Black Mirror Season 5 Episode 2 Recap – Smithereens

A man is inside his car listening to some meditation audio when a sound interrupts him. His name is Chris Gillhaney, a car driver. A woman just booked him to drive her to Old Street. He asks her if she is working where he picked her up — at Smithereens. She says no, she is just visiting the place, but she wishes she‘s working there because the facilities in Smithereens are all good.

Chris eats alone in a café, observing everyone inside. The sound of phones bothers him, so he immediately goes out. Chris is with a group of people sharing their experiences. Hayley is sharing her story about her daughter, Kristin, who committed suicide. She is upset with her daughter for not telling her the problem. Still, she is more upset with herself because she thought she knew what was happening to her daughter, but just like that, she ended everything. She didn’t know the reason why her daughter did it. She keeps asking herself why but doesn‘t get an answer. Chris is also at the forum, listening to Hayley’s story. Outside, Chris gets something to drink in a vending machine. Hayley approaches him and tells him it‘s her first time sharing in the forum. Hayley notices that Chris has not talked in the forum for a while. Chris tells her he‘s looking for the right moment. Hayley invites him for a drink. Chris tells her he has something to do the next day. Hayley insists and jokes they might die the next day. They stare at each other and end up having sex. Hayley shows him a photo of Kristin. Her phone alarms. She tells Chris she is trying to log in to Kristin’s Persona account, so she might know why her daughter did what she did. She can only try three passwords daily. Then, the account locks up for 24 hours. She adds they won‘t give her the password even if she‘s the mother — privacy policy.

The next day, Chris is listening to the same meditating audio when he is interrupted by a customer again. Jaden is working at Smithereens, and he is heading to the airport. While on their way, Chris notices Jaden is glued to his phone, unaware of where they already are. Chris tells him there‘s an accident nearby, so he asks Jaden if it‘s okay to take a different route to the airport. Jaden just agrees. Chris stops under a bridge and points a gun at him. He tells Jaden to tie himself. Chris assures him nothing will happen to him if he follows his orders. Jaden tells Chris he is just an intern in Smithereens. He is wearing a suit because it is his first week, and he will meet Vanessa Lampton at the airport. She is an executive at the Smithereens. Chris rants about the people working in Smithereens. Jaden tries to escape, but Chris catches him immediately. He puts him in his car compartment but lets him out again because Jaden keeps telling him he is claustrophobic. He lets him sit in the back seat with a bag covering his head, but he tells him he must keep his head down. Chris drives again.

A policewoman notices Chris‘ car pass by the gas station. She thought she saw Jaden with a bag on his head. She tells her partner to follow them and check. Chris stops the vehicle, but when he sees the police get out of their patrol car, he steps on the gas and drives fast. He loses control when he avoids two bikers. Chris steers the car into the grasslands. The police are about to apprehend him, but he gets out of the car and tells the police he will shoot Jaden if they don’t stay away from him. The police stand back together with the two bikers, and they radio the hostage scene.

Chris needs to think about his next move. He breathes in and out heavily and meditates inside the car. The police get binoculars to check what the hostage taker is doing. The policewoman tells his partner he is just sitting inside. After some time, Chris removes the bag from Jaden’s head. He tells him he wants to speak with Billy Bauer, the owner of Smithereens. Jaden tells him he knows Billy Bauer, but he has never seen him. He repeats he is just an intern.

Chris asks him who is the highest-ranking person he knows in the company. Jaden tells him he knows Hannah Kent from HR who‘s in charge of him. Chris asks him if he can call Hannah, but Jaden tells Chris his phone was left in the other car. Chris gets frustrated. He asks Jaden if he can remember Hannah‘s number. He also asks Jaden if Hannah will recognize his voice if he calls her. Jaden says probably yes. Chris calls the receptionist of Smithereens. He lets Jaden ask them if he can talk to Hannah Kent. The receptionist puts him through. The line rings, but Hannah‘s voicemail answers. Chris dials the number mentioned in the voicemail. Hannah picks up. Jaden immediately tells Hannah what Chris told him to say. Hannah doesn‘t understand what Jaden is saying, so Chris takes over and tells her what is happening. Hannah asks if he is joking. Chris sends a photo of Jaden being pointed by a gun, so Hannah will believe. Hannah tells Chris not to hurt Jaden. Chris tells her if she gets Billy Bauer for him, he will not hurt Jaden. Hannah says she doesn’t know how to get Billy, but she will try, so he needs to stay on the line. Chris agrees.

Hannah goes to Maryam and tells her what is happening. Maryam calls Penelope and tells her about the situation. Penelope tells her to call Don and Shonelle; they will meet in the boardroom. More police arrive in the area. The chief superintendent orders everyone not to shoot unless it is essential. They have also identified the owner of the car. Don tells Penelope they should let Billy know about the situation Shonelle gets Chris‘ account information. Penelope tells them to gather more information about Chris.

Jaden tells Chris that Billy Bauer will not pay ransom for him because Billy doesn‘t even know who he is. The two teenagers shared online what is happening. The police also see Chris‘ photo sent to Hannah where a gun is pointing at Jaden.

