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"Crocodile" is the third episode of the fourth series of anthology series ''
Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fictio ...
''. It was written by series creator
Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...
and directed by
John Hillcoat John Hillcoat (born 1960) is an Australian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, and music video director. Early life Hillcoat was born in Queensland, Australia, and was raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As a child, his paintings were featur ...
. The episode first aired on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, along with the rest of series four, on 29 December 2017. The episode follows Mia (
Andrea Riseborough Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 20 November 1981) is an English actress and producer. She made her film debut with a small part in ''Venus'' (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008), '' Never Let Me Go ...
) fifteen years after she helped her friend Rob (
Andrew Gower Andrew Gower (born 8 November 1989) is an English actor. A staple in British television and theatre, he is best known for his recurring role as Cutler in '' Being Human'' and his turn as Prince Charles Stuart in ''Outlander''. Gower won the Sp ...
) cover up a hit-and-run death, as she commits several murders in order to cover up her past crimes. Meanwhile, Shazia (
Kiran Sonia Sawar Kiran Sonia Sawar is a Scottish actress best known for her role in the one-off drama ''Murdered by My Father''. In 2017, Sawar appeared in "Crocodile", an episode of the fourth season of anthology series ''Black Mirror''. Early life Sawar is of ...
) is an insurance investigator who uses a "Recaller" that can project people's visual memories onto a screen. The writers were inspired by
Nordic noir Nordic noir, also known as Scandinavian noir or Scandi noir, is a genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular ...
and by a similar memory technology in series one's "
The Entire History of You "The Entire History of You" is the third and final episode of the first series of the British science fiction anthology television series ''Black Mirror''. It was the first episode not written by series creator Charlie Brooker, instead credited ...
". The first draft featured a male protagonist and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
as its setting. It was filmed in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. The episode garnered mixed reviews. Critics mostly found its bleakness and violence to be excessive, with further criticism of the plot twists. Some reviewers found the Recaller technology to be interesting, but not meaningfully explored by the episode. Riseborough and Sawar's acting, as well as the visual aesthetics, were acclaimed.


Plot

Driving intoxicated after a party, Rob (
Andrew Gower Andrew Gower (born 8 November 1989) is an English actor. A staple in British television and theatre, he is best known for his recurring role as Cutler in '' Being Human'' and his turn as Prince Charles Stuart in ''Outlander''. Gower won the Sp ...
) hits a cyclist on a mountain road, killing him. Rob's companion Mia Nolan (
Andrea Riseborough Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 20 November 1981) is an English actress and producer. She made her film debut with a small part in ''Venus'' (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008), '' Never Let Me Go ...
) helps him throw the body off a cliff into a lake. Fifteen years later, Mia is married with a nine-year-old son and works as an architect. After she delivers an important presentation, a newly-sober Rob meets her at her hotel. He is going to write an anonymous letter to the victim's wife, after seeing a news article indicating she never moved on, but Mia is afraid the letter will be traced. An argument ensues and Mia breaks Rob's neck, killing him. Out of the window, she notices a self-driving pizza delivery truck hit a pedestrian. Playing pornography in the room as an alibi, she disposes of Rob's body. The pedestrian is visited by Shazia (
Kiran Sonia Sawar Kiran Sonia Sawar is a Scottish actress best known for her role in the one-off drama ''Murdered by My Father''. In 2017, Sawar appeared in "Crocodile", an episode of the fourth season of anthology series ''Black Mirror''. Early life Sawar is of ...
), an insurance investigator who uses a "Recaller" to view his memories, as best as he can picture them, on a screen. She finds a woman he passed on the street before the incident, who directs her to a dentist, who saw Mia looking at the accident from her hotel room. In each case Shazia makes them smell beer from the nearby brewery and replays a song that played in a passing car to strengthen their memories. Hoping to get bonus pay from a quick investigation, Shazia makes a lengthy drive to meet Mia. A tense Mia only allows Shazia in when told that refusal will be reported to the police. Mia tries to divert her memory away from the accident but fails, and Shazia sees memories of both of her killings. Shazia tries to leave but her car does not start and Mia smashes the window, knocks her out and ties her up in a shed. Mia disbelieves Shazia's promise to keep the information secret, and uses the Recaller to learn that she told her husband Anan (
Anthony Welsh Anthony Michael Welsh (born 5 July 1983) is an English actor. He made his film debut in ''Red Tails'' (2012). On television, he is known for his role as Lucky Gordon in ''The Trial of Christine Keeler'' (2019–2020). Early life and education W ...
) whom she was visiting. Mia kills Shazia, drives to her house and, masked, kills Anan as he bathes. As Mia exits, having removed her mask, she sees the couple's baby son babbling in front of her and kills him so as not to leave a witness. However, the baby was born blind. Police use the Recaller on the baby's pet guinea pig, which had observed the final murder. Officers then quietly arrive at the ending of Mia's son's school production of ''
Bugsy Malone ''Bugsy Malone'' is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film written and directed by Alan Parker (in his feature film directorial debut). A co-production of United States and United Kingdom, it features an ensemble cast, featuring only child actors ...
'', where she is in the audience.


