Commentary: ‘Black Mirror’ Questions If Sequels Are Necessary
by Frank Martin
This latest season of Black Mirror saw its first direct sequel to an episode. When it first premiered, “USS Callister” was a hit with both fans and critics. Unlike many episodes of Black Mirror, it ended on a relatively happy and positive note. The main characters had a breath of optimism and hopefulness for the future. It felt like such a fitting ending, the thought of a sequel that continued the story might put all in jeopardy, which it did. It turned out that their hopefulness was misplaced as the characters were still in danger. However, the quality of this sequel episode was high, thus triggering a debate whether or not perfect endings deserve or need a sequel at all.
The basic premise: a brilliant video game creator named Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) created digital clones of people in his life for him to torture in his own personal video game. In the original episode, these clones broke free from their sci-fi prison and entered the actual online game. Led by their Captain Nanette Cole (Cristin Milioti), this unlikely crew thought they were free to live happy lives, even if the game was a dangerous and grueling place. They were forced to rob players to survive, all while the game’s owner, Walton (Jimmi Simpson), sought to delete them to avoid a scandal.
There was very little downside to the ending of the original episode. The villain met an appropriate demise after his own digital prison collapsed on him, and the heroes escaped to an uncharted online universe with a wealth of possibilities. It seemed all was happy, and the story was held in high regard because of that positive note. The sequel ruined all of that as their happiness was irrelevant. It was really just the beginning of the crew’s problems as they desperately sought a way out of there predicament. Nevertheless, the sequel was also well done. It expanded upon the story in meaningful ways while also challenging its main characters. So there is a push and pull between continuing a great story and just leaving a perfect ending intact. When a sequel is made, there is always a question as to whether or not it is necessary from a storytelling point of view. In the end, it’s up to fans to decide.
Black Mirror is now streaming on Netflix.
