S04.E06: Black Museum

[Rockstar99435]

9 hours ago, Dobian said:

As for the souvenir of the execution, I have to believe that is just a recording of the event, or at most a captured memory of that moment, not an actual consciousness.

Rolo tells Nish, "It was beautiful. Everytime you finish juicing him, out pops a conscious sentient snapshot of Clayton. Not a recording, a true copy of his mind perpetually experiencing that beautiful pain. Stuck forever in that one perfect moment of agony." 

I thought for sure that the pain doctor was going to end up as the real killer of the woman Clayton was convicted of killing. The news report on the tv said that she had been missing a week right when Rolo's voice over said something about the doctor going darker than anyone could imagine. He ended up torturing himself, but I thought we were going to find her locked in his basement or something.

[Dobian]

10 hours ago, Rockstar99435 said:

Rolo tells Nish, "It was beautiful. Everytime you finish juicing him, out pops a conscious sentient snapshot of Clayton. Not a recording, a true copy of his mind perpetually experiencing that beautiful pain. Stuck forever in that one perfect moment of agony." 

I thought for sure that the pain doctor was going to end up as the real killer of the woman Clayton was convicted of killing. The news report on the tv said that she had been missing a week right when Rolo's voice over said something about the doctor going darker than anyone could imagine. He ended up torturing himself, but I thought we were going to find her locked in his basement or something.

Maybe I just didn't want to believe that could be true, it just makes the whole thing even more monstrous.  As a small consolation, they are typically cheap souvenirs with likely a single non-replaceable battery, and so they would probably be dead after a year.  But still...

I would think that the doctor probably was the real killer of the weather woman, since he had turned to killing for pleasure and it fits the series' ongoing theme of tying characters, places and events together across storylines.

Edited January 16, 2018 by Dobian

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Featurette:

[PamelaMaeSnap]

On January 2, 2018 at 2:14 AM, emilysmom said:

Did y'all catch Tommy's Lollipop (along with the DNA collector tray thingie from the Callister episode) from was on display in the museum? 

Also the magazine Parker's Dad was reading- was about 15 million merits (starring the same actor) if I am not mistaken. 

That magazine/cover graphic had it nailed right down to Daniel Kaluuya's big sad eyes!

Also, I'm sure there were even more but along with the lollipop, he also had the broken tablet from Arkangel that she used to crack over her mother's head ... 

Also loved SEVERAL references to "San Junipero," starting with the hospital in the first story being Saint Juniper ... 

Again, props to the musical supervisor ... using "Always Something There to Remind Me" to open and then to close when Nish has the "souvenir" hanging on her mirror! 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

On January 3, 2018 at 11:04 PM, Anela said:

Thank you. I know someone who lost her mum a few weeks after I lost mine, and we both said last night that we'd give our own lives just to spend five more minutes with our mums. 

Ditto here ... it's been 34 years and I still feel that way. Just re-read an awesome book, "The Returned," by Jason Mott (in was miniserialized a few years ago but the book is better) and the author said the whole concept of the book came after his mother had died and about how it would be to be able to spend just a few minutes with your loved one again.

ETA: Sorry I didn't combine this with my previous post ... techno-idiot, now I don't know how!

On January 13, 2018 at 7:29 PM, Vicky8675309 said:

This almost feels like a series finale (I hope not) since it shows some many items from earlier episodes

EXACTLY what my husband said! I hope not as well but it seemed like there were SO many easter eggs to previous episodes and seasons it could well be the end of the run :(

Plus, just the title of the episode ... "Black Museum" ... coupled with the easter eggs and hats tipped to so many previous episodes makes me think the "Black Museum" is just that ... the museum for all the series' episodes, culminating in this.

Edited January 18, 2018 by PamelaMaeSnap

[Hanahope]

My thought when Nish took the monkey with her, was that with the names of the people, Carrie, Parker, Jack, maybe she could find the son and let his mom have one more hug with him before uploading her to San J.  I kept thinking when they showed Jack talking to Carrie that Parker must think his dad was going crazy.

I think having someone in your head, you'd have to have an agreement on timing, and it depends on the people.  I'd like to think that my kids wouldn't mind having me in their head, just to be there if they need to talk/give advice, an hour or so a week to update on events/see grandkids or whatever and for certain special/fun occasions (wedding, birthday, amusement park).  Definitely not 24/7.  I don't think I'd mind having my mom in that way.  But not sure i'd feel the same about my husband, either way.  

