The Dark Truth Behind 15 Million Merits

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]All right, welcome back. Today we're breaking down another episode of Black Mirror. 15 Million Merits is about a group of people stuck in a dystopian nightmare surrounded by screens working a job they hate. Their only hope is to save enough merits or money to buy a ticket onto a got talent type game show called Hot Shots and try to impress the judges for a chance at a better life.

[00:00:23]Otherwise, it's back to the bike.

[00:00:25]There's lots of subtext laced throughout this episode, so we're going to go through and break it down scene by scene. We're also going to explore some cool behind-the-scenes facts, discuss a few alternate ending ideas the show's creators had, and mention a theory on how this episode is set in the same timeline as another Black Mirror episode, and what that means. Let's dive into it. This episode starts with Bing, played by the now iconic Daniel Kuya, in a role that would put him on Jordan Peele's radar and later earn him the lead in his debut film, Get Out. It was specifically the speech at the end of the episode that sealed the deal for him. I also just covered Nope last week, so that's why I'm doing this one now.

[00:01:03]That's right, backtoback Kuya weeks.

[00:01:06]Bing wakes up in a tiny cube of a cell, but can't be much more than 6 ft x 6 ft.

[00:01:11]It looks slightly bigger when you see it from the side, but that overhead view shows you how tiny it really is. The cell is covered from floor to ceilings with giant screens. An idea Charlie Brooker got from his wife, who said he'd love to live in a room covered with iPad screens. The screens wake Bing up with a rooster crowing as an alarm clock at a time I'm sure he didn't choose. And when he waves it off, the rooster reacts to his movement, getting knocked onto the ground. And this is crazy because you would assume they just add the rooster in post-prouction with special effects, right? Wrong. Everything you see on screen on a screen that corresponds to a movement was done in real time. They had people behind the scenes pressing buttons to activate animations they had created. That's insane. The timing had to be perfect. And they did this because they didn't have the budget needed for that level of special effects. This was season 1. No one knew what Black Mirror was yet. and the budget reflected that.

[00:02:08]Bing sits up. The screen signs him into his profile showing his digital avatar and bank account with over 15 million merits. He looks at the number kind of sad because his brother had passed away and left all those merits behind for him. He gives his arm a quick pump. All the screens change again and we learn at 7:30 a.m. on a Tuesday. He takes a shower, pays for toothpaste to brush his teeth, and then when he's blindsided by some ass in his face, has to pay not to watch the ad. feels pretty similar to things nowadays. There's ads everywhere and you got to pay not to watch him. His day barely started and he's already down a thousand merits. He turns on some music, which he also pays for, and then tosses in some tiny futuristic earbuds.

[00:02:51]Jordan Peele saw that shot and was like, "That one right there, we got to recreate that one." He gets into an elevator with a bunch of other people all wearing the same gray tracksuits.

[00:03:02]They're going to work and everyone in the middle class like Bing has the same job. Pedal on these bikes all day, every day to generate electricity and earn merits you can spend. While you pedal, there's all kinds of stuff you can watch on the personal screen in front of you.

[00:03:18]And just to add a little friendly competition, there's a leaderboard on the wall in the background. Bing hops on his bike, number 324, and the seat raises to his exact specifications. He begins to pedal and the merits actually come in pretty quickly. It cost him 15 for his toothpaste and he just got that in like 10 seconds. Now he picks what he wants to watch. The first option to pop up is for a girl named Selma who became famous on the show Hot Shots. She sings a propaganda laced song called I Have a Dream. And if she looks familiar, that's because it's Sonia from Play Test. I mean Hannah John Cayman from Thunderbolts, Dark Souls II, and like I said, Play Test. Bing waves past it and a few other trash TV shows like Bother Guts and picks the classic Rolling Road.

[00:04:04]And even choosing this option cost him like 250 merits. But that's how him and everyone else in the room keep themselves entertained while they pedal.

