In this episode, a teenager finds himself at the mercy of a mysterious hacker after the hacker obtains compromising video footage of the teen engaged in, well, some solo sexual activity, let’s say. The shy, withdrawn teenager is pushed to the edge as the hacker forces him to engage in increasingly dangerous activities in order to keep his secret. This episode really functions as a compelling thriller. Alex Lawther gives a really great performance as the tormented teenager. Jerome Flynn is, in my opinion, even better as a married man pulled into the game because of the hacker’s knowledge of his extramarital affairs. The episode’s plot is compelling and engaging, though it doesn’t exactly lead much of anywhere; but the journey is the point and director James Watkins gives everything a gritty, pulse-pounding sense of danger around every corner.
I’d like to briefly discuss the ending, so spoilers ahoy. A lot of people talk about the episode’s twist and I have to admit I’m not entirely sure what element of the ending they mean because there are two elements that they could possibly be referring to, but also I have to say I found both of them rather predictable. The first is the fact that the hacker releases all of the info on everyone anyway; I don’t know why anyone would be surprised by this – I don’t know why the characters are seemingly surprised by this. I also don’t know why the episode chooses to use the trollface meme in the ending; it undercuts the darkness of the ending and, ironically, makes the episode, only three years after release, already feel dated. The second twist is that the teenager’s secret isn’t that he masturbated while watching porn; it’s that he masturbated while watching CHILD porn. Again, I wasn’t surprised by this because the kid’s reaction everything is so overblown and hysterical; Lawther’s extremely good at showing us a character pushed right to the breaking point, but the episode itself even points out that this doesn’t make sense if it’s just a video of him self-abusing; Jerome Flynn’s character Hector has a lengthy diatribe about this at one, about how little Lawther’s character actually has to lose if the video is only of him watching porn. He fails to make the leap to the fact that, well, then, obviously it isn’t only that, but I didn’t have a problem making it. So, neither of these revelations really floored me which kind of crippled the ending’s power a bit.
Still, it’s a fun episode of thrilling television that keeps you guessing and unsure all the way through. It’s worth watching for the performances alone and the episode offers up plenty of tension and suspense to complement them. The ending is a little cheap, but features admittedly canny use of Radiohead’s Exit Music for a Film, so it still lands a bit. Not one of Black Mirror’s finest hours, but a completely solid entry. 3 stars.
tl;dr – tense thriller episode is elevated by great acting and smart direction; the ending is predictable and even a bit hokey, but the journey is worth it. 3 stars.