Black Mirror Season 2 Episode 3 Recap – The Waldo Moment

A girl is waiting downstairs for her call to talk to the higher-ups in an office. Gwendolyn Harris is applying to be an MP. They ask her why she wants to be an MP. She answers honestly. It’s because she is not satisfied with how things are at that moment, and rather than sit back and do nothing, she prefers to do something about it. A girl approaches Tamsin and shows her content about what is happening in the online world. The headlines say, “Shamed Tory Jason Gladwell RESIGNS over Twitter porn picture scandal.” She calls Jamie. He is talking to the person on the other line. She tells Jamie to focus on Waldo because he will be a hit. Someone knocks on where Jamie is, and the call ends. Back in Gwendolyn Harris’ interview, she gets asked so many questions about issues in their country. Later, Gwendolyn is asked if there’s a problem about her that could affect her future career. She honestly says she committed several murders in Huddersfield in 1999 and 2003.

After that, they thank Gwendolyn and ask her to leave the room via the other door because they like to keep their candidates separate. Jamie is a cartoon portrayer portraying Waldo. In the show Tonight for One Week Only, Waldo has a segment called Waldo Check It Out. Waldo interviews Mr. Monroe. He asks him what a politician is. Mr. Monroe says a politician is someone who tries to make the world a fairer place. Waldo compares him to Batman and asks him if he beats people up. Mr. Monroe says no. Then Waldo calls him a “pussy.” Mr. Monroe sort of gets offended and looks at the crew telling them if what’s happening is a joke. Waldo humorously says sorry and gestures a kiss.

At a party, Tamsin approaches Jamie and tells him Jack and Jim want to talk to him about Waldo. Jim tells him Mr. Monroe filed a complaint against Waldo. Jim says people on Twitter love Waldo, so they extend Waldo’s contract and make Waldo a pilot. Gwendolyn is on her way home when she receives a text message — she passed the interview — and they need her to report the next day to their office.

Tamsin’s team brainstorms ideas about Waldo. They’re talking about animation for Waldo since it’s a Waldo pilot, but Tamsin tells them they don’t have a budget for a different animation, so they just need to think more about Waldo’s other ideas. Jack comes in and congratulates Jamie because he’s now in an app as Waldo. He suggests focusing on Mr. Monroe again. Shaun suggests they go under Monroe’s skin. Jamie tells them he has done Monroe already, and he is not dumb or clever enough to be political. Jack suggests getting Waldo to stand for the by-election and get people to vote for him. Jamie insists Waldo is not real. But Shaun tells him people have stood up for fictional characters. Jack and Tamsin agree, so they put it on their board of ideas.

They go live outside where Monroe just finished a meeting with a mom and baby group. Waldo keeps on getting Mr. Monroe’s attention, but he ignores him. He tells his campaign manager they should find out about the person controlling Waldo — Jamie.

Gwendolyn is at the office, doing some leaflet design for her campaign as a Labour candidate. Outside at Stentonford and Hersham, Mr. Monroe campaigns for himself by talking to people individually. Waldo is present, and he keeps on bugging him. Mr. Monroe continues to ignore him until Waldo uses a mom with a pushchair to ask him why he’s ignoring Waldo. Mr. Monroe tells Waldo he’s not ignoring him. He thinks speaking to a nonhuman form like Waldo is a waste of time. He says Waldo is not real. He is just a piece of cartoon voiced by a comedian.

Jamie and Tamsin enter a hotel. They see Gwendolyn Harris walking by them. Jamie waits for Roy to leave. He approaches her immediately when Rory leaves. Gwendolyn gets confused about why Jamie sat down beside her, so she asks him, “Do I know you?” He tells her he is more of a rival and starts doing Waldo’s voices. Gwendolyn tells him he’s good, but Jamie tells her he is Waldo. Gwendolyn tells him what Waldo’s doing to Mr. Monroe is good. Jamie offers Gwendolyn a drink, and they drink together. They talk about politics, especially about Waldo and Gwendolyn running for the position.

