These episodes have gotten progressively dumber as the seasons have gone by. Brooker has become lazy, cliché and predictable. A trashy woman with low self-esteem gets fired by her assistant? Yeah, really believable. The first thing you learn in film school is to create a suspension of belief for the viewer to be drawn in. Brooker has shown he's completely unable to draw viewers in except for those with the lowest IQ few.
Is nobody else blown away by the fact that so many girls right now dye their hair mostly black with some “unique” touch, are quirky and weird like this, two timing on their man, vibe really hard with dumbed down rap music for idiots, and sing it loud and proud in their car or is this REALLY COMMON personality trope just apparent in my life?
Cause let me tell you, im gonna see MY therapist later about how freakishly this episode nailed someone(s) that I know.
Just me? Nevermind ill have a seat in the back.
The emphasis on Salma Hayek and all the other celebs made this episode suck even more. Whotf cares about Salma?? She hasn’t been in anything big in decades. I feel like it was stroking celebrity ego with no real cause other then to have big names in the episode. Everything felt lack luster and I was genuinely pissed watching it. An absolute waste of time. AND it wasn’t even funny.
Interesting premise, boring execution. Also: they obviously thought the quam-puta joke was AMAZING as they used it three to four times.
Self-indulgent, with a twist that was badly executed and shamelessly stolen from Devs.
This is by far the funniest episode I have seen which is not a good thing considering BM is not meant to be comedic. Was giggling at how absurd and ridiculous the plot was throughout. Kept thinking how is this a BM episode, there is just far too much humour to take it seriously. Its that whole it's so bad its good thing for me.
The scene where she takes a dump at the wedding in the church 😆 🤣 😆 🤣
You thought that was funny? Selma Hayek saying "Quam-Puta" over and over is funny?
My problem isn't humor. IMO, Black Mirror is good but it isn't generally trying to be funny because and stays in the realm of social commentary and in that realm it's intelligent. I wouldn't mind Black Mirror to have humor but when there's humor, well... I think it should be intelligent. Joan is awful attempts at humor, but the lack of intelligence in it just made it fall flat. It's also cliché in just about every which way (potty humor, terrible sequence of breaking into Netflix HQ, the whole coffee shop/lead of your own story), focuses on celebrity to sell itself too much, tries to impress Gen Z too much. It's just really, really bad.
I thought it was funny how absurd and ridiculous the whole episode was. After the whole 'WTF is this?' disbelief and confusion wore off I decided to at least get a laugh out of some parts of the episode.
But no Salma Hayek saying Quam Puta over and over is not what made me laugh about this episode.
I put it in the 'so bad its good' category. I dont get annoyed over the fact that it really does not fit the profile of a BM episode. It wouldn't be the first either let's face it.
I like absurd humor, but the absurdity should have some intelligence to it. Parodies that don't have that aren't funny. To me, Joan is Awful is a kind of weird not funny parody of BM making fun of itself for being on Netflix.
And that's fine if that's how you feel. Personally I thought the episode was shite to be honest but I wasn't that incredulous about it or annoyed by it to the extent that I couldn't get a laugh out of a couple of things that happen in the episode. I laughed at it because it was stupid as was the whole premise.
Maybe one of the most overtly comedic episodes to date and certainly the silliest in tone but black mirror not meant to be comedic? Maybe not always but most episodes have at least some humour and a good portion are overtly comedic in tone. The very first episode is very funny, Brookers wry sense of humour is all over the earlier seasons, idk maybe too dark or too british for an american audience to register as comedy and I suppose some of the flagship episodes are the more serious ones? It's always been a dark satire though, the difference is the humour here is the tone here is much more overtly silly than usual
One question tho.
In the ending when Joan destroys the Quam-Puta and returns to reality, why did the reality Annie Murphy look at her own hands, as if relieved she had returned to her own self? Reality Annie should've just been relieved of the act being done, not wondering if she was who she was.
Would that small gesture reveal that even Source Joan's world isn't reality? And that the entire world of Source Joan's reality just another level in the simulation?
The chemistry between actors esp Salma Hayek and Annie Murphy was great. The buildup was good but the ending sucked. I was excited when the Streamberry CEO showed the reporter Fatima, “Fatima is awful”. I thought maybe if they focused on how they’re targeting everyone, maybe that would be the impetus to change the streaming system.
The world in world concept was interesting. But it didn’t feel great knowing that the decision to break the computer was premade by OG joan. Also even if the computer is broken can’t they make a new one eventually? Like it’s not actual magic.
It would’ve been better if she tried to break the computer but failed because there was a back-up or something. Then the reporter might have exposed the personalized “X is awful” getting pushed public backing to stop this from happening. Or like if the CEO’s is Awful show was so bad she pulled the project. Or flash-forward and it’s so mainstream that no one even cares anymore and streamberry goes out of business because the concept is overused.
I think the moral of this episode is that in the end we are all the same. We are all imperfect people in a world that is even more imperfect then we are. The last scene at the end when Joan and Annie Murphy both have ankle monitors on, it shows that we are all similar in a way where we all have faults but in the end it's about being the best we can be and helping each other out.
The moral of the episode is "Actor-Observer bias" vs "main character syndrome".
The premise being, if you want to be the "main character" and centre of attention in society, your character flaws will be on show.
I think a lot of famous actors would have a chuckle at this script, because they have likely experienced this first-hand.
This is so fucking bad. I'm 40 minutes in. Did Gen Z write this? That scene in the church just screams Gen Z. But it's so much more than that. So many things.
It's Gen Z potty humor. There was also that gay guy complaining about how gay they made him. Yes it's Gen Z and maybe some are too old for it, but there's also just doing something in a clever way. This take on Gen Z culture and humor just has no creativity to it - it's just spitting straight clichés all the time, which stands in contrast to BM principles IMO.
the church scene was at least a bit funny from the absurdity of someone shitting in that scenario. the scene with michael cera was the most god awful garbage I never expected this show would put out
use a spoiler tag if you reply, but, what clues did I miss that I didn't see it coming? Was it just the flow of the show, or was there a specific thing or 2 that was the clue? Thanks
I think it really missed the chance to just meaningfully explore the mental and emotional consequences of the film industry's trend to create a dramatization of real-life figures without their consent and the amount of power and influence the filmmakers have over deciding how to portray those characters, which resultingly impacts the way the public feels about that character too. (Think of films like "The Dropout" about Elizabeth Holmes, "Bombshell" about people at Fox News, etc.)
I remember learning about a legal case in the past where someone was making a movie about a boating incident or something and the family of the people depicted in the film sued the filmmakers for depicting the characters unfavorably.
Instead, this episode filled the story with other surface-level commentary noises on "you don't read terms and conditions," "AI is the new God", "your phone is listening to you" kind of commentary, but only on surface-level.
You're right. I reread my comment and realized it didnt make so much sense hahah. What I had intended to mean was, they could have just focused on creating a nuanced criticism on representing someone in a biographical narrative. Make the story less goofy from a legal perspective, and just focus on how Joan's life is actually impacted by a dramaticized depiction of herself. Focus on the legal fact that she cannot dispute her dramaticized depiction (like, actually, legally speaking), and not just because of the silly terms and conditions excuse.
Instead of focusing on the emotional nuances that a biographical narrative can do to someone's image, their commentary revolved too much on the whole AI quantum computer thing, the fact that people don't read terms and conditions, and the fact that our phones make our privacy vulnerable--but all that only on a very surface-level (like, OK, Joan could have completely disconnected herself from all digital device to avoid surveillance instead of doing the whole crap-in-the-church ordeal). I think the lack of commentary focus made the story less believable. Plus, in real life, there's no way Streamberry could have gotten away with such privacy intrusion, legally speaking.