Penelope speaks on the phone. She tells Chris they are doing everything they can to reach Billy Bauer. She asks how Jaden is. Chris lets him speak on the phone to tell them he is fine. Penelope tells Chris it‘s still early in Billy‘s time zone, but Chris doesn’t care about anything else. He just wants to talk to Billy Bauer. Penelope tries to ask Chris what he wants, but Chris tells her he is only speaking to Billy Bauer. She tries to convince Chris, but he gets frustrated and threatens to kill Jaden. Penelope and her team record the conversation. Shonelle tells them she managed to keep the line open, so they can hear what is happening on the other end. They hear Chris repeatedly saying something, but they don‘t understand it. The recorder puts it as unintelligible. Chris is actually saying, “This is my last day.” He is meditating again.

The police go to Chris’ house and call for Eleanor Gillhaney, Chris‘ mother. They see different articles about the Smithereens and Billy Bauer. They also get his picture. They go out and someone sees them. They ask him about Eleanor, so he tells the police that Eleanor died last March. He also tells them that Chris is no longer living in the house. The FBI also collaborates with them to help them end the case. Penelope and her team dig deep about Chris and his history with the Smithereens. They got all the information they needed. Negotiator David starts to talk with Chris, but Chris knows the scheme. He tells them no one will get hurt if he gets his call with Billy Bauer.

Penelope knows where Billy Bauer is, but he is on vacation, so she can’t disturb him. He is in Furnace Valley in Utah, meditating alone. They tell him about the situation happening in London. Chris looks at his surroundings and sees many police and reporters outside, so he checks his social media account to look for reports about him. He asks Jaden about his age and tells him he is just twenty-two.

Chris suddenly gets images of his fiancè, and he almost cries. Jaden tells him that the police might take it easy on him if he surrenders. Chris tells him he can‘t do it and keeps repeating, “This is my last day.” In Utah, Billy Bauer tells Penelope he wants to talk to Chris. Penelope and Don disagree. Billy insists he wants to talk to Chris. Jaden tries to convince Chris by telling him his mom will worry about him. Chris tells him his mom has nothing to worry about because his gun is not real. The police hear Chris say that the gun is not real. Jaden tries to get out of the car, but Chris stops him and tells him the police might hit one of them. Chris also says he will unlock the chain once he speaks to Billy Bauer. Billy heard what Chris said.

Jaden sees the police getting near them. Chris tells the police that the gun is real. He shoots in the sky. The police shoot him, and he‘s hit on the arm. He knows Penelope is listening to him, so he tells them he will hang up the phone, but they need to call him after five minutes and let him talk to Billy Bauer. If they refuse to do it, he will kill Jaden — that’s final. He apologizes to Jaden because he lied about the gun.

Billy wants to talk to Chris, but everyone stops him. He asks Penelope for Chris‘ number, but she doesn‘t want to give it to him. Billy tells her he will get it himself and drops the line. Chris receives a call from Billy. Billy talks to Chris calmly. Chris starts telling Billy the reason why he wants to speak to him. Billy listens to Chris. Chris tells him that he just wants to talk to Billy because Billy is the creator of Smithereens. He tells Billy about what happened to him and Tamsin, his fiancè, three years ago. He tells Billy that he was driving a long road at night while Tamsin was sleeping. He got really bored driving, so when his phone alerted him on his Smithereens account, he looked at it. Suddenly, they got into an accident — Tamsin died after two months.

Tipi shows Billy what he can say according to some psychological experts Penelope is talking to. Billy tries to follow it, but Chris tells him to talk human. Billy shuts the laptop down and genuinely tells Chris he doesn‘t know what to say. Chris blames himself for what happened. Billy tells him he built Smithereens but with a different purpose. Chris interrupts him and tells Billy he doesn‘t care what Billy does. He just wants to say his piece to Billy. Billy asks him if he will let Jaden go. Chris tells him he plans to let Jaden go because he will be out after talking to him. He plans to commit suicide because he can’t stay there after what he did to her fiancé. Billy tries to convince him not to do it. He tells Chris that he might be able to do something for him. He asks Billy if he knows who owns Persona. Billy confirms he knows Curtis. A phone rings. Hayley answers the phone. The call is from Persona. Chris asked Billy to let Hayley know the password of her daughter’s account.

Chris lets Jaden go. He cuts the chain and apologizes for dragging him to his problem. Jaden sees Chris holding Tamsin‘s picture. Jaden tries to convince Chris not to kill himself, but Chris tells him he doesn’t want to live anymore. He tells Jaden to just go. Jaden tells Chris the child lock is on. Chris is about to disable it, but Jaden tries to get the gun from him. The police see the struggle. The chief inspector authorizes a shot; the sniper misses. At home, Hayley gets nervous as she tries to access Kristin‘s Persona account with the correct password. Back at the hostage scene, the sniper takes another authorized shot. Everyone receives a notification about what happened, but they all seem disinterested. Billy Bauer goes back to meditation.

Our Thoughts

Who would‘ve thought someone could cause a ruckus because he is blaming himself for the death of his fiancè which he could have avoided if only he didn‘t check his phone? Is there anyone to blame here? Is it technology again as what the other episodes have shown? Or does this episode emphasize the big responsibility of each and everyone when it comes to handling technology? But here‘s a lesson majority of us need to understand for this penultimate episode: know when to stop. We should go back to the basics and learn to control technology, not technology controlling us.