'Arkangel' Review: 'Black Mirror,' Season 4 Episode 2

★★★☆☆

'Arkangel,' a Black Mirror episode directed by Jodie Foster, deals with one of the most commonly referenced relationships today - that of a mother and daughter. Mother-daughter relationships onscreen easily fall down a clichéd path and directors usually try to avoid that. But 'Arkangel' stands out on its own because it stresses that cliché. It makes sure that the relationship between Marie and Sara is as cliché as it can get when Arkangel is not between them. Without Arkangel, Marie and Sara are just like any other stereotypical mother and daughter often depicted in film. It is only when Marie decides to take advantage of Arkangel to facilitate her infringement of Sara’s privacy when the seemingly healthy, loving relationship starts to fall apart. Marie’s actions shock us as they drive Sara dangerously near the edge. 

Ironically, however, how far is 'Arkangel'’s plot from today’s reality? How many Korean parents, for instance, have apps installed that allow them to monitor their kids’ laptop screens, or be aware of their whereabouts? When you think about it, Marie isn’t much of an abnormal or unique character. Mothers like Marie are everywhere today, in fact. Arkangel serves merely as a means that makes Marie’s actions possible in the first place. 'Arkangel' raises an essential question: if Arkangel becomes a reality today, will parents, like they do now, choose to sacrifice their children’s privacy to ensure their safety? What consequences will their children have to suffer from? 

The film ends on a beautiful yet tragic note as it makes an unmistakable parallel to the beginning of the episode. Marie stumbles out onto the same streets she stood on years ago, crying, screaming for her daughter, who has again left her side. The very tool she uses to make sure Sara never disappears again prompts Sara to leave. The image it leaves us with is striking since it reminds us further of how Arkangel is just a progression of today’s reality. 'Arkangel,' overall, does not hold back. It does not sugarcoat. It is insanely relatable to those who can relate. The only thing that makes the plot impalpable to the viewer is the less advanced technology of the present: in other words, the nonexistence of Arkangel.

But at the same time, 'Arkangel' feels like it could have been much more. The episode starts off strong as we are shown what Arkangel’s filter does to Sara as a child. Her grandfather falls to the ground right in front of her but she can’t see him. She sees a fight going on but she can’t see it. A few more incidents occur and she is desperate to see blood, which inspires her to harm herself with a pencil. She starts to show symptoms of autism, clearly a result of Arkangel’s impact. But the moment Marie recognizes the damage Arkangel has done to her child and removes the filter, Sara becomes a normal child. She doesn’t face the consequences that she should be facing regarding how Arkangel was always such a triggering factor in her life. Therefore, at the end of the episode when she begins to beat up her mother in a deranged state, we can understand what motivates her, but it still seems out of place and exaggerated because the episode does not expand on what exact lasting impact Arkangel had and still has on Sara’s life. 

Nevertheless, 'Arkangel' is still an engaging episode that will not be forgettable to most.