Production

Whilst series one and two of ''Black Mirror'' were shown on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
in the UK, in September 2015 Netflix commissioned the series for 12 episodes, and in March 2016 it outbid Channel 4 for the rights to distribute the series in the UK, with an offer of $40 million. The twelve-episode order was divided into two series of six episodes each, with "Crocodile" in the latter group. The six episodes in series four were released on Netflix simultaneously on 29 December 2017. "Crocodile" is listed as the third episode, but as ''Black Mirror'' is an
anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
, each instalment can be watched in any order.


Writing and casting

The episode was written by the series creator
Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...
, with
Annabel Jones Annabel Jones (born January 1972) is a Welsh television producer, best known for producing ''Black Mirror'' with Charlie Brooker. She is a co-writer of the 2018 book ''Inside Black Mirror'', with Brooker and Jason Arnopp. Jones is co-founder of th ...
as executive producer. It was inspired by the series one episode "
The Entire History of You "The Entire History of You" is the third and final episode of the first series of the British science fiction anthology television series ''Black Mirror''. It was the first episode not written by series creator Charlie Brooker, instead credited ...
", which featured a personal implant that a person could use privately to review their memories. According to Jones, they considered what the situation would be like if these memories were not private, developing a "cat-and-mouse type drama" that would highlight the importance of memories, and to what lengths someone with a secret would go to conceal them. In its original form, the script involved a woman who, at the age of two, had seen her mother die, causing her to become an anxious and fearful person. Brooker compared this to a
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
trip down a jungle river with random events: one person may have an enjoyable experience despite some negative happenstances, but an unlucky person may be attacked by a crocodile almost immediately and, thinking that they are in a "crocodile attack simulator", be anxious for the rest of the game. While the script significantly changed over the course of production, the title was established as "Crocodile" because of this analogy. The episode was initially conceived with a male protagonist. Andrea Riseborough read the script to audition for the insurance investigator, who was later renamed Shazia and played by Kiran Sonia Sawar. However, Riseborough liked the journey of the protagonist and asked if the part could be rewritten as a woman. Both Brooker and Jones described the change as interesting, with Jones asking, "How often do you see a mother reduced to this level of desperation?" Though they questioned whether a woman would have the physical strength to dispose of a body, Riseborough argued that her character could find that strength in desperation. Brooker commented that "the panicking male murderer is practically a trope", so the gender change was "refreshing". The episode ends with Mia killing Shazia's son, who turns out to be blind, and her murder is witnessed by a guinea pig. This was intended as dark humour in the tone of 1996 black comedy thriller '' Fargo'', though the episode had been more serious up until that point. Mia then watches her son in a stage adaptation of the 1976 musical film ''Bugsy Malone'', which starred
Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the ho ...
—the director of the preceding episode " Arkangel".