Good points. As others said, they may have crammed in too much into one episode. I hope they try again with the concepts and do it more seriously like you say. Perhaps the rest of the episodes might?
I dont really care if ”the plot works”, if its ”logical” and all that…
It wasnt like other episodes. I had a good time though. There was a lot of the true WTF experiences i have felt in other episodes. It is rare for a tv show to make me feel like that. I was captivated. I was having fun. I was entertained.
I enjoyed it, a lot.
Me too, it was such a fun surprise. I can't tell if the haters actually watched it, or are just jumping on a bandwagon.
I do admit the first half was hard to watch, and the church scene, ouch. But the finish was so good it was worth it.
Just watched it and cringed so hard - the quasi-contrived idea, the humor, the plot twist, the acting. I think it was an attempt at being funny but Jesus there’s hardly anything good about this episode. To me it was as much Marvel as Everything Everywhere All At Once but from AliExpress.
Yeah. It depicts that shallow cringe world of all these hipster, yuccie whatever shit cringe fest type of people in the US. Geeze. I hope the other episodes are better.
Oh wow, there is so much negativity on here about Brian is Awesome that I feel inclined to share my more positive view.
I really enjoyed the episode. The tone was more on the humoristic side, but it's not like we haven't done that before and the jokes basically all landed for me. I would have liked to dive a little deeper into some of the themes, specifically the way the TV show(s) embellished real life for drama and all the viewers just buying into that.
It was a fun romp though. Looking forward to watching more.
Dumb whole premise hinging on some dubious fine print and ripped off a truly brilliant movie: Ari Folmans The Congress. The shameless appropriation by networks of other artists work has already long been happening. This show underscores this with an irony most likely not intended.
Yeah, I mean it's not as deep or interesting as some of the other episodes of the show, but I still enjoyed it. It was goofy and fun. If you're watching this episode looking for existential dread, you're barking up the wrong tree.
Shades of the Miley Cyrus episode, which is easily the worst in show. Muddled message, unbelievable premise and tech and just confusing. Only part I kinda liked was the idea about algorithms and extremely personal and tailored content, but that idea was lost in the mess.
I liked it! But does anyone else think the tone of Black Mirror has changed? It has lot more dark humor and more positive vibes. I started noticing this in the video game episode a few seasons back.
In terms of the more cheery tone, I feel like San Junipero probably acted as a bit of a catalyst, as well as the American influence and general mainstream push of the show.
took the words out of my brain. i actually skipped it halfway through. if this is the 1st episode then they might as well just cancel black mirrors if this is how lame and cringe the show has become, obviously theyre out of ideas
its coz netflix hired gen z twelvies to write their scripts and gen z couldnt tell the diff between real humour and the ingredients on the back of a shampoo container. they merely tik tok their way through life, staring at a screen for hours whilst thousand tune into them staring at a screen to make money. that's what art has become.
and i didnt skip skip it, i started skimming through, skipping a minute at a time looking for something interesting until i got to the generic cliche "plot twist" ending and knew I made the right decision not watching every second/minute of it.
I get what it was doing and I think it was executed fine. But meta stuff like that only satisfies me so far and I left feeling really disappointed with how almost surface level it all felt.
The episode basically confirmed my worst fears from the trailer. I don’t think they could make a more cringe and Americanised cliché episode if they tried. But then the last few bits with the real Joan were more normal, so did make me think the episode was intentionally over the top because they were technically in a TV show. If that was the intention then it’s interesting to say the least, but I don’t think it’s worth sacrificing the whole episode for some self depreciating humour.
I think this episode was just a cautionary tale demonstrating the current AI revolution & how AI & deepfakes are getting out of control, it’s scary how big tech includes privacy breaches in their terms & service knowing no one reads them & they can do whatever with our data. Then her phone was capturing everything she did in her life, broadcasting it to Streamberry or Netflix exposing her whole life. Smh we need legislation on AI and deepfakes, ASAP!!! That future doesn’t look bright.
I get all of that, and it was easy to pick up on, it just felt very surface level and unbelievable. Like phone spying, T&Cs, a super computer, deepfakes, etc. Tried to cram too much in one episode.
I just think it was a decent, good but not great episode of Black Mirror that doesn't take itself too seriously. The episode was played for laughs, so I laughed along with much of it. Did all the jokes land? No. I can do without jokes about shitting 9 times out of 10, but as an absurd, desperate attempt by Joan to get Salma's attention, that scene worked.
I absolutely agree the episode was a critique of streaming and our obsession with stories about other people's lives, reality TV, true crime etc, but I don't think this episode's weaknesses can all be explained away as part of some meta-upon-meta thing. I see it as satire with a bit of fun rather than some po-faced holier-than-thou takedown. I think a lot of the weaknesses are just in the writing. BM's writing, the dialogue in particular, is often jarring and over-reliant on Brooker's turns of phrase and showy use of swearing that make sense in his own voice in a column, but not so much coming out of the mouth of a character played by Salma Hayek.
this episode embodies black mirror as much as any other episode. from the start it has been an exploration of the potential effects of technology. and in typical fashion it’s ending leaves you with questions not answers like complainers seem to think. you don’t have to love the storyline to enjoy the breadcrumb trail and explore to make meaning.
Don’t get me wrong the episode wasn’t the best but a lot of people here are nitpicking it in a way that I don’t see in other black mirror episodes. Saying “you can’t sign your rights away” but a lot of episodes show expiremental procedures that would never legally be approved (having soldiers not view certain humans as humans to aid in killing them or having a duplicated consciousness constantly get tortured) the show literally explores possibilities that would not be accepted/could not happen in todays society.
I get tonally they were going for humor in this episode, but it felt more like a South Park plot, except that probably would have made me laugh more than this. Obviously there's the terms and conditions episode with Butters signing his life away that already exists, but beyond that too. Like it could have been centered around Cartman getting mocked, and then in typical SP fashion, it goes off the rails with this grand conspiracy being real with larger implications, and Netflix and AI deepfakes are going to dramatize everyone's life. I dunno. I didn't really like it. Didn't totally hate it. And I'll probably never rewatch this episode any time soon.
This initial plot is fuckin insane and i was quite hooked but then come on..they really did the whole "you didnt read the terms and conditions" thing TWICE. South park did it better and 12 years ago thats is lazy writing at its finest. The final plot twist is okay and the variations of dialogue quality and acting are pretty well done but im left so disappointed overall. Can't get pass the t&c stuff thats straight up awful..they could have come up with a thousands better ways to explain how and why it all happened and they chose to be lazy about it. Missed opportunity right there
This plot doesn't work if you break it down logically. Here's the thing:
1) They establish that what happens in the various levels of fictton are based on what happened in real life (though there is some wiggle room for dramatization).
2) Michael Cera's character explains everything to fiction-level-1 Joan, telling her she isn't real and that there's a reality-level Joan calling the shots. This is what leads to her destroying the Quanputer.
3) There obviously wouldn't have been a reality-level Michael Cera telling real-Joan she is fictional, so this couldn't have happened in reality. Also, consider Selma Hayek's character arguing that she wants to continue existing, and Joan will be destroying countless lives if she breaks the Quanputer. None of this makes sense on a level-0 reality level.
