(Ana Blumekron via Netflix)
San Juan; Texas — I used to watch a lot of TV, and I mean a lot. Before I touched a video game controller, I remember being obsessed with shows and even learning to read my first words from the TV Guide channel back when it existed.
Television has always been a staple in my life, but what if it fights back?
One of my favorite shows of all time is Netflix’s “Black Mirror,” and after a five-year hiatus, I am excited to see my favorite existential horror of a TV show come back! Just like a high tech computer, the show had its sixth update with “Joan is Awful.” This episode follows the titular Joan (Annie Murphy) as she goes through a crisis where she discovers that her whole world is turned upside down when the streaming service “Streamberry” makes a show based on her life with Salma Hayek Pinault as the lead, exposing all her secrets and destroying her reality.
The main actors in this episode Murphy and Salma Hayek Pinault, who plays herself and “Joan,” are wonderful in their roles as they maneuver the difficult situation happening before them. Now mentally, this episode did not destroy me emotionally as the other dark stories of the show have done, but it really made me think about the banal things we agree to such as terms and conditions. My only complaint of the episode is that instead of using a more realistic approach to its science, it was very much rooted in technobabble that while I could tolerate, felt very far sci-fi than other modern day episodes of “Black Mirror.” I mean, they use the word “quantum,” and after “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” I feel like I never want to hear that word again.
Verdict for this episode: one Netflix thumbs up. I liked it very much and while the finality of the episode may not have given me a pit of dread, it really entertained me and did feel like the contemporary “Black Mirror” where the plots are more wild and Hollywood-like.
If you liked this episode, recommendations include: “Nosedive,” “Rachel, Jack” and “Ashley Too” and “Bandersnatch.”
Guillermo Guzman (he/him/they) is a Texas based nerd who loves talking about video games, autism, and entertainment. Follow him on Instagram: @boofy_booferson and Twitter: @Dimpy_Tenders.
Edited by Nykeya Woods