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Black Mirror S3E02 "Playtest" discussion thread
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Black Mirror Season 3 Episode 2 - Playtest
An American traveler short on cash signs up to test a revolutionary new gaming system, only to discover the thrills are a little too real.
Warning: this thread contains spoilers about this episode! If you haven't seen it yet, please watch it and come back to this thread later.
You can talk about past episodes, but please don't discuss future episodes in this thread!
If you don't know what to say, here are some questions to get the discussion started:
- How does the title relate to the episode itself?
- Are there any similarities between real life events and the episode?
- Are there any references or easter eggs in the episode, such as references to past episodes?
Clearly discussion has slowed down significantly, so I’m going to be switching the schedule to be one thread every Monday.
This is one of my absolute favourite episodes of the series, so I’m eager to discuss it, I’ve just been quite busy and haven’t gotten around to rewatching it yet.
Yeah that's my problem too. I had considered writing a review just from memory of the episode (I remember really enjoying it and getting a very "Silent Hill" vibe from it) but then I decided against that and to rewatch it first instead. I just haven't managed to find the time yet. :(
Playtest was the first Black Mirror episode I watched. A friend of mine wanted me to get into the show and just knew this episode was the one to do it.
I fucking loved it. The show was so trippy, it literally gave me flash backs of little mind adventures I've had of my own (don't do drugs, kids). The concept of the episode is nothing unique, but it still did the whole mind fuck thing right with its twists and turns in every corner. This is how you really scare such a desensitized generation today: by messing with their perception of time and showing them just how fragile our minds really are.
I love all the different twists - it really helps give the powerful effect of not even the audience understanding what's going on, and that can be hard to do in TV. The acting by the main character was phenomenal, and really helped with that - especially the contrast between him being his normal self and his progression to becoming entirely broken by the "game".
I agree that the concept isn't super original, but wow, they pulled it off super well.
I really like this episode. It was actually the first episode of Black Mirror that I watched. The story is just a perfect tragedy, and the twists only add to the enjoyment.