matthewparkin-35963 I enjoyed the first and third stories but the second story and the end were not enjoyable for me. I think this is the risk they took but creating three stories but I do praise the way that they linked the stories except the ending. I feel like the ending was just put in to have an additional link to an earlier story when it was not needed.

zackarydaniels What exactly is the point of punishing Potter's cookie? What happens to the actual guy now? It isn't explained.Also, by putting Matt on the sex offender "block" list and having him blocked by everyone, you are effectively giving him a death sentence. A death sentence for what? Not reporting a murder, or watching sex tapes? I mean it's messed up, but the police decide to sentence him to "YOU SHALL NEVER SPEAK TO ANYONE AGAIN EVER!!!" for what reason, exactly? It's stupid. This episode is stupid.Going back to the bit about Potter's cookie, I get that the idea is supposed to make you consider the morality whether or not it's okay to mistreat advanced AI, but that moral argument is overshadowed when you punish Matt, an actual person who did something much less serious with (essentially) death. While not punishing actual Potter at all. Cool, you're punishing a copy of his brain by making him listen to a song a few billion times but you're doing nothing to the actual guy while killing Matt for no reason.It's stupid. The ending completely takes away from the cool moments and concepts in the episode.

Andrea Tsereteli (House of Targaryen) White Christmas' nightmarish tales of isolation might be dark, but they show sage concern about the kind of world we're building for ourselves. Much about this episode is fed by things we've seen in previous Black Mirrors, particularly the use of technology, but overall it's a damning indictment of the callousness of humans; what a lovely Christmassy subject!

ericrnolan "Black Mirror" seems to me to be  the best science fiction show on television; I'd rate Season 2 (2013) a 9 out of 10.  (I'm never quite certain whether to group British shows by "season" or by "series," as they do.  I'm also a little uncertain why the fourth and final episode here, "White Christmas," is included in Season 2, as it aired nearly two years later as a 2014 holiday special.)I commented to a friend of mine after seeing "White Christmas" the other night that the show was "brave" -- it just isn't afraid to alienate mainstream audiences by being too dark.  Not all of "Black Mirror's"  episodes have "twists," but they typically have an unexpected plot development, and their outcomes and implications are arguably depressing.It's just such a damned good show, though, in terms of its writing and acting.  My friend told me she wasn't aware of anyone who had seen it and disliked it. "White Christmas," for example, was one of the best hours of science fiction television I've ever seen.  It consists of three blackly tragic vignettes seamlessly woven withing a wraparound story, and it employs a sci-fi plot device that is mind-bending and brutal.  I believe this is the first time I've seen its lead actor, Jon Hamm, and I was extremely impressed with his performance.My only quibbles with the program are extremely minor.  As with the first season, I think that not every episode truly requires a 44- minute running length.  I thought two episodes  ("Be Right Back" and "The Waldo Moment") seemed like they could have been tightened up into one, maybe with tighter writing allowing for shorter segments. I've noticed another minor relative weakness with "Black Mirror" in general as well -- the show does not always present the viewer with likable protagonists.  Occasionally, the various characters we're asked to identify with are either slightly off-putting or even annoying.  Again, "Be Right Back" and "The Waldo Moment" spring to mind.  This wasn't enough to greatly affect my enjoyment of the episodes, though.What an incredible show.