Filming

The episode was directed by
John Hillcoat John Hillcoat (born 1960) is an Australian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, and music video director. Early life Hillcoat was born in Queensland, Australia, and was raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As a child, his paintings were featur ...
, who described the episode as a "pitch-black
comedy of errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It ...
". Hillcoat said that "Crocodile" is about "how human beings actually work and how we would respond to something the tech revolution may well bring into our lives". The memory reader technology was conceived by Brooker with the arcade machine for ''
Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter and set ...
'' in mind. Production designer Joel Collins compares it to a
slide viewer A slide viewer (also called transparency viewer) is a device for looking at film transparencies or similar photographic images. Description A slide viewer is usually a small handheld device with a slot in which a slide can be inserted to see a ...
, contrasting with the thin screens of contemporary devices. After the memory reader was designed, other technology in the episode such as the pizza truck were re-designed with similar box styles. The episode was shot in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and includes scenes filmed in the Harpa concert hall. Brooker had originally called for filming in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
in his script, but he later said that Netflix suggested Iceland as a "stunning backdrop". Hillcoat commented that the "cruel inescapable logic" of Mia's actions were suited for Icelandic "strange, vast and primeval landscapes". During filming, Iceland had its largest snowfall in forty years. The scenes involving the pizza van were the worst affected, with shooting taking place over two nights. Snow needed to be continually brushed and special effects teams used heaters and hoses on important areas in frame. A line of dialogue about snow was added, the intention being that the difference in snow was a consequence of observers' differing memories. Riseborough's performance as Mia was less panicked than Brooker had pictured when writing the episode. Hillcoat opined that Mia has ambition as a "deep inner flaw", whereas Jones thought her actions was a "logical inevitability" of her initially protecting her friend Rob. Brooker said that Mia "really turns" when she hides Rob's body, rather than confessing to causing his death. In her first rehearsal, Riseborough injured her ribs. Sawar found the scene in which her character Shazia was killed by Mia difficult to film, and was unable to watch the scene in the finished episode.


Marketing

In May 2017, a
Reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...
post unofficially announced the names and directors of the six episodes in series 4 of ''Black Mirror''. The first trailer for the series was released by Netflix on 25 August 2017, and contained the six episode titles. Beginning on 24 November 2017, Netflix published a series of daily posters and trailers for the fourth series, referred to as the "13 Days of ''Black Mirror''". The trailer for "Crocodile" was the second to be released, on 27 November 2017. On 6 December, Netflix published a trailer featuring an amalgamation of scenes from the fourth series, which announced that the series would be released on 29 December.


