Summary: Bing lives in a dystopian future where everybody lives in cells with advanced technology and have to run the bikes every day to power the world. There is a show called Hot Shot which is the goal for everybody to enter. Bing meets a new girl named Abi Khan who is a talented signer. Bing helps her get into Hot Shot but instead of taking her as a singer, they take her as a porn star. Bing plots revenge and gets into Hot Shot himself and makes a chilling speech but he is hired to produce real speeches like that himself.
The Good: I thought this was stellar storytelling. Last episode was interesting and had some flaws but left an overall positive outlook with some really good storytelling. This episode on the other hand completely killed it on almost every level with even better storytelling, tighter writing and more thought-provoking themes. I thought this was one of the best standalone episodes of drama I have ever seen, up there with "Two Boats and a Helicopter" and "International Assassin" from The Leftovers, though not quite that amazing. I really loved the sudden introduction to this advanced modern world. The last episode was more grounded in our reality, but this episode shifted to a drastically different setting and I thought it was done really well. The first 15-20 minutes of this episode really didn't accomplish much for the plot, and was instead focused on introducing us to how this futuristic world works, while impressively completely avoiding exposition. We were shown things and pieced things together ourselves, which is so much better than watching and being told everything that is going on. It felt earned and I felt like I got to explore this world instead of just having it shown to me. Without those first 15 minutes, this episode wouldn't have been anywhere near as engrossing as it was and this excellent world-building paid off hugely later in the episode. Speaking of the pay-off, my god, was it stellar. All the small things, the toothpaste (pays off when we see Bing using minimal toothpaste to save merits), the ability to skip ads (pays off when Bing runs out of money to skip ads and suffers through Abi's ad), the repetitive biking (puts over why Abi would choose to have a better life), the broken vending machine (allows a good reason for Bing and Abi to talk again), the annoying redhead who always decked out his avatar (the powerful final scene), and more all had moments where they aided the story and had genuine emotional impact. The show expertly had small moments of pay off like this throughout the episode, leading to so many small moments of satisfaction, increasing my interest in the episode even more. The characters in the story were really good too, especially the main character. Bing was very simple in his motivations. He is bored in life because everything is so fake and all the people around him are just as fake as the actual world around him. And when he finally finds something real and has it taken from him he is suitably mad. We have sympathized with this character and to see him lose the one thing he actually found is heart-breaking and it's so easy to feel for him and understand that he wants to do something about it. Better yet, we never quite figure out what his goal is until he actually enacts his performance, which is where everything becomes crystal clear and once more truly satisfying. How great was that big speech though? The episode had expertly demonstrated how fake and controlled the world is, so it was relatively easy to pick up the theme of the episode. And then in that big scene, we got a terrific performance from Daniel Kaluuya which not only drives in the theme but provided a powerful catharsis for the character of Bing who had finally snapped after being so fed up with the world he was in. The entire time, I was at the edge of my seat and I was incredibly satisfied with the conclusion of this character's journey which ended with him just blowing off tons of steam. This episode, like the last one had a killer twist at the end as well which was dark and powerful. Apparently Judge Hope was far better at manipulating the audience and the performers than anyone expected as he managed to turn Bing's outburst of truth into yet another game, something fake for the world to just enjoy and pay money for. It was a powerful message, saying how in the world we all just take anything good and use it to make money for ourselves and how all of this awful world we are a part of is of our own doing. And the message is even more resonant as Bing actually gives in at the end and sells out to the world, now using his truth as another fake thing for people to enjoy. He caved just like Abi did before and we are left with a dark message at the end where Bing lives "happily ever after" in his fake and uninteresting world. I thought the side character of Glee was pretty good at providing some laughs as she had waited for seemingly forever. And hilariously enough there was some pay-off for her character too as we see that she was a trash singer the whole time and had no real talent. The Bad: It really doesn't make sense that the world would make it so that you have to watch some of these ads and u can't just stop watching. I understand that it's a metaphor for mobile games, which also have required ads which you have to watch before getting to do what you want, but it feels a little excessive for you to not be allowed to close your eyes. It's not a big problem though as the closing eyes thing really helped make the best moment of the episode even more powerful. Another nitpick, but shouldn't somebody be pissed at Bing for destroying his cell? And wouldn't they notice that a large piece of glass was missing? That felt a bit too convenient. The Unknown: I doubt we will get answers to any of these questions. But that is the fun of it all, as it leaves us to theorize the true meaning behind this and come to our own conclusions. What is the time period here? How far in the future was this story? How did technology get so advanced? Is there an outside world to this? Are the characters just in some kind of prison, or is this really all that is left in the world? Was the forest at the end real or just another screen? Were Abi and Bing ultimately able to find some sort of peace with their lives? Or did they simply suffer in this false world the entire time? It's a sad thought but it could very well have been their fates. Best Moment: While Bing's speech was incredible, I don't think it is quite the best moment in all of this. That would have to go to Bing's breakdown in his room after Abi is taken away. I was able to buy into their relationship due to the fantastic first 15 minutes which established how lonely Bing's life is, making me believe that he would truly care about her, who he feels is real. So to have her wrenched away and forced to live in such an inhumane life against her will was awful for Bing, and it was powerful to see that he has fallen so low with insufficient merits to the point where he has to just watch all of the pain he put Abi into. It was sad stuff, and it was really powerful seeing Bing just break down quickly and descend into panic and anger over time. Stunningly good storytelling. Character of the Episode: Bing. Conclusion: This was an outstanding episode of television. The storytelling, characters and themes were so well done and everything about this was extremely well-thought-out with attention to detail and understanding of the emotions which make television so powerful. This was a must-watch episode. Score: 81
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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