[00:04:12]Annoying ass Dustin over here is losing it watching Bother Guts, which is a dumb looking show, but it's much funnier when you realize they actually had to film that. You don't always think about that part, but all the dumb little shows you get samples of all had to be written, planned, and shot along with everything else. They also had to film Wraith Babes. And when they did that, they hired two real porn stars so they would know what to do on screen and have fewer hang-ups. One of them even brought their boyfriend to be in the scene with them.

[00:04:42]So, he's over here making out with two women on set. They start getting carried away and the director has to yell cut before they forget where they are and start putting parts into other parts.

[00:04:52]This girl's named Swift and she has a huge crush on Bing. Bing goes into the break area which still has every wall covered in screens, but these are actually vending machines. Bing orders a drink and Swift can't take her eyes off him. He buys an apple, but the machine gets stuck and this is where she makes her move. She says, "This one gets stuck sometimes and pulls his apple out for him, saying this is the only real thing in there, and even it's grown in a petri dish. All their food is lab grown, meaning they're completely cut off from the outside world and 100% self-contained. That's scary, but we also don't know what's outside. If it's those metal head dogs, maybe this isn't so bad." Bing says, "Thank you." and goes to sit down. Swift was clearly hoping for more of a conversation and is still standing awkwardly by the vending machines. When they're back on the bikes, we see Swift only has 16,000 merits, which really puts into perspective how well Bing is doing. And Bing is locked in. He's like the biking David Gogggins. Swift can't steal a glance from him. Meanwhile, Dustin is riding between Bing and Swift and watching Wraith Babes, the same show Bing got an ad for earlier. It's a porn channel and Dustin is way more locked in on it than he should be in public. He's not blinking. Suddenly, he freaks the [ __ ] out when one of the people dressed in yellow, the lowest class of people, cleaners who aren't allowed to speak up, step behind him and into the reflection on his TV. Dustin berates her, throws his trash on the floor, and tells her she missed a spot before calling her a pie ape and comparing her reflection to a war crime.

[00:06:26]>> Pie ape. A bigger guy on one of the bikes coughs, grabs his chest, and begins moving his shoulder like he might be experiencing a heart attack. But Dustin just laughs and says he'll probably be in lemons before too long.

[00:06:39]Lemons being the slang for the cleaners.

[00:06:41]Pretty much explaining how the class system works here. If you're young and in decent enough shape to pedal, you're middle class and earn merits. But if you can't due to weight, age, or other physical limitations, you're dropped down to low class or common class. Put in yellows, forced to clean, and I don't think they earn anything. Their reward might just be food and shelter. After work, Bing relaxes in his cube, playing a shooter game in his underwear, an activity I'm sure most of us have participated in at some point. But then he's interrupted by an ad for the show Hot Shot. It shows us three of the show's success stories, including Selma saying they used to be just like you, pedalling every day, giving back, and paying their dues, hoping to become a hot shot, which is like your standard TV talent show with three judges who control your destiny. And it shows a quick shot of Selma drinking from some kind of juice box. And while that doesn't seem important now, remember it for later. Now, this entire commercial is just propaganda to keep these people pedaling for as long as they're useful.

[00:07:44]You aren't even working towards a real goal. You're just working towards the chance at a better life. It's like working your ass off to buy a lottery ticket. And honestly, you don't even know if it's better. Selma could be being held at gunpoint and forced to record these commercials. We don't know.

[00:08:00]Bing checks his merit stash like, "Yeah, I'm still balling." And skips the rest of the ad. But then another ad pops up, this time for Wraith Babes, who, in case you didn't know, features the hottest girls in the nastiest situations. But Bing isn't trying to watch that [ __ ] My man's looking for love, not cheap thrills. He covers his eyes, but the screen senses it. The entire room turns red and warns him that he's required to watch. He opens his eyes and the ad continues, except this time it's 10,000 merits if he wants to skip it. But when you got it like that and respect women, of course you're going to pay. The next day, Bing wakes up and it's the same routine as the previous day, except this time, a beautiful woman he's never seen before gets on the same elevator as him, and Bing can't take his eyes off her.

