MovieChat Forums > Black Mirror (2011) Discussion > Smithereens v. Rachel, Jack and Ashley t...

Smithereens v. Rachel, Jack and Ashley too


These two have a very interesting contrast.

With Smithereens I feel that the central idea was weak. Guy has a car crash thanks to his addiction to social media and kidnaps an employee. I found this idea a bit weak and cliché. Yet, the entire episode was elevated thanks to the great writing and the awesome acting.

With Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too I felt the opposite. The concept of Ashley Too is interesting, but the entire episode was botched due to lazy writing. The part where the girls outsmarted the guard felt like something of a Disney Channel original movie. Overall, a wasted opportunity.

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Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too has a lighter and less serious tone, kinda like USS Callister so its not meant to be taken too seriously.

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Smithereens was more of a straight up drama and a very good one.

I thought it would even make a good movie.

Combine this ep with the ep, The National Anthem, and you basically have the plot of Money Monster, i.e. victim takes a hostage and demands that the authority figure/president publicly shame themselves for their perceived role in the victim's sad circumstances.

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It absolutely takes on the Disney vibe, which is part of the aesthetic. I thought it was a very well made episode. I feel like your objection towards lazy writing to get from point A to point B doesn't really hold weight when something is presented in this format. In a more extreme example, my favorite movie by far is Bad Boy Bubby, but you would be hard pressed to find a logical step from one setting to another anywhere in that entire movie.

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