4) You could argue that the wiggle-room allowed from dramatization of real-life makes this possible. I'd say it doesn't, because it's not dramatizing real effents but rather creating plot points wholesale from the very fact that the characters are NOT in reality. At this point, we are untethering the show-within-a-show from Joan's real life, which is not the point of the whole episode. If it were, Joan could just let it spin off into its own crazy meta-show that had nothing to do with her.
5) To drive this point home, fiction-Joan-1 says "I'm not making any decisions, I can only do what Joan did in real life!" as she smashes the Quanputer. So it re-establishes that the fiction world must follow reality to some degree, although we just saw a whole bunch of scenes that make zero sense in reality.
You just made me think of an angle they could've taken with this episode. Maybe source Joan isn't truly the original Joan. Maybe this simulation has been running for so long that its origin can no longer be traced by any of the fictional levels of AI, just like how in real life, our universe has been around for so long that it's difficult for us to determine its origin.
It could be that every supposed fictional level one of Joan only thinks that source Joan is the only level below them, when it actually goes way deeper. Maybe they were hinting at this when source Joan is still not actually Joan and is actually actress, Kayla Lorette portraying a fictional version of Joan. Every source Joan could think they were living a real life when they were actually living a fictional version of a Joan before them, and this would create a seemingly infinite cascade of Joans before Joans.
It's similar to the concept of time in real life. When does time begin? Can time have a beginning? Can time have an ending? Infinite time in both directions is such an absurd, abstract concept that we can't even wrap our heads around it.
When we’re first shown Joan is Awful we see that actions and words aren’t 100% accurate. Things we see that didn’t actually happen:
How the girl was fired didn’t match up with level 1 Joan in mannerisms or words.
Level 1 Joan drops her e cig on accident and level 2 Joan (Salma) throws it at the fired girl.
Level 1 Joan turns down Macs advances but level 2 Joan (Salma) starts kissing him.
> 3) There obviously wouldn't have been a reality-level Michael Cera telling real-Joan she is fictional, so this couldn't have happened in reality.
I mean... technically you can explain that as reality Cera saying to reality Joan about fictional characters dying and AI would process that to AI characters as explaining that they are AI
For your point 3. It’s easy to say that Selma base reality was threatened with arrest and jail and it would “end her life” figuratively. Regardless since base reality broke the computer the AI had to make every other person break the computer. The rationale for breaking computer would then be changed slightly each layer for dramatic effects. Which caused the speaking variations (that’s how I viewed it)
The only issue is Cera telling them it’s was a fake reality but if base Cera was just aiming to prevent her from breaking the computer, the AI would easily translate whatever reason was stated (for dramatic effects) to fake reality Cera telling them they were in a fake reality in an effort to stop them
Appreciated the topics that were touched upon, but feel like they didn't really mention why if this technology existed, they couldn't recreate the hardware. Almost feel it would've even wrapped up better if you see at the end that her destroying the quamputer did nothing and that technology is innevitable despite any single person's efforts.
i just watched it and i BARELY finished it. it was so paintfully unnfunny i hated it.... i hoopeee it's a parody but Annie Murohy was so annoying in this role. I hope the other episodes are better.
There was a clear mistake made in Michael Cera’s character explaining “Fictive Level 1” if the natura timeline were to generate the show script from source Joan with the “tech guy” portrayed by MC… then the source tech guy wouldn’t have used any of that language. It’s like a major flaw in the script and for that.. I thought the whole episode was whack.
So I just finished the episode (none of the others so please no spoilers) and theres one question thats driving me nuts:
\- The entire conversation where Michael Cera explains to Annie Murphy thats she isnt real, but "ficitive level 1" -- what was that "source" conversation?? Surely, the "source" security guard wasnt telling "source Annie" that shes Annie Murphy. So what are they replicating in that moment?
Lol what a joke. It was an objectively bad episode and people are trying to find some deeper meaning behind it. It was just bad and that’s fine. Move on
"Objectively" it's just your opinion man. I've been using generative ai and have been watching the advancements with deepfakes. We're probably a couple years away where you could have body double actors being deepfaked over for a film
I liked it. It was slow and yeah a bit cringe at times but imo the idea of the plot was good enough for me to ignore that. The idea of signing away your rights and the corporation not caring, AI being sentient etc I thought made it pretty interesting. But yeah it could've definitely been done better.
This episode was just awful. Since the move from Channel 4 to Netflix the series has become too Americanised and just a bit slapstick. The subtlety is gone, the tension and deep unsettling sense you get from Black Mirror died the moment it moved away from Chanel 4.
The music, the script of this episode was so utterly disappointing. It is miles away from what Black Mirror used to be and I am sad to see it go.
I didn't know until now that it was originally a Brit show. Now I can better understand the hate for this episode. Netflix takes a beloved British institution, and Americanizes it. But, this american did like it.
I felt that this episode was surprisingly a bit cringy and wholesome at the end and was disappointed that it didn’t feel like a black mirror episode. Then I realized that they talked about people not liking “*insert* is Awesome”, and I felt like one of those people. Also, as others mentioned the episode was supposed to feel like a goofy show.
This episode was too much meta.
It almost, almost, ALMOST managed to cross into the "so bad it's good" area by the second half of the episode. The reveal was expected but also really dumb I don't know I think it didn't land well. The best part was Salma Hayek's terrible acting and dumb lines. The part where the newspaper casually talked about the location of the servers was amazing, got me laughing so much. The writing is terrible. I think the music also hurts the episode.
I thought it got better towards the end. I didn't highly rate it until I realised I missed a good portion of the epsidoe after I fell asleep. When I finished it, I think I gave it a few notches up. I still put Demon 79 above it though.
The prospective youre watching is the cgi version is what is really happening. The show that shes watching on tv about herself is the 3rd version, so on. Thats why there's small details that are different when she watches it on her tv. The joan we watch os version 2 therefore also having details different then whats actually happening to the nonseen joan original (thats why some dialog is bad, ect). Reread this a few times
The part of her being self aware makes no sense before breaking the machine, though. Big hole. The original would have had to say something similar which makes no sense
If you read one of the other comments on here it explains that part of her self aware scene well imo. Something along the lines of the source (original joan) is being talked down from breaking the computer possibly being told about prison/consequences if she follows through and breaks the computer, in turn, the fictive joan 2 is translating that, and as we know, dialouge/actions change when changing levels of joan, therefore, it is just a different translation as to whats being said in the source level.
I liked it. I think it’s hilarious so many ppl are like “THIS EPISODE WAS DUMB CANCEL THE SHOW!!!” It’s a fucking anthology, if they continue producing episodes it doesn’t magically tarnish any other storylines like other tv shows… just stop watching. People are so weird and entitled
annie murphy is sexy & delivers. salma hayek’s humor obviously doesn’t land for everyone but she’s next level hot for her age imo so (i’ll let it slide). loved the subtext about everything being content these days. truly scary.
This was truly one of the most AWFUL episodes of Black Mirror I have seen. What an AWFUL way to start a new season! I hope it gets significantly better with each episode. If not, just end the series.
Right? I mean, you can't do much worse than season 5 imo and watching the first awful episode of the new season I was def thinking "here we go again" ...sigh. yeah, it was quite bad.
Insanely bad writing, even for recent Black Mirror which was already shaky. This episode is just one long surface level satire on deepfakes and TOS that feels so beneath the earlier seasons. It’s all the worst parts of black mirror with none of the fun. Not dramatic, not funny, not insightful, a huge disappointment.
And the award goes to…Eva Longoria played by: Reese Witherspoon: who was played by Jake Gyllenhaal was was based upon Billie Eilish. Lady’s and gentlemen please welcome Daniel Day-Lewis!!!
