Charlie Brooker’s final episode closes the Black Mirror trilogy in epic fashion. Episode 1 dealt with the power and reach of non-traditional media, and how it could even lead to bully the most powerful person in the nation. After all, it managed to organise revolutions in the real world. Episode 2, was a bleak look at a future ruled and governed by entertainment, sans any attachment and emotions. And with Episode 3, The Entire History of You, we get a taster of another dystopian future, and shows us what the next level of personal video sharing or redo-memory could lead us into. Would Tivo-ing your memories be a gift, or a curse?

Hit the jump, as we discuss Episode 3 of Black Mirror – The Entire History of You. SPOILER ALERT.

The Tech:

This is a future, where everybody seems to be thin, lean and beuatiful. There are massive boardrooms, glossy bamboo flooring, extra spacious halls with modern furniture, and cabs with matte finish and touchscreens. But the key technology in focus is the “Grain” – a chip implanted under a person’s skin, it records everything a person saw and heard. Everything! Even the most infinitesimal and insignificant detail can be scrolled through and viewed on the back of the eyelids or screened on massive displays. You are empowered with being able to “Re-Do” your moments.

We all know that our memory recollections are hardly to be trusted. But digital memory is total recall, 100% accurate. And although this offers better control over employability or security, or over re-watching your daughter’s first word without having to worry about getting the camcorder prepared, what could be the implications of this technology, in a world obsessed with digging out the dirt. We live in a world where social media timelines, wall messages and comments, photo tags, and likes and dislikes have been the reason behind makeup and breakup of relationships. Thinking of it, it is just the technology of the Grain which separates our world with this.

The Story of Liam and Ffion:

Liam and Ffion’s happily married relationship spirals down to nothing almost instantaneously at a party, when Liam starts suspecting Ffion’s laidback and flirtatious friend – Jonas. A quick redo of the evening, and digging deep into the details, reveals that Ffi has been misleading him about Jonas. She had a 6 month long relationship with her, and this fuels Liam to go on a rage, to beat up Jonas and force him to delete memories of Ffi. Later on, we only find out Liam alone in the house.

We don’t get to know who dumped whom. But Liam is all by himself, watching his memories, over and over again, and regrets over his actions. Unable to cope with the loss of his perfect world that existed just a few moments ago, he cuts his skin to take his Grain out.

Take a Bow:

Toby Kebbel as Liam is brilliant. His restless obsession to find out the truth is the most human characteristic that I have seen all season. And although we do get to see the dark side of Liam, it was very hard for me not to sympathise with him. In a world where stalking over wall postings and message delivery times isn’t an unknown concept, Liam’s unhealthy obsession is disturbing on many levels.

Also, Jodie Whittaker as Ffi is almost heartbreaking to watch. To watch her crumble down the pressure of the truth, when her only fault was to try to protect her husband from an insignificant and unnecessary detail which could harm their relationship. It is only sad to see how the truth became the reason of their relationship’s end.

As Ffi says ,”Not everything that isn’t true is a lie”, summing up the deception and illusions of real relationships and life itself. It is these illusions which make our life better, without which we would just be surrounded by hatred, jealousy and inadequacy. Liam realises that when he watches his memories for the last time, but it is too late.

Last but not the least, Charlie Brooker, the creator of this series, alongside Peep Show writer Jessie Armstrong deserve a big round of applause for creating the bleakest, and the most uncomfortable yet familiar piece of fiction to have graced our TV screens in the recent past. From digging dirt out of a fake laugh to the unsettling and most detached sex scene in the history of television, The Entire History Of You was a complete mindfuck for me.

If Black Mirror gets a 2nd series, I will surely be tuning in.

9E3K Rating:

Episode 3: 4 .5 Grains Out of 5

Series: 5 Mirrors Out of 5