“Universally Dumb”: The Reviews Are In For ‘Black Mirror’ Season 5
People like Miley Cyrus though!
Black Mirror Season 5 is on Netflix, ready to thrill us with more dystopian tales about stuff like keyboards that know too much, or vaccines that make you poop forever.
The first few seasons have been extremely critically well-received, with the show originally praised for being a “twisted parable for the digital age”.
However, as the show continued for a a couple of seasons, the moments of brilliant and dark allegory were mixed more and more with formulaic episode. As Daniel Ortberg once wrote: What if phones, but too much?”
Frankly, I think we already live perilously close to a technological dystopia — have you seen that Roomba with a knife?
Anyway, the reviews are in for the short, three-episode fifth season of Black Mirror. Here’s what they have to say.
“Black Mirror Season 5 Is Exquisitely Dumb”
Vulture said that “the three new episodes of Black Mirror are almost universally dumb,” adding that “this instalment ends without any of the punchiness or sharp insight that characterise Black Mirror’s best stories.”
“This is… a mess.” Wrote IndieWire.
Black Mirror: What if … Technology … Was BAD???
Me: pic.twitter.com/E304wKFPce
— Connor "P R I D E" Relyea (@CRelyea12) June 7, 2019
Time noted that Season 5 was a pale imitation of previous seasons: “Instead of keeping viewers up at night with political hellscapes and other horror-movie scenarios, season 5 rarely departs in a meaningful way from what’s possible now.”
Variety called a particular episode in Black Mirror Season 5: “the most majestically wrongheaded instalment not merely of Black Mirror’s run but, too, of at least the past year in prestige television.”
(before i watched the new black mirror) everything is probably as it seems
— Jeremy Levick (@jeremylevick) June 7, 2019
Miley Cyrus Was Here Too
There has been particular discussion of the episode featuring Miley Cyrus, called ‘Rachel, Jack and Ashley, Too’. In the episode, she features as two characters — a pop-star named Ashley O, and a branded robot doll called Ashley Too. The episode has a “rotten” 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
iO9 said about the episode: “The problem here is that ‘Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too’ falls into the familiar trope of mocking teenage girls for their wants and needs, without examining what they are and why they exist in the first place.”
Paste decided that “‘Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too’ feels more like it was built specifically as a star vehicle for Miley Cyrus than as a tool for the kind discussion on complicated morality you find in better episodes of Black Mirror.”
y’all really lied and said the miley episode of black mirror was good… pic.twitter.com/zkiuxasSbI
— Franchesca Ramsey (@chescaleigh) June 6, 2019
However, while the episode has received a LOT of criticism, Miley’s performance has been generally praised.
Miley killled that episode of @blackmirror 🙌🏽🙌🏽
— DREADHEADZEDD 🙊 (@zion_kuwonu) June 6, 2019
It’s Not All Bad
However, The Atlantic quite liked the Miley episode, calling it a “fascinating jumble,” saying “‘Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too’ has enough engaging material to make it the most successful outing of the show’s latest season.”
IGN’s Black Mirror Season 5 review said: “Black Mirror‘s fifth season is one of the series’ best, with a condensed batch of new stories that deliver great storytelling, interesting characters, and fascinating technologies that don’t overshadow Charlie Brooker’s deeply personal stories.”
Black Mirror S5E1, spoilers sans contexte. pic.twitter.com/ivfK5C52Hx
— Netflix France (@NetflixFR) June 6, 2019
So, what do we always say? Make up your own mind!
Black Mirror season 5 is currently on Netflix.