Definitely liked seeing so many call-backs to prior episodes in the museum.

[DrSpaceman73]

I enjoyed this one.  Next to USS McAlister, my favorite of the season. 

I thought for sure though the doctor mentioned was somehow going to figure into the last story about the man on death row, tapped into his consciousness so he could enjoy the pain created by the repeated executions. 

Also noted in the credits, Penn Jillette wrote the short story the pain doctor plot was based on. 

I thought it was funny the new girlfriend yelling at the monkey/mom. 

I hope this is not the last episode and they make more. 

[Hanahope]

I just love that when I saw Black Panther, and Shuri came on the screen, I'm thinking "I've seen her before, where have I seen her before."  It finally came to me.

[romantic idiot]

Holy smokes. I just saw that. Wow. 

[Andy Cole]

As for me it's the best episode of 4th season

[NutMeg]

I also think this may be the best episode of season 4, but I've just watched it, so I reserve some judgment of time, because I realise that none of the other episodes from this season really stayed with me beyond watching, whereas some from previous seasons are still stuck in my mind.

I watched this today, and yesterday I watched a documentary about sex robots. How companies are working on streaming them to your social media, so they'll know how to keep a conversation on topics that interest you, and can become more and more human-like. And that, and part of this episode, brought to mind Be Right Back, with the pain of losing someone making one wanting to keep some version of that person, even if it ends up flawed, because limitative, and manufactured as in Be Right Back, or limited to what's crossing the mind, as in this episode.

This makes me fear that, with time, people will be able to program any human looking device with specific characteristics, and that this new technology will fill so many emotional holes that soon, no one will want to take a risk and leap into the void of human relationships. Prevent any potential pain is a great sell. Even though it means forgoing the ecstasy of love shared with an other human being and the joys of surviving being vulnerable with a loved one. (Although maybe that will preserve friendship, which is after all the ultimate long term relationship.)

So, to cut things short, I think this one highlighted many possibilities we may know soon, but I also think (as one who's been there) that grief needs to be felt to the full before you can rebuild your life. And I'm afraid that technology available to us is indeed trying to remove any pain we might feel. And I believe that it's not helpful.  

[Amethyst]

That was awesome.

The doctor in the first story probably got off the easiest.  Yeah, he ends up in a coma, but he's reliving the orgasmic sensation of his actions, so at least he's peaceful.  Could have gone without seeing the gory stuff with him mutilating himself, though.

As for Carrie and Jack, I sympathize with them both.  The transfer was just an awful idea from the start, but that's how Haynes worked, he would reach these people at their most vulnerable moments and propose a miracle that seemed impossible.  And he said it himself: the real reason that the transfer failed was because it took away any semblance of privacy from Jack, and any agency away from Carrie.  None of the experiments were reversible, so the guinea pigs were stuck with the consequences.  TCKR knew that too.  The point was to get enough data to do the same procedure on someone else, having worked out all the kinks on the previous subjects.  That's why Haynes and TCKR never charged for the services.

Still, the needle tips over to Carrie slightly.  One thing I noticed was that when Haynes brought up the transfer to Jack and Carrie, Carrie immediately agreed, but Jack was more reticent.  Still, he went ahead with it.  Years later, when it came to transferring Carrie's consciousness to the stuffed monkey, Emily (Jack's new GF) agreed, while Jack was reticent, but went ahead with it anyway.  Jack let himself get swayed by others when it came to major decisions, so it wasn't surprising that he relented on everything.  Emily probably gave the stuffed monkey to Haynes and told Jack it was lost.  And Jack willingly accepted that, because he wanted the whole thing to be over and done with anyway.

Clayton's story was the saddest, and it's not surprising that racists and White supremacists were some of the most gleeful watchers who pulled the switch.  Hopefully his consciousness isn't in the souvenirs.  I know Haynes' story started unraveling at that time, but I think that was when the poison really took affect, so that could be it.

I don't think Nish having her mother's consciousness in her head is a good idea, despite the happy ending.  But maybe there was a way to transfer her mother and Carrie into something else, or San Junipero, like others have mentioned.

[FJleal]

I really enjoyed the black museum  and all the short stories that were included, they were all interesting and disturbing especially the story with the doctor and his patients.