Arkangel (Black Mirror)
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"Arkangel" is the second episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction
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 ...
''
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 ...
''. Written by series creator and showrunner
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
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 ...
, it premiered 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 ...
on 29 December 2017, along with the rest of series four. In the episode, the single mother Marie (
Rosemarie DeWitt Rosemarie Braddock DeWitt (born October 26, 1971) is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series '' Standoff'' (2006–07), co-starring with her future husband Ron Livingston, as well as Charmaine Craine on ''Unit ...
) enrols her daughter Sara in a trial of Arkangel, an implanted technology which allows Marie to track Sara's location, current vision and hearing, and automatically censors distressing material. The main theme of the episode is
helicopter parenting A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter) is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. Helicopter parents are so named ...
; as a woman raised by a single mother, Foster had many views which influenced the script, such as a more complex characterisation of Marie, and was given control of casting. For the filming in November 2016, Foster chose a location in Canada to represent working-class America. Differently-aged versions of Sara are played by different actors, with
Brenna Harding Brenna Harding (born May 19, 1996) is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Sue Knight in the television series '' Puberty Blues,'' and her role in " Arkangel", an episode in the anthology series ''Black Mirror''. Career Harding' ...
playing her as a teenager. Critics saw Marie as a parent afflicted with much anxiety and guilt and compared Arkangel to existing technologies for child monitoring, such as microchip implants and
smartwatches A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While ea ...
. They were mostly laudatory of Foster's directing style and DeWitt's acting but less complimentary of the storyline and moral, which were seen as simplistic, with many reviewers suggesting themes the episode could have explored in more detail. In one scene, a nurse incorrectly implies that an
emergency contraception Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. There are different forms of EC. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs), o ...
(EC) pill induces abortion, rather than preventing pregnancy. The episode was poorly received in comparison to other ''Black Mirror'' episodes.


Plot

Single mother Marie Sambrell (
Rosemarie DeWitt Rosemarie Braddock DeWitt (born October 26, 1971) is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series '' Standoff'' (2006–07), co-starring with her future husband Ron Livingston, as well as Charmaine Craine on ''Unit ...
) gives birth to her daughter Sara and raises her with help from her father, Russ (
Nicholas Campbell Nicholas Campbell (born 24 March 1952) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor and filmmaker, who won three Gemini Awards for acting. He is known for such films as ''Naked Lunch'', ''Prozac Nation'', ''New Waterford Girl'' and the telev ...
). Three-year-old Sara (Aniya Hodge) gets lost following a cat and a distressed Marie has to enlist help from neighbours to locate her. Afterwards, Marie signs her up for a trial of Arkangel, a child monitoring system installed via an implant. Marie can monitor Sara's vision and hearing with a
tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...
, along with viewing live medical data and past audiovisual feeds. A filter can censor stimuli when they cause Sara stress, such as an intimidating neighbourhood dog. Shortly after, Russ survives a
stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
, because Marie is notified when Sara, observing Russ, experiences stress. Six years later, Russ has died. A classmate—Trick (Nicky Torchia)—tries to show Sara (Sarah Abbott) sexual and violent imagery but the filter blurs it. Sara draws blood from her finger, trying to learn what it looks like, so Marie has her assessed by a psychologist who recommends that she dispose of Arkangel, which is soon to be banned. Marie deactivates the filter and stores the tablet in the attic. An anxious Sara goes to school unsupervised and Trick shows her pornography and gore videos. Aged fifteen, Sara (
Brenna Harding Brenna Harding (born May 19, 1996) is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Sue Knight in the television series '' Puberty Blues,'' and her role in " Arkangel", an episode in the anthology series ''Black Mirror''. Career Harding' ...
) lies to her mother about going to a friend's house to attend a party with Trick (
Owen Teague Owen William Teague (born December 8, 1998) is an American actor. He was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, and is known for his roles in ''The Stand'', '' Mrs. Fletcher'', '' Inherit the Viper'', '' To Leslie'', '' Montana Story'', '' Gone in t ...
). Marie discovers the lie and after failing to contact her, turns on Arkangel. She sees Sara having sex for the first time, with Trick. Marie starts to use the tablet again and soon sees Sara snorting
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
that Trick—who deals drugs—gives her. Identifying Trick with a
reverse image search Reverse image search is a content-based image retrieval (CBIR) query technique that involves providing the CBIR system with a sample image that it will then base its search upon; in terms of information retrieval, the sample image is very usefu ...
, Marie confronts him at work and blackmails him to stay away from Sara. After receiving an Arkangel notification, Marie sneaks an
emergency contraceptive Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. There are different forms of EC. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs), ...
pill into Sara's smoothie. She later vomits and is told by a nurse that the pill caused it. Sara confronts Marie and forces the tablet away from her. The stress filter is accidentally reactivated. Unable to see the damage she is causing, Sara beats Marie unconscious with the tablet, breaking it. The filter deactivates and Sara runs away. When Marie regains consciousness, she frantically yells for Sara down the street. A hitch-hiking Sara gets into a truck.