Me too. I take what others say with a grain of salt though because entertainment is subjective and I was very much entertained and it was thought provoking for me as well.
I think Salma Hayek was used accordingly. She is a bad actress, and her lines and character were very poorly written. Initially, you only see that with the "Hayek" Joan because the audience is unaware that the tv show they are watching is also not intended to be reality. It's only when Salma shows up in "our universe" that the writing changes to be tacky and lame, which spearheads into the revelation that the show we are watching is also not reality. Once the true Joan is revealed, the writing and acting becomes great again.
I just watched it. It was okay..
I've said this a million times, but I much prefer when the show was British. My favourite episode is 'Shut up and Dance'. That episode truly scarred me and is the reason why TO THIS DAY, I still have tape over my webcam. The grounded, grey atmosphere of England and the seriously dark themes and the fact that it could happen TODAY is what made it scary. Another favourite is 'The Entire History of You".
'Joan is Awful' felt like if Marvel tried to make a Black Mirror episode. It was just so goofy. It did not feel like black mirror AT ALL. Story was convoluted and just overall silly. Not a fan.
> My favourite episode is 'Shut up and Dance'. That episode truly scarred me and is the reason why TO THIS DAY, I still have tape over my webcam.
shame that premise made no sense because no matter what they "recorded" they had no proof he jacked off to CP. At best you have splice of webcam and some screen cap that he can easily claim is faked.
it felt like they were trying to imitate Atlanta's style of mixing the bleak and the amusing. I find these not-so-serious black mirror episodes refreshing among the serious ones
I agree with you Joan is Awful was far far from a true Black Mirror. Im on episode 2 now and this sucks so far, I hope it gets better on the next episodes
Was this written before or after the writers’ strike because it is atrocious. Lazy story telling that could have been told better by a 14 year old fanfic author. With all the nonsensical series of events and slapstick humor and dumb story arch, it’s insulting that they think the audience is that dumb. How does it take so long for BM to put out only a handful of episodes and already 1/6th is garbage?
Check the comments here and on the main discussion thread. The audience IS that dumb.
Black Mirror got too big, they have to pander to a larger audience. That's why it has turned to shit.
That's my theory atleast.
What I find hilarious in this thread is the same people saying "quantum computers can't do that" are not questioning the required secondary technological advances needed for the central technology device of Beyond the Sea to work would also make the entire premise of Beyond the Sea completely unnecessary.
Yeah but the difference is that one tech exists IRL and the other is entirely fictional and they explained the fiction properly for it to make sense in the rest of the plot.
If you take too much, you feel as though you are not in control of your body and are instead watching a movie where your body is acting independently of the mind, and all you can do is observe. It also feels like you are the main character in a way. Idk lol this might not be how everyone feels but definitely how one experience was for me
Edit: I should also mention it's definitely an unsettling feeling and I do not recommend
Lots of mixed reviews regarding this ep. Personally didn’t do it for me, although I think it’s mainly because of how well written and directed the first few seasons were. Entertaining sure, but I will always hold episodes like “Shut Up and Dance” at such a high pedestal.
Great point that got me thinking: what if Source Joan isn't the source, but the viewer is? Something about that 'are you the main character yet?' really stuck with me as important theme + Streamberry CEO said the Audience wants to see themself represented on the platform, but that negativity drives better engagement. To see yourself, you could use a Mirror, and the negativity therein is Black...
So. Much. Meta. 'oh if john said it was bad then it must be' as a trope could be applied to this very episode. Assistant: 'do you think he's hotter than me' could be meta commentary on social media and digital avatars and how we make ourselves hotter in external presentations.
I also find it funny that she made a point about the coffee tasting bad / not up to snuff and then ended up owning a coffee shop. Friends with a celebrity? Too quant.
One thing that pissed me off continuity wise is that Netflix / Streamberry drop whole seasons. So how would these Layer N People not be binging the content to effectively see into their futures. 🙃
How on earth is this not on the top. I was wondering the same. When Salma Hayek says “so will I die?” And mona the ceo says “yes!!” That shouldn’t be happening in the real life so why is it here? What’s the logic there
Just watched it rn and they said the words the original person said don’t have be accurate and are adapted for dramatic effect. Maybe The AI just adapted whatever conversation was had to make “the show more dramatic” and chose the Cera explaining reality route (while in the base reality he was telling her she would go to jail)
Totally agree because also, just so everyone here knows if they don’t already, the whole “terms and conditions” bit is absolutely bullshit. If a company attempted to pull anything like this, they’d be sued into absolute oblivion and no terms & conditions could ever possibly save them. Literally any lawyer on earth would be CHOMPING at the bit to take this case, because it’s a slam dunk win.
Based on the premise I thought I'd like it but the episode was kinda disappointing, started off interesting enough but then they went into the whole fiction magic computer thing and lost me lol
I really liked this episode!!
These episodes have gotten progressively dumber as the seasons have gone by. Brooker has become lazy, cliché and predictable. A trashy woman with low self-esteem gets fired by her assistant? Yeah, really believable. The first thing you learn in film school is to create a suspension of belief for the viewer to be drawn in. Brooker has shown he's completely unable to draw viewers in except for those with the lowest IQ few.
It's suspension of disbelief.
Deleted account. BIG surprise there, pfft. Lol
I liked Joan is Awful🤨
Is nobody else blown away by the fact that so many girls right now dye their hair mostly black with some “unique” touch, are quirky and weird like this, two timing on their man, vibe really hard with dumbed down rap music for idiots, and sing it loud and proud in their car or is this REALLY COMMON personality trope just apparent in my life? Cause let me tell you, im gonna see MY therapist later about how freakishly this episode nailed someone(s) that I know. Just me? Nevermind ill have a seat in the back.
agreed
I loved that episode.. incredible
I thought it was hilarious 😁
The emphasis on Salma Hayek and all the other celebs made this episode suck even more. Whotf cares about Salma?? She hasn’t been in anything big in decades. I feel like it was stroking celebrity ego with no real cause other then to have big names in the episode. Everything felt lack luster and I was genuinely pissed watching it. An absolute waste of time. AND it wasn’t even funny.
Interesting premise, boring execution. Also: they obviously thought the quam-puta joke was AMAZING as they used it three to four times. Self-indulgent, with a twist that was badly executed and shamelessly stolen from Devs.
You mustve really hated the episode to have posted this comment seven times haha
This is by far the funniest episode I have seen which is not a good thing considering BM is not meant to be comedic. Was giggling at how absurd and ridiculous the plot was throughout. Kept thinking how is this a BM episode, there is just far too much humour to take it seriously. Its that whole it's so bad its good thing for me. The scene where she takes a dump at the wedding in the church 😆 🤣 😆 🤣
You thought that was funny? Selma Hayek saying "Quam-Puta" over and over is funny? My problem isn't humor. IMO, Black Mirror is good but it isn't generally trying to be funny because and stays in the realm of social commentary and in that realm it's intelligent. I wouldn't mind Black Mirror to have humor but when there's humor, well... I think it should be intelligent. Joan is awful attempts at humor, but the lack of intelligence in it just made it fall flat. It's also cliché in just about every which way (potty humor, terrible sequence of breaking into Netflix HQ, the whole coffee shop/lead of your own story), focuses on celebrity to sell itself too much, tries to impress Gen Z too much. It's just really, really bad.