They continue to harass Mr. Monroe and tell people to vote for Waldo. Jamie sends Gwendolyn a text message. Gwendolyn tells Rory she met Waldo last night. Rory asks her if she ever told him about their campaign plans, and she says not really. He tells her Waldo is a comedian. He is harassing Mr. Monroe as of the moment, but who knows if it will be Gwendolyn next. He advises her not to see him again. Tamsin tells Jamie that Waldo will go on Question Time. Jamie tells her he cannot answer serious questions. Tamsin tells him he doesn’t have to, but he’ll provide comic relief. Jamie waits for Gwendolyn that day, but Gwendolyn tells him she can’t see him and leaves.

The candidates show up for the live interview. Waldo asks Mr. Monroe if he is addicted. Mr. Monroe reiterates and asks everyone why they waste their time on a useless animated cartoon character like Waldo, who says nothing but nonsense statements. Waldo keeps on mocking Mr. Monroe. Monroe drops his name nationwide and shares his information to everyone. Mr. Monroe says Jamie has nothing to offer, and he has nothing to say other than mock him because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He just joined the panel to insult him. Liam Monroe and Waldo get into an argument about their past, leading the interviewer to ask for Gwendolyn’s opinion.

While Gwendolyn gives her opinion about politics, Waldo speaks up and tells her she’s worse and more fake than Mr. Monroe. Everything she does is not for the people but for herself. She just wants to gain experience for her future political career. She doesn’t have plans to win the election. She doesn’t intend to help people because she doesn’t care about them at all. After busting everything he wants to say, Waldo disappears from the panel, and Jamie gets out. He goes home. lies on his bed, and keeps staring at his ceiling.

Tamsin knocks on his door and calls for him, saying Jack wants to see them, and he can’t avoid it. Jamie prepares for his meeting with Jack. He tells Jamie they’ve been asked by Consensus to be interviewed by Philip Crane. Jamie refuses to do it. He tells them he is not a politician and doesn’t want to be a politician. Jack tries to convince him to do it, but Jamie keeps refusing and shuts the door. Jack says if Jamie doesn’t want to do it, he will.

Jack starts to learn how to control Waldo, but it will take time for him to learn. Jamie appears and tells him it’s not how it works. Waldo gets ready for the one-on-one interview. Tamsin guides Jamie on what he will say next. That evening, Jamie meets with Jeff Carter from the “agency.” He says he was sent there because of Waldo. People are loving Waldo, and they are proposing something for the blue bear. Jamie says Waldo is a bear. Jeff tells him Waldo is a bear people like. He adds Waldo as a bear helps. It rids him of personal flaws. Jamie tells them he’s a person, but Jeff tells him Waldo is more than him. Waldo is anti-politics, and his team will Google everything Waldo says. Waldo is the perfect assassin, but he will not win the election. But Waldo can influence so many people, and it’s not only in their country, but they can make it worldwide. Jeff tells them they have an opportunity in South America after Stentonford.

On the other side, Gwendolyn is in her office when someone knocks on the door — Jamie. Jamie apologizes to her. Gwendolyn challenges him with the same questions: “Who are you?” and “What are you for?” Waldo’s team goes out for their final push. But instead of telling people to vote for him, Waldo tells everyone not to and endorses other candidates. Jack stops him and asks him what he’s doing. Jamie says he’s resigning and gets out of the van. Jack controls Waldo and counters Jamies’s statements. Jamie attacks the monitor, but people attack him for insulting Waldo. The election happens, and they count the votes for each candidate while Jamie watches on television, lying on a hospital bed. Liam Monroe wins the election. Jack-controlled Waldo tells everyone he’ll give 500 quid for anyone who lobs a shoe. A shoe hits Monroe, and the place gets chaotic with the protesting public. Jamie becomes a homeless man. Waldo becomes a national figure of hope.

Our Thoughts

People like to join a protest vote, and Waldo has embodied that. Jamie could have chosen to ride the popularity of Waldo and get rich, but Gwendolyn’s questions challenged him. Today, with all the things we can do with technology, people have a bigger room to choose. There’s a benefit to that, given that information is no longer contained within mainstream media, but how far do we think we can take things?