Black Mirror - S7 • E3 - Hotel Reverie
Black Mirror
TV-MAS7 • E3Apr 9, 202578m
6.7
A high-tech, unusually immersive remake of a vintage British film sends Hollywood A-list star Brandy Friday into another dimension, where she must stick to the script if she ever wants to make it home.
Scott Phelps reviewedApril 13, 2025
A fantastic performance from Emma Carrin is the saving grace of another episode of Black Mirror that falls far from the heights of it's earlier years.
An episode akin to the progression of an AI inspired relationship seen in San Junipero (sharing similar homosexual romantic themes) unfortunately fails to expand what could be a really connecting episode for the audience to it's "AI movie" characters.
***Spoiler***
I feel disappointed this episode didn't dive further into the torment and ultimate cause of suicide for Dorothy; her repression of homosexual romantic feelings in an era where it were taboo. Instead, it was briefly shown to the audience in a gimmicky montage and then eradicated once "connection" to the outside studio servers was established again by a simple "reboot".
Expansion once the forth wall acknowledgement from Dorothy of living within a movie yet still being in love with Brandy would have allowed an audience to connect with the heartbreak further along the line. Empathising with how Dorothy was born an era too soon to allow her to be "truly" herself with her sexuality (reflecting on the other movie characters having simply no problem with Brandy's character being a "black woman" nor a female love interest - something that our modern society has accepted).
How the studio employees reached such sadness to cry at the final retold scene and death of Clara is beyond me and frankly absurd. Their feed to the continuous "second life" and romantic bond that Dorothy and Brandy had was cut, they couldn't observe it.
If anything they should have all felt relief at Brandy delivering her final line, allowing them to bring her consciousness back safely and a disconnect between themselves and Brandy on her return - as none of them understand why she was distraught clutching at a deceased Clara.