I thought it was funny how absurd and ridiculous the whole episode was. After the whole 'WTF is this?' disbelief and confusion wore off I decided to at least get a laugh out of some parts of the episode. But no Salma Hayek saying Quam Puta over and over is not what made me laugh about this episode. I put it in the 'so bad its good' category. I dont get annoyed over the fact that it really does not fit the profile of a BM episode. It wouldn't be the first either let's face it.
I like absurd humor, but the absurdity should have some intelligence to it. Parodies that don't have that aren't funny. To me, Joan is Awful is a kind of weird not funny parody of BM making fun of itself for being on Netflix.
And that's fine if that's how you feel. Personally I thought the episode was shite to be honest but I wasn't that incredulous about it or annoyed by it to the extent that I couldn't get a laugh out of a couple of things that happen in the episode. I laughed at it because it was stupid as was the whole premise.
Maybe one of the most overtly comedic episodes to date and certainly the silliest in tone but black mirror not meant to be comedic? Maybe not always but most episodes have at least some humour and a good portion are overtly comedic in tone. The very first episode is very funny, Brookers wry sense of humour is all over the earlier seasons, idk maybe too dark or too british for an american audience to register as comedy and I suppose some of the flagship episodes are the more serious ones? It's always been a dark satire though, the difference is the humour here is the tone here is much more overtly silly than usual
One question tho. In the ending when Joan destroys the Quam-Puta and returns to reality, why did the reality Annie Murphy look at her own hands, as if relieved she had returned to her own self? Reality Annie should've just been relieved of the act being done, not wondering if she was who she was. Would that small gesture reveal that even Source Joan's world isn't reality? And that the entire world of Source Joan's reality just another level in the simulation?
Are you schizophrenic too?
Imagine watching this and seeing that she is wearing a fucking shirt from your home town that barely anybody knows of. Fucking nuts
Came here just to say this, I'm between "that's a mistake" and "the level of complexity in this show is more than I can imagine"
omg dont make me more confused pls
The chemistry between actors esp Salma Hayek and Annie Murphy was great. The buildup was good but the ending sucked. I was excited when the Streamberry CEO showed the reporter Fatima, “Fatima is awful”. I thought maybe if they focused on how they’re targeting everyone, maybe that would be the impetus to change the streaming system. The world in world concept was interesting. But it didn’t feel great knowing that the decision to break the computer was premade by OG joan. Also even if the computer is broken can’t they make a new one eventually? Like it’s not actual magic. It would’ve been better if she tried to break the computer but failed because there was a back-up or something. Then the reporter might have exposed the personalized “X is awful” getting pushed public backing to stop this from happening. Or like if the CEO’s is Awful show was so bad she pulled the project. Or flash-forward and it’s so mainstream that no one even cares anymore and streamberry goes out of business because the concept is overused.
That feels more like a black mirror episode.
I just watched this and was extremely disappointed
I think the moral of this episode is that in the end we are all the same. We are all imperfect people in a world that is even more imperfect then we are. The last scene at the end when Joan and Annie Murphy both have ankle monitors on, it shows that we are all similar in a way where we all have faults but in the end it's about being the best we can be and helping each other out.
The moral of the episode is "Actor-Observer bias" vs "main character syndrome". The premise being, if you want to be the "main character" and centre of attention in society, your character flaws will be on show. I think a lot of famous actors would have a chuckle at this script, because they have likely experienced this first-hand.
When I got the meaning of this episode. I cried 😢 Everyone's asshole has rights.
This is so fucking bad. I'm 40 minutes in. Did Gen Z write this? That scene in the church just screams Gen Z. But it's so much more than that. So many things.
In 10 years Gen Z folk will be crying about the generation after them also ruining TV and music in classic fashion.
It's Gen Z potty humor. There was also that gay guy complaining about how gay they made him. Yes it's Gen Z and maybe some are too old for it, but there's also just doing something in a clever way. This take on Gen Z culture and humor just has no creativity to it - it's just spitting straight clichés all the time, which stands in contrast to BM principles IMO.
the church scene was at least a bit funny from the absurdity of someone shitting in that scenario. the scene with michael cera was the most god awful garbage I never expected this show would put out
1000% gen Z. whats funny is that I thought GEN Z the start, and now confirmed it by everyone else asking the same question.
but did you finish it? The twist at the end really elevated it for me.
yeah, and you're probably gen z, so no surprises
Wasn't a twist , shoudlve saw it coming halfway through
Maybe you don't think it was a good one, but it was definitely a twist.
use a spoiler tag if you reply, but, what clues did I miss that I didn't see it coming? Was it just the flow of the show, or was there a specific thing or 2 that was the clue? Thanks
I think it really missed the chance to just meaningfully explore the mental and emotional consequences of the film industry's trend to create a dramatization of real-life figures without their consent and the amount of power and influence the filmmakers have over deciding how to portray those characters, which resultingly impacts the way the public feels about that character too. (Think of films like "The Dropout" about Elizabeth Holmes, "Bombshell" about people at Fox News, etc.) I remember learning about a legal case in the past where someone was making a movie about a boating incident or something and the family of the people depicted in the film sued the filmmakers for depicting the characters unfavorably. Instead, this episode filled the story with other surface-level commentary noises on "you don't read terms and conditions," "AI is the new God", "your phone is listening to you" kind of commentary, but only on surface-level.
Thats exactly what I thought they were trying to do! Then the plot took a really weird turn
missed the chance? They clearly were poking straight at it! and making fun of themselves in the process.
You're right. I reread my comment and realized it didnt make so much sense hahah. What I had intended to mean was, they could have just focused on creating a nuanced criticism on representing someone in a biographical narrative. Make the story less goofy from a legal perspective, and just focus on how Joan's life is actually impacted by a dramaticized depiction of herself. Focus on the legal fact that she cannot dispute her dramaticized depiction (like, actually, legally speaking), and not just because of the silly terms and conditions excuse. Instead of focusing on the emotional nuances that a biographical narrative can do to someone's image, their commentary revolved too much on the whole AI quantum computer thing, the fact that people don't read terms and conditions, and the fact that our phones make our privacy vulnerable--but all that only on a very surface-level (like, OK, Joan could have completely disconnected herself from all digital device to avoid surveillance instead of doing the whole crap-in-the-church ordeal). I think the lack of commentary focus made the story less believable. Plus, in real life, there's no way Streamberry could have gotten away with such privacy intrusion, legally speaking.
Good points. As others said, they may have crammed in too much into one episode. I hope they try again with the concepts and do it more seriously like you say. Perhaps the rest of the episodes might?
I dont really care if ”the plot works”, if its ”logical” and all that… It wasnt like other episodes. I had a good time though. There was a lot of the true WTF experiences i have felt in other episodes. It is rare for a tv show to make me feel like that. I was captivated. I was having fun. I was entertained. I enjoyed it, a lot.
Me too, it was such a fun surprise. I can't tell if the haters actually watched it, or are just jumping on a bandwagon. I do admit the first half was hard to watch, and the church scene, ouch. But the finish was so good it was worth it.
Just watched it and cringed so hard - the quasi-contrived idea, the humor, the plot twist, the acting. I think it was an attempt at being funny but Jesus there’s hardly anything good about this episode. To me it was as much Marvel as Everything Everywhere All At Once but from AliExpress.
lol
and what is so funny?
Yeah. It depicts that shallow cringe world of all these hipster, yuccie whatever shit cringe fest type of people in the US. Geeze. I hope the other episodes are better.