[00:08:48]This is where we get our first look at Abby, and Aby's played by Jessica Brown Finlay, who is best known from her role on Downtown Abbey. Bing enters the bike room, and Swift tells him the guy who was having chest pains wasn't able to sign in. They sent him to 22 down.

[00:09:02]>> The lazy [ __ ] >> And I could be wrong, but I think 22 down refers to being 22 levels below the ground because this place is giant. Bing hops on his bike and begins pedaling.

[00:09:13]And here we learn that you can pay to customize your avatars with haircuts, clothes, and other accessories. This guy debates on trying a new look, but Swift shuts him down. Selma's on TV again.

[00:09:24]They love to use her as propaganda to show everybody that this is what you could achieve if you work hard enough.

[00:09:30]She was just like you, except now she's allowed to choose her own clothes.

[00:09:35]>> I love gold.

[00:09:36]>> And she even gets to look outside sometimes. Wow. Adding in how beautiful it is. And she wishes everyone could see it, which raises even more questions.

[00:09:46]What kind of world are they living in that people are okay living like this?

[00:09:50]It's like a forced labor camp. And the only way out is to work hard enough to buy a ticket and hope you're talented enough to win over the judges. That's it. Dustin laughs at the chest pain guy who sure enough is dressed in yellows and cleaning. During a bathroom break, Bing overhears a woman singing from a stall. Her voice is beautiful. It mesmerizes him. He's never heard anything like this before. She's singing the song Anyone Who Knows What Love Is by Irma Thomas. And this marks the first time it was used in the series. And I say first time because this song has been featured in countless episodes since. But this is where it all started.

[00:10:28]Right here in this bathroom. I actually have Jessica Brown Finlay's version of this song on one of my playlists. It's so good. That's when Abby walks out and Bing realizes it's the same girl from the elevator. She was the one singing.

[00:10:42]His mind's blown. They make eye contact a couple times and he knows this is his chance to say something, so he's got to make it good. Short and sweet. You don't want to linger in the bathroom for too long.

[00:10:53]>> Trying my hands.

[00:10:55]>> Impressive.

[00:10:56]>> Not what I had in mind there, Bing. He tries again to strike up a quick conversation, but they're interrupted by a guy farting behind them.

[00:11:05]And that's exactly why you don't want to linger. Bing tells her to have fun on the bike, and a loud Wraith babes ad comes on. And this is the best part, because the ad starts off with, >> "Hey, regular user."

[00:11:17]and Bing can't pay quickly enough to skip it. He's embarrassed as [ __ ] and can't do anything but stare at the ceiling as Abby giggles. She gives him another opening to say something, but Bing remains silent. He's humiliated and Abby walks out. Bing is back riding his bike when suddenly Abby walks in and takes the last open bike. He watches as she puts her hair up and Swift watches him watch her put her hair up and you can tell it hurts her feelings. Bing doesn't notice though and looks away before Abby catches him peeking. During lunch, Bing watches as Abby makes an origami penguin. She has it sit on the handlebars of her bike, but the trash man takes it from her. When he walks away, Aby's eyes follow him, and that's when she notices Bing, who quickly looks away. Abby likes him, and it's obvious Bing likes her. He can't stop staring.

