Although the theme had been touched upon before (Season 2 Episode 1 "Be Right Back"), it's completely different. It covers many topics that we can relate to, has science fiction, it's a dramatic episode, and it goes back to the central theme of all the good episodes of Black Mirror: technology in relation to human beings.
The story is quite good and well-told, but there are certain elements that I didn't like and they undermine the credibility of the narrative and it's also quite predictible.
It seems implausible to me that they didn't think of a plan B in case something happens to the replicas. Did NASA really not consider a solution if one of the replicas was destroyed? It's obvious that an accident could have happened to it, it could have been kidnapped, etc. I mean, if it's possible to create a replica of an astronaut serving in space, didn't it occur to them to have a second replica just in case? It's obvious that something could happen to the replica on Earth, and they would eventually need a replacement, but it didn't cross their minds? I understand that for the story to happen, this had to occur, but they should have worked better on the arguments to avoid having another replica available.
The hippie cult who kill the family and burn Josh Hartnett's replica were a kind of sad Manson Family. I know there are fanatics for everything, but would people really get so angry at a robot? I'm not saying it's impossible, there are crazy people for everything, but I think I would have liked a different motivation or simply another event that made the replica disappear. Because while the murder of his family and the trauma it causes make sense in the story, maybe without their death, the disappearance of the replica would have been enough for the plot, as the important thing in the end is the character's psychological state being alone in the spacecraft without being able to live or experience life on Earth, knowing that it will be like that for years.
And I can't fail to mention the lack of support from NASA in the situation. I mean, something extreme and traumatic happened, and only the spacecraft partner could come up with a humanitarian "solution"?
I feel that all of this undermines the credibility of the narrative and makes the story imperfect, even though it could have been perfect or at least great.
It was also a bit predictable that he would fall in love with the other man's wife. At least she said no, so it didn't end up being too cliché.
As for the ending, I don't know what to think. While we know it's crucial for both astronauts to be alive for the spacecraft to function, I find the reaction of Aaron Paul's character a bit absurd when he returns to the spacecraft after seeing his entire family massacred (and already being angry with Josh Hartnett's character). He was just slightly in shock from everything that just happened (he was angrier when he saw the drawings of the wife than when his wife and child were killed). That part lacks realism; normally, he would have wanted to kill the person who killed his entire family, which would have added more humanity and realism to what happened, and he would have been left alone without being able to escape, which is what was driving the other character crazy.
It would speak a lot about human nature and the lack of control over emotions (by both characters), loneliness, and how having replicas instead of a solution can become more of a problem, that technology cannot be trusted. I find it implausible that your whole family is killed and you remain so composed....
The best episode of this season but not a great one.
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