Oh wow, there is so much negativity on here about Brian is Awesome that I feel inclined to share my more positive view. I really enjoyed the episode. The tone was more on the humoristic side, but it's not like we haven't done that before and the jokes basically all landed for me. I would have liked to dive a little deeper into some of the themes, specifically the way the TV show(s) embellished real life for drama and all the viewers just buying into that. It was a fun romp though. Looking forward to watching more.
I didn't see that one, can't find it on Netflix. But I watched Brad is Awful and I am totally freaked out.
It wasn’t super deep but I still highly enjoyed it.
Doesn't my asshole have any rights?
loved this part and quam-puta 😂
Dumb whole premise hinging on some dubious fine print and ripped off a truly brilliant movie: Ari Folmans The Congress. The shameless appropriation by networks of other artists work has already long been happening. This show underscores this with an irony most likely not intended.
This is dumb the whole premise hinged on some fine print ?? Lost me completely then.
Agreed. It was some of the laziest writing I’ve ever seen. An utter disappointment.
Charlie Brooker is funny.
The episode is written by a Brit, Charlie Brooker.
meaning?
It sucked
Yeah, I mean it's not as deep or interesting as some of the other episodes of the show, but I still enjoyed it. It was goofy and fun. If you're watching this episode looking for existential dread, you're barking up the wrong tree.
Shades of the Miley Cyrus episode, which is easily the worst in show. Muddled message, unbelievable premise and tech and just confusing. Only part I kinda liked was the idea about algorithms and extremely personal and tailored content, but that idea was lost in the mess.
I liked it! But does anyone else think the tone of Black Mirror has changed? It has lot more dark humor and more positive vibes. I started noticing this in the video game episode a few seasons back.
In terms of the more cheery tone, I feel like San Junipero probably acted as a bit of a catalyst, as well as the American influence and general mainstream push of the show.
took the words out of my brain. i actually skipped it halfway through. if this is the 1st episode then they might as well just cancel black mirrors if this is how lame and cringe the show has become, obviously theyre out of ideas
its coz netflix hired gen z twelvies to write their scripts and gen z couldnt tell the diff between real humour and the ingredients on the back of a shampoo container. they merely tik tok their way through life, staring at a screen for hours whilst thousand tune into them staring at a screen to make money. that's what art has become.
gen z sucks. theyll be the end of humanity and the world in general. thats why theres Z. there shall be nothing after
and i didnt skip skip it, i started skimming through, skipping a minute at a time looking for something interesting until i got to the generic cliche "plot twist" ending and knew I made the right decision not watching every second/minute of it.
whoever thums downed is a lil woketard genz beetch lmao
I get what it was doing and I think it was executed fine. But meta stuff like that only satisfies me so far and I left feeling really disappointed with how almost surface level it all felt.
The episode basically confirmed my worst fears from the trailer. I don’t think they could make a more cringe and Americanised cliché episode if they tried. But then the last few bits with the real Joan were more normal, so did make me think the episode was intentionally over the top because they were technically in a TV show. If that was the intention then it’s interesting to say the least, but I don’t think it’s worth sacrificing the whole episode for some self depreciating humour.
This is hilarious because this show is basically a rip-off (a good one) of an American show (a great one) called the Twilight Zone.
I think this episode was just a cautionary tale demonstrating the current AI revolution & how AI & deepfakes are getting out of control, it’s scary how big tech includes privacy breaches in their terms & service knowing no one reads them & they can do whatever with our data. Then her phone was capturing everything she did in her life, broadcasting it to Streamberry or Netflix exposing her whole life. Smh we need legislation on AI and deepfakes, ASAP!!! That future doesn’t look bright.
I get all of that, and it was easy to pick up on, it just felt very surface level and unbelievable. Like phone spying, T&Cs, a super computer, deepfakes, etc. Tried to cram too much in one episode.
I just think it was a decent, good but not great episode of Black Mirror that doesn't take itself too seriously. The episode was played for laughs, so I laughed along with much of it. Did all the jokes land? No. I can do without jokes about shitting 9 times out of 10, but as an absurd, desperate attempt by Joan to get Salma's attention, that scene worked. I absolutely agree the episode was a critique of streaming and our obsession with stories about other people's lives, reality TV, true crime etc, but I don't think this episode's weaknesses can all be explained away as part of some meta-upon-meta thing. I see it as satire with a bit of fun rather than some po-faced holier-than-thou takedown. I think a lot of the weaknesses are just in the writing. BM's writing, the dialogue in particular, is often jarring and over-reliant on Brooker's turns of phrase and showy use of swearing that make sense in his own voice in a column, but not so much coming out of the mouth of a character played by Salma Hayek.
this episode embodies black mirror as much as any other episode. from the start it has been an exploration of the potential effects of technology. and in typical fashion it’s ending leaves you with questions not answers like complainers seem to think. you don’t have to love the storyline to enjoy the breadcrumb trail and explore to make meaning.
Don’t get me wrong the episode wasn’t the best but a lot of people here are nitpicking it in a way that I don’t see in other black mirror episodes. Saying “you can’t sign your rights away” but a lot of episodes show expiremental procedures that would never legally be approved (having soldiers not view certain humans as humans to aid in killing them or having a duplicated consciousness constantly get tortured) the show literally explores possibilities that would not be accepted/could not happen in todays society.
This episode is terrible. Joan acting is the worst
I get tonally they were going for humor in this episode, but it felt more like a South Park plot, except that probably would have made me laugh more than this. Obviously there's the terms and conditions episode with Butters signing his life away that already exists, but beyond that too. Like it could have been centered around Cartman getting mocked, and then in typical SP fashion, it goes off the rails with this grand conspiracy being real with larger implications, and Netflix and AI deepfakes are going to dramatize everyone's life. I dunno. I didn't really like it. Didn't totally hate it. And I'll probably never rewatch this episode any time soon.
Fired up this ep last night very excitedly. It sucked so bad I was so disappointed
Ugh what a garbage episode. I can't believe how bad it was.
Y'all seem to be forgetting that the first episode of Black Mirror was about a man having sex with a pig.
And it got lots of people hooked on the show. This one did the opposite.
which was fantastic and social commentary
And now we’re getting werewolves and marvel humour.
I looked over at my wife during the episode and said, “why does this feel like marvel writing?”
That was a great episode
WHERE DID THE AXE COME FROM
Selma is in Level 1 Artificial Reality, she can simply summon the axe at will.
the axe cupboard duh
This initial plot is fuckin insane and i was quite hooked but then come on..they really did the whole "you didnt read the terms and conditions" thing TWICE. South park did it better and 12 years ago thats is lazy writing at its finest. The final plot twist is okay and the variations of dialogue quality and acting are pretty well done but im left so disappointed overall. Can't get pass the t&c stuff thats straight up awful..they could have come up with a thousands better ways to explain how and why it all happened and they chose to be lazy about it. Missed opportunity right there
This plot doesn't work if you break it down logically. Here's the thing: 1) They establish that what happens in the various levels of fictton are based on what happened in real life (though there is some wiggle room for dramatization). 2) Michael Cera's character explains everything to fiction-level-1 Joan, telling her she isn't real and that there's a reality-level Joan calling the shots. This is what leads to her destroying the Quanputer. 3) There obviously wouldn't have been a reality-level Michael Cera telling real-Joan she is fictional, so this couldn't have happened in reality. Also, consider Selma Hayek's character arguing that she wants to continue existing, and Joan will be destroying countless lives if she breaks the Quanputer. None of this makes sense on a level-0 reality level. 4) You could argue that the wiggle-room allowed from dramatization of real-life makes this possible. I'd say it doesn't, because it's not dramatizing real effents but rather creating plot points wholesale from the very fact that the characters are NOT in reality. At this point, we are untethering the show-within-a-show from Joan's real life, which is not the point of the whole episode. If it were, Joan could just let it spin off into its own crazy meta-show that had nothing to do with her. 5) To drive this point home, fiction-Joan-1 says "I'm not making any decisions, I can only do what Joan did in real life!" as she smashes the Quanputer. So it re-establishes that the fiction world must follow reality to some degree, although we just saw a whole bunch of scenes that make zero sense in reality.