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 a bid of $40 million. The 12-episode order was divided into two series of six episodes each, with "Arkangel" in the latter group. The six episodes in series four were released on Netflix simultaneously on 29 December 2017. "Arkangel" is listed as the second 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

The episode 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 ...
. Executive producer
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 ...
said that it was inspired by microchip implants used to identify pets that, at the time of writing, were also being considered for children. Jones said, "We wanted to think what the updated version of that asand find a really good idea of how that could go terribly wrong". The episode is intended to be sympathetic to
helicopter parenting A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter) is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. Helicopter parents are so named ...
; Brooker took inspiration in how protective he felt following the birth of his children. Prior to having children, Brooker thought negatively of content restrictions designed for children, but he was concerned by his three-year-old son seeing a horror movie trailer after he left him alone with
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
on autoplay. He was also concerned by thoughts of his children seeing an accident or hearing profanity in their day-to-day life.


Director and casting

The actor, director and producer
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 ...
directed ''Black Mirror''; previous credits included episodes of the Netflix series ''
Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...
'' and ''
House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an Expression (language), expression that dates back to ...
''. Foster was introduced to ''Black Mirror'' by Netflix's vice president of original content after telling her that she enjoyed directing short but complete stories, in contrast to serialised television programmes. Brooker saw Foster as suited to "Arkangel" because as a former
child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...
, she would understand what it was like to grow up in the spotlight. Foster was raised by a single mother, and said that the script brought up "so many questions about who we are as women at this particular time in history". She was the first woman to direct a ''Black Mirror'' episode. Foster was in control of casting the episode and also hiring much of the production crew. She cast her friend Rosemarie DeWitt as Marie. The pair had met through Foster's wife Alexandra Hedison; this was only the second time Foster had directed a friend, after
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...
in the 2011 film '' The Beaver''. The Australian actor Brenna Harding was cast as Sara, after misinterpreting part of the audition tape instructions and performing a two-minute monologue in the character of Sara, rather than as herself. The three other children cast as younger versions of Sara had to be chosen to look very similar to Harding. Foster was experienced in directing child actors and said that much of the skill lay in casting. Owen Teague's role as Trick influenced the character: though written as a character to be distrusted, Foster said that Teague has "sweetness" and Harding described Trick and Sara as "like two old souls who connected". The original script gave Marie's father only a very minor part, but this was fleshed out by Foster. She also influenced other changes in the script, and offered many observations on the technology used and Marie's motivation for her actions after seeing her daughter have sex with Trick. In contrast to Jones and Brooker's more positive conception of Marie, Foster was informed by her life experience to show a darkness to her character. Explaining the actions of her character Marie, DeWitt said that single mothers "experience betrayal differently". Foster added that when Marie realises Sara is lying to her but does not confront her, it causes a "fissure" and Marie begins "fighting a battle to win control". By attempting to prevent her daughter from leaving her, Marie is victim to a
self-fulfilling prophecy A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true at least in part as a result of a person's or group of persons' belief or expectation that said prediction would come true. This suggests that people's beliefs influence their actions. ...
as she "engendered the exact result that she most feared".


