Just a short comment to make some people aware that "predictability" is not per se a sign for a bad episode. Not all episodes of this series (or any series or any film, for that matter) aim to be unpredicatable and surprising. Not every film tries to be "Christopher Nolan". Some, for instance, aim to be psychologically sound - thereby telling a relatable and intense story. I found this episode to be very good since it creates relatable characters, takes its time to get into some (but not all, I give you that) nuances of the premise, creates a real dilemma that feels realistic for both main characters - and nevertheless takes it to an ending that shook me. Not as "gadgety" and superficial as some of the other episodes. I guess I'm just trying to say: The great thing about BLACK MIRROR is that certain episodes can be more psychological/"naturalistic" and others more "out there". Don't bash one episode for not being like the other.
Contrary to the popular belief, this is exactly what Black Mirror is about. Find a futuristic concept that hits closer to home more than is comfortable and makes you think about all the implications. Issues Mcalister was fun, but lacked depth.
I'm tired of these kind of idiot age determination. Her mother said her daughter is 15. I don't care how old she was in real life when this episode was made, even so she looked minimum 25 years old in this episode.
Jodie Foster directed this? Interesting....
People may not realize how "close" this is with technology. And most probably not understanding the psychological impacts this could have.
This can be summed up with bad and intolerable parenting
Nothing particularly interesting on this one except the gadget demo in the beginning. The story is then nothing special, extremely predictable, almost boring.
The technology is a little more graphical, but that's it. Parental controling is nothing new, and we're already not far from this level. So where is the limit between protecting your children and being a dangerous freak that keep them in a prison ? Blah blah blah, been there, seen that.
I hoped for something less conventional as the device is supposed to filter based on her reactions. She could have been totally inadapted, not knowing anything dangerous as it's always filtered and something could have been built on that. But nope, it's clearly more of a parental censorship as even her own drawing of blood triggers it.
It's then almost only cliches. What could go wrong when she's a child ? She could be distressed by something important and not do anything because it's all blurred, well, here comes grandpas's heart attack.
And if she still has the system as a teenager, what could her mother be watching that would be really bad ? Well having sex or taking drugs ? You guessed it, it's all in.
I found it great not one of the best but still enjoyable and well written.7.5/10
Familiar story that didn't need scifi to be told. The ending was dumb, unsatisfying and over the top.
Definetely madatory therapy for overprotective parents
Seems like the mom got what was coming to her. I guess all parents are control freaks on some level but this one is just the worst. I mean what did she expect by using this implant to control her daughter? This episode was very good, I realize that in the two first episodes of this season, the theme is similar, it's about control freaks who do terrible things for better or for worst and it ruins their life.
Ari Aster Lite.
Extremely mid for Black Mirror standards. Feels too much like a tester short film for a feature. Jodie Foster's directing knows nothing of the word 'subtle' here.
There's an interesting aspect about how mother and daughter's roles in the 'morality contest' reverse over time due to the technology's effect on her but so disappointing how much emotion the execution of it lacks.
maybe that's harsh but i think that the mother deserves treatment she have got
Being a mother myself, I didn’t blame Sara’s mom except for being too over-protective and not giving her daughter much-needed privacy. She should’ve talked it out instead of not trusting Sara.
On the other hand, I disagree with how Sara practically mauled her mother. I can not believe how emotionless children can be after all their parents did for them, even if it was something irrational but out of love.
Much better than USS Callister.
This is so bland and uninventive to the quality that Black Mirror has set in the past. It's basically just exploring the concerns of an overly-protective mother. No new ideas are presented here. Could've been accomplished in a 5 minute short.
If they wanted to go the extra mile, they would have Sarah tear her own eyes out, or dig the implant out of her brain by herself. But no, this is a teen drama instead. Black Mirror, you can do better.
Great piece of tech and concept. They could have done so much more... The story was predictable, not something you expect from a Black Mirror episode...
I could have done without this episode. I wanted to skip it so many times but just kept waiting for it to get better...after all, it's Black Mirror. But nope... That never happened.
Weakest of the season for me. See almost every beat coming a mile away, with ones that doesn't (the over-the-top rage beating
) just taking me out of the story, and not enough nuance along the way to make up for it.
playtest: call your mom please
me: omg :(
arkangel: hey there
me: ...actually....
This is every kid's worst nightmare.
What a waste of time. This is one of many episodes in the show where the gadget is mainly a plot device and gets very little afterthought but unlike others there is no new idea at play here to make it passable. This is just an underdeveloped clichéd drama.
Oh, boy. This episode had so much potential and I was honestly so excited for some kind of twist, but.. it just never happened. I even expected some great twist in the last five minutes ("Shut up and dance" pulled it off so well), but just nothing.