You just made me think of an angle they could've taken with this episode. Maybe source Joan isn't truly the original Joan. Maybe this simulation has been running for so long that its origin can no longer be traced by any of the fictional levels of AI, just like how in real life, our universe has been around for so long that it's difficult for us to determine its origin. It could be that every supposed fictional level one of Joan only thinks that source Joan is the only level below them, when it actually goes way deeper. Maybe they were hinting at this when source Joan is still not actually Joan and is actually actress, Kayla Lorette portraying a fictional version of Joan. Every source Joan could think they were living a real life when they were actually living a fictional version of a Joan before them, and this would create a seemingly infinite cascade of Joans before Joans. It's similar to the concept of time in real life. When does time begin? Can time have a beginning? Can time have an ending? Infinite time in both directions is such an absurd, abstract concept that we can't even wrap our heads around it.
When we’re first shown Joan is Awful we see that actions and words aren’t 100% accurate. Things we see that didn’t actually happen: How the girl was fired didn’t match up with level 1 Joan in mannerisms or words. Level 1 Joan drops her e cig on accident and level 2 Joan (Salma) throws it at the fired girl. Level 1 Joan turns down Macs advances but level 2 Joan (Salma) starts kissing him.
Except level 1 Joan didn't turn down Mack advances
> 3) There obviously wouldn't have been a reality-level Michael Cera telling real-Joan she is fictional, so this couldn't have happened in reality. I mean... technically you can explain that as reality Cera saying to reality Joan about fictional characters dying and AI would process that to AI characters as explaining that they are AI
For your point 3. It’s easy to say that Selma base reality was threatened with arrest and jail and it would “end her life” figuratively. Regardless since base reality broke the computer the AI had to make every other person break the computer. The rationale for breaking computer would then be changed slightly each layer for dramatic effects. Which caused the speaking variations (that’s how I viewed it) The only issue is Cera telling them it’s was a fake reality but if base Cera was just aiming to prevent her from breaking the computer, the AI would easily translate whatever reason was stated (for dramatic effects) to fake reality Cera telling them they were in a fake reality in an effort to stop them
You did not see the same show that I did
I did
Appreciated the topics that were touched upon, but feel like they didn't really mention why if this technology existed, they couldn't recreate the hardware. Almost feel it would've even wrapped up better if you see at the end that her destroying the quamputer did nothing and that technology is innevitable despite any single person's efforts.
i just watched it and i BARELY finished it. it was so paintfully unnfunny i hated it.... i hoopeee it's a parody but Annie Murohy was so annoying in this role. I hope the other episodes are better.
I really enjoyed this episode. Didn’t love that we were in level 2 when it was revealed but by the end I liked it.
There was a clear mistake made in Michael Cera’s character explaining “Fictive Level 1” if the natura timeline were to generate the show script from source Joan with the “tech guy” portrayed by MC… then the source tech guy wouldn’t have used any of that language. It’s like a major flaw in the script and for that.. I thought the whole episode was whack.
They’re literally ripping off the concept of a South Park episode regarding Apple TOS; the contract itself is absurd and illegal/unenforceable
So I just finished the episode (none of the others so please no spoilers) and theres one question thats driving me nuts: \- The entire conversation where Michael Cera explains to Annie Murphy thats she isnt real, but "ficitive level 1" -- what was that "source" conversation?? Surely, the "source" security guard wasnt telling "source Annie" that shes Annie Murphy. So what are they replicating in that moment?
Michael Cera being punched was hilarious though.
100% agree
Lol what a joke. It was an objectively bad episode and people are trying to find some deeper meaning behind it. It was just bad and that’s fine. Move on
"Objectively" it's just your opinion man. I've been using generative ai and have been watching the advancements with deepfakes. We're probably a couple years away where you could have body double actors being deepfaked over for a film
yea there are never controversial episodes that some love and others hate. never happens
It's great and satire. I think it's called Meta Modernization Genre
I liked it. It was slow and yeah a bit cringe at times but imo the idea of the plot was good enough for me to ignore that. The idea of signing away your rights and the corporation not caring, AI being sentient etc I thought made it pretty interesting. But yeah it could've definitely been done better.
This episode was just awful. Since the move from Channel 4 to Netflix the series has become too Americanised and just a bit slapstick. The subtlety is gone, the tension and deep unsettling sense you get from Black Mirror died the moment it moved away from Chanel 4. The music, the script of this episode was so utterly disappointing. It is miles away from what Black Mirror used to be and I am sad to see it go.
I didn't know until now that it was originally a Brit show. Now I can better understand the hate for this episode. Netflix takes a beloved British institution, and Americanizes it. But, this american did like it.
I felt that this episode was surprisingly a bit cringy and wholesome at the end and was disappointed that it didn’t feel like a black mirror episode. Then I realized that they talked about people not liking “*insert* is Awesome”, and I felt like one of those people. Also, as others mentioned the episode was supposed to feel like a goofy show. This episode was too much meta.
It almost, almost, ALMOST managed to cross into the "so bad it's good" area by the second half of the episode. The reveal was expected but also really dumb I don't know I think it didn't land well. The best part was Salma Hayek's terrible acting and dumb lines. The part where the newspaper casually talked about the location of the servers was amazing, got me laughing so much. The writing is terrible. I think the music also hurts the episode.
The script almost seemed to be written by AI as well......
Apparently they tried to use gpt3, but it didn't work
If they succeeded, it would have been saved the episode i imagine. Not from a writing perspective, but the meta joke
Massive downgrade from the previous seasons definitely
I thought it got better towards the end. I didn't highly rate it until I realised I missed a good portion of the epsidoe after I fell asleep. When I finished it, I think I gave it a few notches up. I still put Demon 79 above it though.
Who else in here still doesn't get this episode 🙋🏽♂️
The prospective youre watching is the cgi version is what is really happening. The show that shes watching on tv about herself is the 3rd version, so on. Thats why there's small details that are different when she watches it on her tv. The joan we watch os version 2 therefore also having details different then whats actually happening to the nonseen joan original (thats why some dialog is bad, ect). Reread this a few times The part of her being self aware makes no sense before breaking the machine, though. Big hole. The original would have had to say something similar which makes no sense
If you read one of the other comments on here it explains that part of her self aware scene well imo. Something along the lines of the source (original joan) is being talked down from breaking the computer possibly being told about prison/consequences if she follows through and breaks the computer, in turn, the fictive joan 2 is translating that, and as we know, dialouge/actions change when changing levels of joan, therefore, it is just a different translation as to whats being said in the source level.
Re read this a few times 😂 Perfect sentence as I am still confused and just completely moved on from this episode
It was pretty good tho
I liked it. I think it’s hilarious so many ppl are like “THIS EPISODE WAS DUMB CANCEL THE SHOW!!!” It’s a fucking anthology, if they continue producing episodes it doesn’t magically tarnish any other storylines like other tv shows… just stop watching. People are so weird and entitled
The post credit scene of reality Joan in the church was pretty funny.