Filming and editing

The episode was filmed across three weeks in November 2016. A location in
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
, was chosen by Foster to depict blue-collar America. Jones was present for filming but Brooker was not. Foster described the fictional setting as a "place that used to have a foundation and a glory", which reflects how Marie views herself. She stated that the filming involved "very long hours" and that the scenes starring the younger children were particularly troublesome. Graphic content was mostly avoided in the episode, with Foster believing it would "distract from what the meaning was". An exception was the scene where Sara attacks her mother. Brooker noted that in this scene, more hits were filmed than made it into the episode, though enough were needed in the final cut for the viewer to understand Sara's perspective, and for Marie to be plausibly rendered unconscious. The final shot of the episode, where Marie frantically tries to use the tablet shouting "No!" repeatedly, was filmed the day after the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
results were known and
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
became president-elect; DeWitt injected her personal reaction at the results into the scene. Foster described the ending as a "parable". DeWitt's first day on set was to film the scene where a bloodied Marie runs out of the house screaming for her daughter. The episode ends with Sara entering a truck, which was originally a small car in the script. The choice of a truck implies that Sara will be travelling far, and Harding felt "a mixture of nervous trepidation and excitement for Sara". Foster said: "I want her to close that door on this chapter, this town, on that relationship, and become who she is." Foster flew to London to help Brooker with the episode's editing—the first time she had met him. The song " I'm a Mother" by
the Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...
plays during the credits, chosen as a "plaintive song" which reminds viewers of "the mother's perspective", according to Foster.


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. In September 2017, two photos from the fourth season were released, including one from "Arkangel". 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 first poster and trailer were of "Arkangel". 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