Analysis

The writers were inspired by the aesthetic of
Nordic noir Nordic noir, also known as Scandinavian noir or Scandi noir, is a genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular ...
, a genre of
crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
in the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
. David Sims of ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' additionally identified elements of
psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and co ...
, and Charles Bramesco of ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'' found "a familiar series of law-and-order beats". Shazia has the "detective role" in the story, according to Nick Harley of ''
Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gan ...
''. Harley and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s Lanre Bakare both found it one of the bleakest episodes of ''Black Mirror'', and '' Paste''s Jacob Oller wrote that there was an "unrelenting pessimism at the heart of the story". Critics suggested various motivations or emotions behind Mia's actions. Louisa Mellor of ''Den of Geek'' found her to be "traumatised by her actions but... stuck on a murderous path from which she can't turn back". ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
''s Chris Harvey saw a message that "there in all of us, a long way down" is the propensity to murder. Prior to her killing spree, Bramesco found that Mia was "trying her best to be a dutiful mother and wife while pursuing excellence as an architecture expert". Writing for ''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'', Laura Hudson viewed that Mia "benefits from the presumption of innocence" as a white woman, and that she is "effective" as "an unlikely killer". Hudson noted that most of Mia's victims are
people of colour The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...
and drew comparisons to ''
Get Out ''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landr ...
'' (2017), a horror film which she said "positioned white femininity as the canny, quiet heart of its violence". Oller saw Mia's predicament as like the video game ''
Until Dawn ''Until Dawn'' is a 2015 interactive drama horror game, horror video game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. Players assume control of eight young adults who have to survive on B ...
'' (2015), describing that in the game "your every decision begins a series of butterfly effects". Some critics drew connections between the title and the idiom "
crocodile tears Crocodile tears, or superficial sympathy, is a false, insincere display of emotion such as a hypocrite crying fake tears of grief. The phrase derives from an ancient belief that crocodiles shed tears while consuming their prey, and as such is pr ...
", which refers to insincere expressions of sorrow. Rosie Fletcher of ''
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
'' commented that Mia is seen crying in the episode, and initially seems much more emotional than Rob about the car crash death, but Fletcher says that she becomes "a completely ruthless and cold killer". Zack Handlen, a reviewer for ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', saw an ambiguity over whether Mia's grief was insincere, suggesting that it could be "all for show" or because "no matter how awful she feels, she keeps pushing forward". Hudson compared her "pseudo-sympathetic tears" to a line from
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' that a person can "smile and smile and smile and be a villain". Jason Koebler of ''
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
'' noted that Mia does not read the
End-User License Agreement An end-user license agreement or EULA () is a legal contract between a software supplier and a customer or end-user, generally made available to the customer via a retailer acting as an intermediary. A EULA specifies in detail the rights and restr ...
(EULA) for the Recaller, and suggests that Shazia is lying about the "legal requirement" to use the Recaller, as she previously implied Mia could opt out. Thus, Mia reading the EULA could have allowed her to decline, and the later murders would not have happened. Kevin P. Sullivan of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' saw the technology in the episode as "the means to another end and a different message entirely", though Hudson wrote that it was "hard to identify a takeaway". Some questions were raised by the Recaller. Hudson said it was "an obvious proxy for the increasingly invasive ways our lives are surveilled, from cameras to face-recognition to data theft". Handlen viewed that the episode asks: "Is it ethical to force people to reveal their memories? Is it just another form of police questioning, or something more sinister?" Alissa Wilkinson of '' Vox'' found it "frightening" that "memories are not just unreliable, but suggestible". In the episode, one person's memory is seen to change when Shazia tells the person what colour a woman's jacket was. Wilkinson thought that this could be misused by a malicious employee in the justice system. In January 2018,
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
announced its self-driving delivery vehicle, the e-Palette. One of their partnerships was with
Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...
, to create a self-driving pizza delivery truck. This led to comparisons to the truck with the same function in "Crocodile". The official
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account for ''Black Mirror'' replied to the announcement with "We know how this goes." Comparisons were made to other ''Black Mirror'' episodes. In terms of the genre, Bramesco found that the instalment "pivots into a two-pronged procedural" like that of "
Hated in the Nation "Hated in the Nation" is the sixth and final episode in the third series of the British science fiction anthology series ''Black Mirror''. Written by series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and directed by James Hawes, it premiered on Net ...
". In relation to the technology, the "grain" in "The Entire History of You" records one's vision and hearing exactly, whereas in "Crocodile" the Recaller is dependent on imperfect recollections. In "Crocodile", the song "
Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand) "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" is a 1964 R&B song written by Jeannie Seely and Randy Newman. It was recorded by Irma Thomas and released as a single the same year, with " Time Is on My Side" as the B-side. The song is about a ...
" plays—it became a recurring feature of ''Black Mirror'' after Abi sang it in "
Fifteen Million Merits "Fifteen Million Merits" is the second episode of the first series of the British science fiction anthology series ''Black Mirror''. It was written by the series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and his wife Konnie Huq and directed by Euros ...
". The talent show ''Hot Shots'' and pornography channel ''WraithBabes'', two other features of "Fifteen Million Merits", are also mentioned in "Crocodile". Other "
Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
" references to ''Black Mirror'' instalments include the appearance of UKN, a news channel from " The National Anthem", and the pizza company Fence's, which also features in "
USS Callister "USS Callister" is the first episode of the fourth series of the dystopian anthology series ''Black Mirror''. Written by series creator Charlie Brooker and William Bridges and directed by Toby Haynes, it first aired on Netflix, along with the res ...
". A newspaper article briefly shown also contains the text: "Of course the real question is why anyone would pause what they're watching just to read a sentence in a printed out newspaper article, says a voice in your head — before advising you to go and share this finding on Reddit".