[00:12:07]That night in bed, Bing sings anyone who knows what love is to himself, even paying to mute a commercial that interrupts him so he can continue. He's never heard or seen anyone like Abby before. She's a level of beautiful he didn't know existed. The next day, Abby attempts to buy an apple from the same machine that Bing used earlier. And when it gets stuck, he's able to swoop in and save the day with the trick that Swift showed him. Used it the exact same way, trying to impress someone that you have a crush on. Same angle, same smile, everything. Bing hands her the apple and introduces himself, saying she must be new. Abby says she just turned 21 last week. She wanted to go to air down where her sister is, but it was full, so she got sent here. Abby takes a bite of the apple and starts to walk off. And not knowing what to say, Bing pulls out the same line that Swift used on him, saying, "Even the most natural thing in here was probably grown in a petri dish." Then Abby mentions something called a CBT app, which you can use to reprogram your brain into picking healthier food. It basically hypnotizes you while you sleep. That's definitely something I could use. I'll work out all day every day, but I still can't say no to a cookie. Abby starts making another penguin with her apple wrapper.

[00:13:22]>> I like you singing the other day.

[00:13:23]>> She laughs and says it was only to cover the sound of her peeing, but Bing insists it was the most beautiful thing he's ever heard, even if it sounds cheesy. Sometimes reality is cheesy.

[00:13:34]>> Not often, admittedly, but now.

[00:13:37]>> Yeah.

[00:13:38]>> But Abby tries to downplay it, saying all she's doing is making noises. It's the song that's good. She learned it from her mom, and her mom learned it from her mom.

[00:13:48]>> Me down.

[00:13:49]>> Bing asks if she's ever thought about going on Hot Shot. She'd kill it. Abby just laughs, saying no. And even if she wanted to, she couldn't afford it.

[00:13:57]That's like 6 months of bike riding while spending the bare minimum to survive. And while a lot of people are willing to do it to try and be the next Selma, she doesn't want to. But Bing says he'd gift it to her. Aby's hands tremble. She tells him not to be ridiculous and walks off, but Bing insists his brother left him a ton of merits when he passed away. Abby says he should spend it on himself, mentioning something he could buy called a wall buddy, a digital friend you can talk to after shutin that can also guide your dreams. It would be so dope to be able to program what you want to dream about before you go to bed every night. But that comment also lets us know it's not optional to stay in your room. You're locked in there for a set number of hours every night, just like a jail.

[00:14:41]Bing says there's nothing worth buying for himself. All that stuff is just confetti. None of it's real. you've got something real. And this is where we get the craziest shot from the entire episode, showing just how big this place is and how there's tons of those bike rooms piled on top of each other. Also, you can see each room is numbered, but there's no 35 for some reason. This looks like something you'd find in the back rooms. In a place manufactured and fake as this is, all Bing wants is for something real to happen just once. He says hot shots is tomorrow and he'll even go with her. All she has to do is say, but the best she can do isn't okay, which proves acceptable. Back in his room, Bing scrolls through the Hot Shots menu to buy Abby her entry ticket. They originally thought it was 12 million, but it's 15 million merits. That's almost everything he has. But he still buys it. He scrolls through, finds Aby's avatar, and gifts the ticket to her. She can't believe it and thanks him the only way that she currently can, blowing him a kiss with her avatar. Bing feels great about this, but his smile is quickly interrupted by a Wraith Babes commercial that he pays to skip. He's not as rich as he once was. He might want to start watching these commercials. Bing and Abby are on their way to Hot Shot.

[00:16:01]They're taking the elevator up and the floor numbers pass them as they rise.

[00:16:05]They started deep underground at least at level -14, but I counted how many floors they went up based on the beeps in the elevator and they finished on floor 37. This place is [ __ ] huge.

[00:16:18]Selma said she can look outside now, so I assume it's because she's on a level above ground, but that could be all you're really fighting for. I don't think there is any true freedom. And since we're in the elevator, this is a good time to talk about how small the sets were when they filmed. They were constantly reusing everything they had.

[00:16:36]They also only had one cell to use, so they just reversed the bed between Bing and Abby. Then the big room with the TVs was reused a few times. It's the bike room, the cafeteria, and the hot shot waiting room. They really made the most with what they had to work with because you never feel like you've been there before. It's not repetitive. Now, like I said earlier, this was season 1, so they didn't have a huge budget. Had they done this episode or something like the entire history of you in a current season, they would have had huge budgets and the stories could have been so much bigger. We would have seen much more of those worlds than just the small bubbles we were limited to. In the elevator, Abby begins having second thoughts. But that doesn't mean she isn't grateful because she is.