As intended by Foster, critics saw the episode as being set in working-class America. ''
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, ...
''s Sophie Gilbert found it "set in a nondescript EveryTown USA" and "deliberately muted". Steve O'Brien 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, ...
'' saw it as more "thrillingly, authentically American" than any prior episode. Louisa Mellor 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 ...
'' found that the blue-collar setting contrasts with most previous episodes' depictions of "shiny near-futures, in chic, modernist homes". She also highlighted the episode as the most female-heavy with regard to characters to that point. '' Paste''s Jacob Oller commented that the camera shows multiple perspectives throughout the episode: first-person, third-person and first-person from another person's perspective. Oller saw this as giving the episode a horror feel, heightened by the "long-short-long editing" pattern of "tension, release, rebuild". Caroline Framke of '' Vox'' saw Foster's directing as "generally stark and matter-of-fact", though a handheld camera is used when characters are in "a particular state of panic" so that the framing shows "their confused and rapidly fracturing relationship to each other and the world around them". Christopher Hooton of ''
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 ...
'' compared the injured Marie yelling on the street to a similar performance by
Anna Gunn Anna Gunn (born August 11, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Skyler White on the AMC drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a D ...
as
Skyler White Skyler White ( née Lambert) is a fictional character in '' Breaking Bad'', portrayed by Anna Gunn. For her performance, Gunn received critical acclaim, with some critics even lauding her character as the template for television anti-heroines. ...
in the crime drama ''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
''. The episode has a theme of helicopter parenting. ''
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 ...
''s Darren Franich saw it as a "straightforward parable"; both Franich and ''
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 ...
''s Charles Bramesco compared the episode to an
after school special The American Broadcasting Company coined the term Afterschool Special in 1972 with a series of television films, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the late afternoon and meant to be ...
due to its simple moral message. In ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', Sonia Saraiya wrote that it was "so blatant it could bludgeon you", the message being: "If you love it, let it go". Mellor found that relevant questions raised include where the "right to privacy and agency" of a child overrides the "power of a parent", and whether pain is an "instructive" or "traumatising" formative experience. Framke saw the episode as a case of the programme's "overall ethos that pretty much everything we try in the name of protecting ourselves and each other will eventually, inevitably backfire", in that Marie trying to shield Sara is only "a temporary salve". Bramesco compared the episode's storyline to that of '' Spring Awakening'', a 1906 play later adapted into a 2000s musical: the play depicts teenagers developing sexual awareness after a lack of parental sex education. Gilbert commented on a similarity between the Arkangel's functionality and that of the Z-Eyes from the ''Black Mirror'' episode " White Christmas". Critics identified various technologies in the real world as relevant to the episode's themes. Oller compared Arkangel to
radio-frequency identification Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...
(RFID) implants used in animals, while Tasha Robinson of ''
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' ...
'' commented that such implants have been used in humans. Robinson further noted that there have been "a long-running series of debates" over the morality of using the implants in children. Zoe Williams commented in ''
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 ...
'' that
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
monitoring for children is frequently marketed in the form of a
smartwatch A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While ea ...
, some of which can listen into the wearer's conversations. She found the underlying principle behind the technology to be "that your perception of your child's vulnerability takes precedence over their interaction with the world". Robinson noted that clothing with trackers and third-party monitoring and control of a mobile phone are other technologies targeted at parents. The opening scene in which Marie gives birth serves to show her anxieties as a parent. Gilbert said that she feels "frantic" and briefly thinks her baby has died, which is "every parent's worst fear". Mellor said that it shows Marie "feels anxiety and guilt over not being a good-enough mother" even before she begins parenting. Robinson analysed that the episode uses the scene "as a frame for how
arie Arie is a masculine given name. As a Dutch name, Arie (pronounced ) is generally a short form of Adrianus, but sometimes also of Arend or Arent, Arnout or Arnoud, or even Aaron. As a Hebrew, Jewish, or Israeli name, Arie (pronounced ) is a tr ...
projects her fears of inadequacy onto her daughter". O'Brien saw the doctor's line "cutting the umbilical cord" as reflecting symbolism that for Marie, "it never was cut". Mellor said that Marie's isolation as a single parent, ill father and long working hours are all contributing factors to her guilt. Similarly, O'Brien commented that Marie has little in her life outside of Sara and that few of her interactions with Sara "aren't finger-wagging". Bramesco saw Marie as "the one at fault" in the episode, with Trick portrayed as "a pretty decent guy" and Sara's drug usage not being seen as "scandalizing". The reproductive healthcare organisation
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
criticised the depiction of emergency contraceptive (EC) pills as inaccurate. A nurse tells Sara that the purpose of such a pill is "terminating your pregnancy", but this is a description of
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
rather than
contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
. Contraception prevents the fertilisation of an egg before a person becomes pregnant.