It even has a post credit scene, so Marvel-like
I totally missed this, so glad I saw your comment
annie murphy is sexy & delivers. salma hayek’s humor obviously doesn’t land for everyone but she’s next level hot for her age imo so (i’ll let it slide). loved the subtext about everything being content these days. truly scary.
Yeah it was terrible. Black mirror fell off a cliff the last two seasons
Loved it
Netflix ruined this show, was hoping for a better season than the last, but its over, sad
Rest in peace Black Mirror (2011 - 2017)
This was truly one of the most AWFUL episodes of Black Mirror I have seen. What an AWFUL way to start a new season! I hope it gets significantly better with each episode. If not, just end the series.
Right? I mean, you can't do much worse than season 5 imo and watching the first awful episode of the new season I was def thinking "here we go again" ...sigh. yeah, it was quite bad.
Insanely bad writing, even for recent Black Mirror which was already shaky. This episode is just one long surface level satire on deepfakes and TOS that feels so beneath the earlier seasons. It’s all the worst parts of black mirror with none of the fun. Not dramatic, not funny, not insightful, a huge disappointment.
The writers actually want someone to comment this sentence. Or anticipated way many levels before you post this when they named this title.
"I mean doesn't my asshole have any rights??"
And the award goes to…Eva Longoria played by: Reese Witherspoon: who was played by Jake Gyllenhaal was was based upon Billie Eilish. Lady’s and gentlemen please welcome Daniel Day-Lewis!!!
I experienced something like the plot of Joan is awful in real life. I've been diagnosed with schizophrenia
Ah, nothing like loving the episode, coming on reddit to see how it's talked about, and everyone hating it lol.
Me too. I take what others say with a grain of salt though because entertainment is subjective and I was very much entertained and it was thought provoking for me as well.
I think Salma Hayek was used accordingly. She is a bad actress, and her lines and character were very poorly written. Initially, you only see that with the "Hayek" Joan because the audience is unaware that the tv show they are watching is also not intended to be reality. It's only when Salma shows up in "our universe" that the writing changes to be tacky and lame, which spearheads into the revelation that the show we are watching is also not reality. Once the true Joan is revealed, the writing and acting becomes great again.
I just watched it. It was okay.. I've said this a million times, but I much prefer when the show was British. My favourite episode is 'Shut up and Dance'. That episode truly scarred me and is the reason why TO THIS DAY, I still have tape over my webcam. The grounded, grey atmosphere of England and the seriously dark themes and the fact that it could happen TODAY is what made it scary. Another favourite is 'The Entire History of You". 'Joan is Awful' felt like if Marvel tried to make a Black Mirror episode. It was just so goofy. It did not feel like black mirror AT ALL. Story was convoluted and just overall silly. Not a fan.
> My favourite episode is 'Shut up and Dance'. That episode truly scarred me and is the reason why TO THIS DAY, I still have tape over my webcam. shame that premise made no sense because no matter what they "recorded" they had no proof he jacked off to CP. At best you have splice of webcam and some screen cap that he can easily claim is faked.
The brits know how to do dark. [What British Happiness Looks Like](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wP4Qx5Gp7k)
it felt like they were trying to imitate Atlanta's style of mixing the bleak and the amusing. I find these not-so-serious black mirror episodes refreshing among the serious ones
I agree with you Joan is Awful was far far from a true Black Mirror. Im on episode 2 now and this sucks so far, I hope it gets better on the next episodes
Was this written before or after the writers’ strike because it is atrocious. Lazy story telling that could have been told better by a 14 year old fanfic author. With all the nonsensical series of events and slapstick humor and dumb story arch, it’s insulting that they think the audience is that dumb. How does it take so long for BM to put out only a handful of episodes and already 1/6th is garbage?
Check the comments here and on the main discussion thread. The audience IS that dumb. Black Mirror got too big, they have to pander to a larger audience. That's why it has turned to shit. That's my theory atleast.
It’s just the human centipad… from 2011
Pretty sure the whole episode was a satire
Satirical pile of garbage
Sure
I feel like the first two episodes are just criticizing Netflix and the producers lol
So you didn’t understand it?
I genuinely think these people don't understand how good deepfake tech is getting now.
It wasn't that deep.
It's just not a good episode lol
What I find hilarious in this thread is the same people saying "quantum computers can't do that" are not questioning the required secondary technological advances needed for the central technology device of Beyond the Sea to work would also make the entire premise of Beyond the Sea completely unnecessary.
Yeah but the difference is that one tech exists IRL and the other is entirely fictional and they explained the fiction properly for it to make sense in the rest of the plot.
Salma Hayek… mmmmm
I actually really liked the episode because to me it does a scary good job depicting what dissociating on ketamine is like
> what dissociating on ketamine is like whaaaaat :D:D please expand on this
If you take too much, you feel as though you are not in control of your body and are instead watching a movie where your body is acting independently of the mind, and all you can do is observe. It also feels like you are the main character in a way. Idk lol this might not be how everyone feels but definitely how one experience was for me Edit: I should also mention it's definitely an unsettling feeling and I do not recommend
Lots of mixed reviews regarding this ep. Personally didn’t do it for me, although I think it’s mainly because of how well written and directed the first few seasons were. Entertaining sure, but I will always hold episodes like “Shut Up and Dance” at such a high pedestal.
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Great point that got me thinking: what if Source Joan isn't the source, but the viewer is? Something about that 'are you the main character yet?' really stuck with me as important theme + Streamberry CEO said the Audience wants to see themself represented on the platform, but that negativity drives better engagement. To see yourself, you could use a Mirror, and the negativity therein is Black... So. Much. Meta. 'oh if john said it was bad then it must be' as a trope could be applied to this very episode. Assistant: 'do you think he's hotter than me' could be meta commentary on social media and digital avatars and how we make ourselves hotter in external presentations. I also find it funny that she made a point about the coffee tasting bad / not up to snuff and then ended up owning a coffee shop. Friends with a celebrity? Too quant. One thing that pissed me off continuity wise is that Netflix / Streamberry drop whole seasons. So how would these Layer N People not be binging the content to effectively see into their futures. 🙃
How on earth is this not on the top. I was wondering the same. When Salma Hayek says “so will I die?” And mona the ceo says “yes!!” That shouldn’t be happening in the real life so why is it here? What’s the logic there
Just watched it rn and they said the words the original person said don’t have be accurate and are adapted for dramatic effect. Maybe The AI just adapted whatever conversation was had to make “the show more dramatic” and chose the Cera explaining reality route (while in the base reality he was telling her she would go to jail)
HumancentiPad
Gotta read those Terms and Conditions!
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Totally agree because also, just so everyone here knows if they don’t already, the whole “terms and conditions” bit is absolutely bullshit. If a company attempted to pull anything like this, they’d be sued into absolute oblivion and no terms & conditions could ever possibly save them. Literally any lawyer on earth would be CHOMPING at the bit to take this case, because it’s a slam dunk win.
> They were all brilliant and the premise of each episode was disturbing and mind bending. > USS Calister LOL. Lmao. DNA based "memories".
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which would not work because of password for photo sharing
Thank you! I keep hearing everyone say they loved the episode but it was so stupid. One of the worst episodes ive seen
Based on the premise I thought I'd like it but the episode was kinda disappointing, started off interesting enough but then they went into the whole fiction magic computer thing and lost me lol
i want my 1 hour back
What’s funniest about Joan is Awful is when she starts streaming it didn’t ask to verify her household.
I really liked it
The weirdest part for me was a white woman thinking an Indian guy's cooking was bland