Reception

The episode received mixed critical reception, with consensus that the technological themes could have been explored further and that the ending was gratuitously dark, but that the characters were well-acted and the setting was aesthetically pleasing. On the review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the episode received positive reviews from 53% of 19 critics, with an average rating of 6.39/10. The site's summary says that the episode is "beautiful but blunt" and that its "nightmarish concept can't quite overcome its own shallow nihilism." Out of five stars, the episode received a rating of three stars in ''Vulture'' and ''The Telegraph'' and 2.5 stars in ''Den of Geek''. Additionally, ''Paste'' rated it 7.1 out of 10 and ''The A.V. Club'' gave it a B−. Handlen said that the episode was the "thinnest from a conceptual standpoint" of the series four episodes, that there was "not a lot to this story" and that its plot becomes "clear" when the Recaller's functionality is established. Wilkinson wrote that it "doesn't feel all that innovative" and Sims felt "emotionally and intellectually unfilfilled". Harvey said it was "a little too predictable". In contrast, Mellor had a more positive response, calling it "stunning to look at, very sick and very funny". Critics mostly found the bleakness to be unjustified: ''Vulture''s Jen Chaney wrote that it was "filled with so much brutal, senseless violence", comparing it unfavourably to the episode "
Black Museum The Crime Museum is a collection of criminal memorabilia kept at New Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service in London, England. Known as the Black Museum until the early 21st century, the museum came into existence at S ...
". Harley saw it as "grossly over the top" and "the most mean-spirited" ''Black Mirror'' episode to date. Sims wrote that it "didn't seem to have much of a deeper point". Reviewing for ''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'', James Temperton said that the episode "raises genuinely interesting questions about technological advancement", though there is a question of how the Recaller would become "universally accepted". Hudson saw the design of the Recall as having "a lot of potential" that "is largely wasted" and Harley concurred that the episode "never really takes advantage" of the idea of "distortions of recalled events". Similarly, Handlen said it was "frustrating how much time the episode spends developing its technology without that development actually leading to anything relevant". Sims wrote that "there seemed to be no broader message to justify the horror". However, Harvey saw the Recaller as "a fascinating example of how science-fiction does not need vast budgets to play with interesting ideas". The ending was mostly criticised. Handlen summarised: "while both reveals are unexpected, neither of them illuminate anything that came before it". Hudson saw the "dramatic irony" in the baby's blindness, but critiqued that "it arrives abruptly and without setup". Bramesco saw the twist that the baby was blind as "needlessly cruel" and Bakare analysed that it was "a step too far for many". Hudson said that the guinea pig being used to catch Mia "makes no sense, even within the episode's techno-mythos", though Mellor found this twist funny. Oller said that the ending overall was "written well enough that the dread precedes the groans", but contained "enough overkill" and was "more than a bit silly". The acting received acclaim, although Mia's character was criticised. Sullivan lauded that "Riseborough's performance is as close to undeniable as they come". Sims said she was a "wonderful actress" and "almost sold imon Mia's abrupt descent into darkness early on in this episode". Harley said that she was "steely and reserved" but shows emotion "at all of the right times", so that Mia does not become "a complete heartless sadist". In contrast, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''s Jacob Stolworthy saw her as "perhaps the most unlikeable creation to have featured in ''Black Mirror''" to that point, and it was "unclear" whether that was intentional. Chaney said that Mia's actions "seem completely out of character" given her initial behaviour after the car crash. Sawar was praised, with Harley saying that she employed a "bright, plucky determinism" as Shazia. Oller said that her "professionalism and personal touch" was "endearing" and desirable in a detective character. Additionally, Sims found it pleasant to see Shazia assembling information "methodically but with empathy and care". The aesthetics were praised: for instance, Hudson found them "austere and beautiful" and Temperton commented that the episode "looks magnificent". Handlen said: "The Icelandic setting is gorgeous, managing to convey the characters' isolation and vulnerability with visuals alone". Hillcoat was praised for his directing work by Stolworthy, who found the episode "often stylistically pleasing". Oller enjoyed the "unflinching, up-close grotesquery" in his direction. Chaney saw Hillcoat as "summoning a frostbitten grimness from forbidding territory", made possible by the "vivid, evocative setting".


Episode rankings

"Crocodile" received middling rankings on critics' lists of the 23 instalments of ''Black Mirror'' by quality, from best to worst: * 8th – Travis Clark, ''
Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
'' * 10th – Corey Atad, ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' * 11th – Matt Donnelly and Tim Molloy, ''
TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...
'' * 12th – Charles Bramesco, ''Vulture'' * 16th – Aubrey Page, ''
Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators. Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
'' * 17th – Morgan Jeffery, ''Digital Spy'' * 18th – James Hibberd, ''Entertainment Weekly'' * 19th – Ed Power, ''The Telegraph'' ''
IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
'' authors ranked the 22 ''Black Mirror'' instalments excluding ''
Bandersnatch A bandersnatch is a fictional creature in Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'' and his 1874 poem ''The Hunting of the Snark''. Although neither work describes the appearance of a bandersnatch in great detail, in ''The Hunting ...
'' by quality, putting "Crocodile" in last place. Eric Anthony Glover of ''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...
'' found the episode to be second-worst of the 19 episodes from series one to four. Instead of by quality, Proma Khosla of ''
Mashable Mashable is a digital media platform, news website and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2005. Early iterations of the site were a ...
'' ranked the episodes by tone, concluding that "Crocodile" is the 12th-most pessimistic episode of the show. Other reviewers ranked "Crocodile" against other series four episodes: * 4th (grade: C+) – ''
TVLine ''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs. History In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to est ...
'' * 5th – Christopher Hooton, Jacob Stolworthy, ''The Independent''


References


External links

* {{Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross 2017 British television episodes Black Mirror episodes Television episodes written by Charlie Brooker Netflix original television series episodes