It's so weird because I felt like there was so much foreshadowing or hints, like at the beginning when the child was born she was just quiet and the doctors took her away for a minute and no one told the mother anything, then the way the camera showed how the girl was interested in the cat and scared of the dog etc. I thought something was wrong with the girl since birth and it would interfere with the device or she would start killing people/animals and take drugs as a child because she just never learned about it and got curious. Then we got the camera shot at the end where the mother saw herself from the back through her child's eyes and I actually thought she hung herself. Then a minute later I thought the safety switch might be turned on forever now. But nothing happened. In the end the child just got angry, beat up her mother and ran away. It was so anticlimatic. They kept me on the edge of my seat but never delivered anything.
So far this season is really hard for me. I disliked these first two episodes a lot, but I still hope I'll see something good in the next ones.
As if helicopter parenting wasn't already damaging enough.
Much like "USS Callister", this one doesn't make most people cringe like some/most episodes from past seasons, which I guess it's something some have come to expect - weird, right? - but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
ok ok i thought that we were going to have more before that ending that scene with her beating her mom up was pretty brutal, the episode takes a bit to get going but it pays off, not a perfect one, but a relevant one perharps.i just wish there was a bit more before it ended or made things slightly more interesting by putting Sara as a LGBT character for example
Good concept but like every other comment it was way too long for its message. Strong start predictable ending
This one was poorly executed, to put it charitably. I kept waiting to be told that the implant was messing with the daughter's brain functions, as that could have explained the abrupt pacing of things. But no such luck. We're shown nothing in the way of a gradual decline, no pattern of abuse that could explain things, no triggering event, nothing at all like that. She more or less goes from a nice, normal kid with a decent relationship with her mother -- surprisingly good, given Mom's overprotectiveness -- to this self-destructive teen overnight whose life would have been circling the drain at age 15 even if Mom hadn't been monitoring her. As such, the tech here is nothing more than a framing device for a badly done family drama.
Good premise but a very predictable episode, could have been a LOT better. Perhaps it was the director (former actress) that couldn't see its full potential.
The location and vital signs seem reasonable to me.
But it was too much to see and hear their actions....
But f*ck it's a good chapter....
I don't let her experience life....
6/10
Fair
Not bad but not good
it was all rather
unmemorable and very
forgettable.
The mother was super
annoying and that
daughter 15 my ass
try 22,23 terrible casting
choice.
The ending was
very anticlimax at best
and piss-poor at worst.
Worst episode of the
season.
Verdict: weird
unstable mother and
a story that
ultimately
went nowhere.
An interesting concept but I found the ending a bit disapointing.
Too relatable for words, but not the best kind.
How surreal is that? Around the time I watched this episode, I began seeing an ad for an application that would warn parents if their child gets bullied in social media (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp) - so perhaps the future isn't so far? I liked the episode, although it could have been more detailed, I think it would be more interesting to show more stages of the relationship and the points where a mother's reasonable concern became an obsession. I also liked the scene with the doctor, when she immediately assumed Sara is on the spectrum (without having a slightest thought that it might be her own doing). So maybe this one should have been 90 minutes, instead of episode 1, which overstay its welcome IMO.
I think this episode is more interesting for parents of young children (like myself). Also, I believe that if this family had another parent (not granddad, because we always have our own issues with parents and sometimes take to the other extreme with our own children) - things could be different because the mother would at least have another perspective on things.
Anyhow, great experience as always
Not the best of black mirror, very expected ending. the comcept and the feelings were sencier and the acting was good
This is so dark. I instantly wondered when the Arkangel would become an inviasion of privacy, at what age is that crossing a line for a parent. The ending was strangely satisfying, it's not a happy ending, not at all but it was in some form the ending I was hoping for.
Episode starts out quite good, a new piece of technology that basically makes a parent control their child... The dream of any overprotective parent.
And that's where it also instantly collapses, as it's clear in an instant that this will be about an overprotective parent who will destroy the relationship with her child by doing so, exactly what happened in this episode.
And to do so, most would have needed 15 minutes to make a short film, and we would have been done, which quite likely would have been great.
However, this is an episode of a bit less than 50 minutes, not 55 minutes as Trakt says, that prolongates the story to the inevitable ending.
It's a boring episode that doesn't feel in any way to be about the technology in the first place, it's rather the ancient old tale that parents are too overprotective and will eventually end up causing the things they dreaded by limiting their children.
It's a reality, it's an importance for certain parents to learn, but I doubt this episode helps with making any of them aware of that, especially as I would doubt they would watch a series like this in the first place...
Just skip over it if you are watching this series, as this episode is a waste of your time.
Shout by davidBlockedParent2017-12-30T09:15:43Z— updated 2018-09-06T02:20:15Z
This was an episode that could have been shortened to 10 minutes. Out of all the Black Mirror episodes, this one is the weakest so far. This is an amazing television show, no doubt but Arkangel fails to live up the standard that previous episodes had. The ending was bad and it felt like it ended out of nowhere and didn't gave the whole episode justice. It lacked depth, usually Black Mirror episodes punches me in the face with emotions that I really had to stand up, take a walk for a while, and think about what in the world did I just watched, but this one has none.