me. It felt like it was very inspired by No Country For Old Men.
I just gotta say those dog things really creeped me the fuck out.
I don't think they're meant to be interpreted as "advanced guard dogs". Instead, a comment on our current day AI. It's a depiction of what can (and will) happen if (and when) the military moves onto AI defense. The model is eerily similar to our 'Boston Dynamics Robot'.
As for the B&W, amazing choice. It's used in film a lot as a metaphor on "seeing in black and white". Webster dictionary defines the term, "involving a simple choice between things that are clearly opposite and especially between good and bad or right and wrong". AI and Human are polar opposites. The episode expresses that by having her character kill herself. She died by choice, something robots could never do.
What did it see at 3:04? Her blood? Is that how it tracked her?
Why didn't she destroy the dog when it ran out of battery in the forest? I think She should have just hit it with a stone and destroy it before it recharged!
Shrikar Parashar Your able to reason because your in comfort, this lady probably didn’t know how long she had and she was running for her life. You are correct though.
how much force would you need to smash it though?.. I mean it took 2 direct shotgun blast in the head?.. it would take quite a few stone smashes don't you think, even if you found a stone big enough to do the job. I don't think i' d risk it waking up and not being in a safer place.
Why didn't she just pull out a ball and throw it. Dogs will be dogs. I personally would've hugged it the entire time so that when it wakes up would realize I actually have nothing against bots and that I'm sorry the rest of mankind drove the robo dogs to genociding humans. Then I'd become robo dog King and order all the dogs to keep doing what they doing, they're just so adorable when they're exploding people's heads.
The soundtrack is Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima by Penderecki. It’s been in more than one film than The Shining. In fact, only this year, it was used incredibly prominently in another black and white sequence from an episode of Twin Peaks: The
Return, which I have no doubt was an influence for this episode.
You missed the San junipero Easter egg
Did it reveal how the doggy trapped them in the warehouse? How did it know to wait by the teddies
I think it was the best episode of the season.
Tv fans confuse me. People are comparing that this episode doesn’t fit the typical black mirror structure. Yet if every episode did, people would complain that all the episodes have a repetitive structure. Make up your damn mind.
My theory of Metalhead.
I think the White teddy bears are a callback to the White Bear episode.....The girl in White Bear and us the audience thought she was the hero too but she turned out to be a criminal... Maybe the real reason the robot Dog was hunting her so much was because she was actually a criminal, like the Hunter in White Bear...Why else would they make the bears in the box White and have the White bears be the last scene of the episode.
Muyanzi Reid It's interesting you say that because the actress who plays the lead in Metalhead, Maxine Peake played the child killer Myra Hindley in a drama about the The Moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady and their crimes in the sixties .And White Bear was partially based on The Moors Murderers and how they tortured their young victims and recorded it .It's also interesting that the landscape used in Metalhead looks very much like the landscape of the Yorkshire Moors .I'm not saying that there's a direct correlation between my observations and the episode used intentionally by the creators of Black Mirror but I do think it's an interesting observation.
The bears were supposed to be the plot twist that what the dying person that needed a replacement was a child and the replacement was a toy
Gerard Lacey so the toys were used to upload the child's consciousness?
sarah lilith a replacement for the toy bear the child lost I think it was showing how they all ended up dying over what her partners thought at the beginning was pointless since the person was dying and we were supposed to be less to think it’s medical equipment but instead it’s more sentimental as it’s a toy for a kid
Gerard Lacey That's not a plot twist... The main character and the 2 guys were talking about getting the toy for the kid before they arrived at the warehouse.
This episode was beautifully directed. Every shot was terrifying. Every close-up was intense. The scene in the building with the robo-knife was incredible!!
IMH, that episode was the least interesting...
Maureen Njanga I completely disagree I was in tears at the end. You experience her struggle throughout the whole episode and she loses everyone until she realizes she must die also. It just MESSED me up. I loved/hated it bc of the emotional rollercoaster I felt
These dogs already exist. Prototypes.
Ryan Leaf it wasn’t terrible at all but it wasn’t the best
Maureen Njanga Why do you people need a stupid twist to keep you satisfied
Jonathan B. I don't need a twist to be satisfied. I just didn't like this episode as much as the others. You don't have to be condescending just because someone has different opinion than you 😒
This episode also looked really similar to The Twilight Zone episode where there's a man who jumps off the bridge and goes into a river. The scene where the man is jumping looks exactly like the bridge and river at 8:52
Edit: The episode from TTZ is called An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, S5E22
i just finished watching the episode. I feel like this episode, comparing to the other ones, didn't really have a moral. But maybe i didn't fully understand...
SingingPixels getting of her comfort zone to get her kid a Christmas gift in a death zone?
Its the scary possibility of automated warfare. What if somebody sends in a robot army to kill every human being in an enemy country for as long as it can. And what if the robots cant be turned off because whoever knew how to deactivate them died after America nuked them or something. So the robots just keep killing forever.
Theres actually a lot of very smart people in the real world including Stephen Hawking who signed a petition asking the world not to make military A.I because of stuff like this...
Once it shut down when she climbed down the tree she could have covered it with her coat so it couldn't recharge. Also once she covered it with paint in the house she could have left the area and it would not have been able to track her but she stuck around to trap it. Other than those two loopholes and risking their lives to get a Teddy bear I loved the episode and rewatched it quite a few times.