WHITE CHRISTMAS can easily be called the best Black Mirror episode ever, and based on it's lofty 9+ rating, not surprising. A clinic in atmosphere, storytelling, writing , and acting, White Christmas incorporates various technologies already presented on the series and expands upon them to a point where it seems like the future has been laid out.
Anchored by a brilliant, award-worthy performance by TV icon Jon Hamm (Emmy winner from Mad Men), this episode is captivating start to finish. White Christmas starts off in a remote cabin with 2 men seemingly imprisoned there, cut off from society. The 2 men are Matt (the aforementioned Hamm) and Joe (a superb Rafe Spall), who share each other's stories in an effort to break the boredom, all the while cooking up and feasting on a very British Christmas meal. Joe is actually British while Matt is an American living in England.
We find out that Matt is a manipulative, smooth-talking closer, both in his day job and his extracurricular activities, while Joe is a more innocent, humane person who seems like he couldn't hurt a fly. Layers and layers are deftly revealed throughout the episode, all the while some nifty technology is showcased, including that Bluetooth-like eye technology first shown in The Entire History of You, as well as a much more advanced version of the digital cookies tech first shown in Be Right Back. But the director smartly mixes the technology into the story, and not allowing it to dominate. Instead the very real and true human characters shine.
In addition to the 2 great leads Hamm and Spall (both of whom should have won awards), the supporting cast, including a now fairly famous Janet Montgomery, all make this splendid episode come to life. In particular, Oona Chaplin (as Greata) and Rasmus Hardiker (as Harry) stand out as they played big roles in 2 of the 3 stories. Interestingly, this was really a Special Christmas episode, but has been coined as the official last episode of Season 2 (even though it came out close to 2 years after the end of that season), then Season 3 came out two full years after this. I think the series didn't really garner worldwide attention until Netflix took over. A shame because I feel this masterpiece of an episode deserved serious acclaim and award recognition.
Anchored by a brilliant, award-worthy performance by TV icon Jon Hamm (Emmy winner from Mad Men), this episode is captivating start to finish. White Christmas starts off in a remote cabin with 2 men seemingly imprisoned there, cut off from society. The 2 men are Matt (the aforementioned Hamm) and Joe (a superb Rafe Spall), who share each other's stories in an effort to break the boredom, all the while cooking up and feasting on a very British Christmas meal. Joe is actually British while Matt is an American living in England.
We find out that Matt is a manipulative, smooth-talking closer, both in his day job and his extracurricular activities, while Joe is a more innocent, humane person who seems like he couldn't hurt a fly. Layers and layers are deftly revealed throughout the episode, all the while some nifty technology is showcased, including that Bluetooth-like eye technology first shown in The Entire History of You, as well as a much more advanced version of the digital cookies tech first shown in Be Right Back. But the director smartly mixes the technology into the story, and not allowing it to dominate. Instead the very real and true human characters shine.
In addition to the 2 great leads Hamm and Spall (both of whom should have won awards), the supporting cast, including a now fairly famous Janet Montgomery, all make this splendid episode come to life. In particular, Oona Chaplin (as Greata) and Rasmus Hardiker (as Harry) stand out as they played big roles in 2 of the 3 stories. Interestingly, this was really a Special Christmas episode, but has been coined as the official last episode of Season 2 (even though it came out close to 2 years after the end of that season), then Season 3 came out two full years after this. I think the series didn't really garner worldwide attention until Netflix took over. A shame because I feel this masterpiece of an episode deserved serious acclaim and award recognition.