Reception

The episode received mixed reception. 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 ...
gives the episode a 78% rating based on 23 critics, with the summary: "Though a bit too on the nose, 'Arkangel' brings balance to ''Black Mirror''s typically frenetic episodes with a calm, contemplative, and compelling installment." ''
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 ...
'' awarded it three out of five stars while ''Vulture'' gave it two. ''Paste'' rated it 8.6 out of 10 and ''
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 ...
'' gave it a B+. Robinson found it the "weakest" episode of the fourth series. Critics were split on the episode's storyline and message. Gilbert saw the premise as "potent" and Mellor as "solid", but Robinson saw the story as "simplistic". Bramesco saw it as "too far-fetched to accept" that the Arkangel technology could be developed and used despite "such glaring potential for calamity and/or human-rights violations". Saraiya found the story "well-done" and O'Brien found the ending "beautifully ambiguous". ''The A.V. Club''s Zach Handlen viewed the narrative arc as unsurprising but said that "the specifics make it compelling"; he reviewed that the moral is "hard to argue with" but "not really unexpected". Gilbert found the moral "increasingly obvious" once Sara lies to her mother about where she is going out for the evening, whilst Robinson said that the episode's "sheer earnestness makes its simplicity and obviousness even more awkward". Handlen saw the conclusion as obvious in the context of past ''Black Mirror'' episodes, which "robs the episode of freshness or surprise". Many reviewers had criticisms of the episode's execution or focus, with Gilbert finding that the execution is where it "sputters and dies". Robinson wrote that Brooker "starts a story with infinite potential, then cuts it short just as it’s spinning up". Gilbert found the topic of young children being exposed to sexual and violent material from a young age more timely than helicopter parenting. Ed Power, writing for ''The Telegraph'', similarly found it a "pity Brooker doesn't delve further" into pornography's effects on Sara. Robinson also thought it would have been interesting to explore Marie "living through" Sara when she begins young adulthood. However, Bramesco praised that the episode is a "rare meditation on the millennial generation that rightly looks to the parents for answers instead of blaming the youth". Hooton saw the film '' Men, Women & Children'' (2014) as exploring similar themes to "Arkangel" but with stronger execution. Foster's directing and casting was the subject of much commentary. Gilbert wrote that the "lo-fi, indie feel Foster gives the episode captures the terrible ordinariness of the situation", praising "unforgettable images" and "foreboding framing". Mellor found that Foster constructed a "sensitive and emotional US indie-movie style", while Handlen noted that she "captures the show's clinical, mournful feel, but manages a necessary level of intimacy that keeps the story from being overly schematic". In contrast, Hooton saw the episode as "visually flat" and Bramesco wrote that Foster engages in "misunderstanding the emotional timbre a scene should have". Franich and Power praised the performances as "fine" and "compelling", respectively, with both praising Foster for her direction of the younger actors. However, Hooton saw the actors as "miscast". DeWitt's portrayal of Marie received praise for balancing positive and negative traits, by critics Oller, Handlen and Power. Mellor praised a "deft balance" in that Brooker and Foster "have taken pains not to demonise, but to create a likeable, easy-to-relate-to character" in Marie. Oller praised Marie's confrontation of Trick as "epic, expertly realized and emotionally grounded". Contrastingly, Bramesco criticised the climax as "abrupt and melodramatic", resulting in "incredulous snorts" rather than "gasps".


Episode rankings

"Arkangel" ranked poorly on critics' lists of the 23 instalments of ''Black Mirror'', from best to worst: * 11th – 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 ...
'' * 13th – 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 ...
'' * 16th – Matt Donnelly and Tim Molloy, ''
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'' * 16th – Ed Power, ''The Telegraph'' * 18th – Morgan Jeffery, ''Digital Spy'' * 20th – James Hibberd, ''Entertainment Weekly'' * 21st – Travis Clark, ''
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'' * 22nd – Charles Bramesco, ''Vulture'' ''
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'' authors ranked the 22 ''Black Mirror'' instalments excluding ''Bandersnatch'' by quality, giving "Arkangel" a position of 20th. 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 12th-best 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 "Arkangel" is the 11th-most pessimistic episode of the show. Other reviewers ranked "Arkangel" against other series four episodes: * 3rd (grade: B+) – ''
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 ...
'' * 6th – Christopher Hooton, Jacob Stolworthy, ''The Independent''


Awards

For his work on "Arkangel", Malcolm McCulloch was nominated for a
Location Managers Guild Awards The Location Managers Guild International Awards are awarded at an annual show honoring outstanding contributions to location scouting in the film and television industries. The Location Managers Guild held its inaugural show in March 2014 at the ...
in the category of Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Television Series.


References


External links

* {{Black Mirror 2017 British television episodes Black Mirror episodes Television episodes written by Charlie Brooker Netflix original television series episodes