[00:17:20]>> It's just you're bubbling.

[00:17:22]>> I'm bubbling.

[00:17:23]>> She relaxes and pulls the origami penguin out of her waistband, giving it to Bing. Now, you aren't allowed to keep anything or take anything back to your room. So, unless he's really good at hiding stuff, he won't be able to keep it for very long. Nobody owns anything real in this world, so a physical gift is almost unheard of. That's special.

[00:17:42]>> Thank you. Bing gently takes her hand, and they embrace the rest of the way up.

[00:17:46]In a world where it seems like any kind of love or physical touch is almost forbidden, this is something neither one of them saw coming. Breaking the rules with a handhold. Abby checks in and gives Bing her friends and family ticket, which results in him getting laser branded with a mark that will last up to 2 months, no questions asked.

[00:18:05]Being laser branded is just a thing that's totally normal. They enter the waiting area, and it's an immediate sensory overload.

[00:18:14]>> Everyone's doing their own warm-up exercises at the same time, stretching in this tiny room. It's complete chaos.

[00:18:21]Luckily, one of the workers is told to pull Abby aside for her preview.

[00:18:25]describing her as the pretty dark-haired one. They go to leave and the employee is cut off by an angry woman named Glee, who said she's been waiting all week.

[00:18:35]It's unfair for Abby to just walk in and get picked right away. But the worker says it's out of his hands. He doesn't get to choose. So, there's someone watching a camera as everyone enters and picks who they like best. And by the sound of it, it's based on looks.

[00:18:50]>> IT'S NOT FAIR.

[00:18:51]>> Life ain't fair, baby girl. Get a [ __ ] helmet. Abby enters another room where she's asked if she wants to be as big as Selma one day, then told to say that into the camera, you know, so they can keep that propaganda machine rolling. And so Abby says, "I guess I'd like to be as big as Selma one day." And that's it. No questions about her, nothing. They send her off to the stage with Bing where a stage hand offers her a drink called Compliance, but Abby says, "No thanks."

[00:19:19]>> Yes, thanks.

[00:19:20]>> Turns out it's not an option. She's required to drink it, but that's because it helps with the anxiety and nerves of being on stage in front of thousands of people. Digital people, but still people. But compliance is really a psychoactive drug meant to mildly sedate the contestant, making them more docile, compliant, and open to the judge's suggestions. Abby takes a small sip and immediately feels something weird, but is told it'll pass. The stage hand tells her, "You might as well drink all of it.

[00:19:49]You can't get it anywhere else. Further insinuating it has psychoactive traits beyond just calming nerves.

[00:19:57]Abby says she's fine. Everything's just a bit wider apart. But Bing is worried.

[00:20:02]She doesn't seem like herself. Abby hands him the rest of her compliance and is escorted to the stage. She walks on stage and the three judges are there alive with a packed digital stadium behind them. It looks like a video game, but every one of those avatars is a real person living inside this bike riding hell box. Abby steps into the light, introduces herself, and says she's here to sing. Judge Wraith speaks up first, telling her to take her top off, and the crowd laughs before disrespectfully asking her like five more times.

[00:20:34]>> No titties.

[00:20:35]>> And Abby just looks back at Bing like, "What the [ __ ] is going on?" And Bing is pissed. Imagine paying all that money just to get sexually harassed on stage in front of thousands of people, then immediately put it behind you and try to perform in front of these three pieces of [ __ ] Judge Charity finally speaks up asking her to sing and the music starts again.

[00:20:57]It's anyone who knows what love is. And her voice is amazing. The judges are all caught off guard. They didn't expect this out of her. Bing watches on as she is absolutely crushing it and they share a smile. Judge Hope abruptly stops her performance and almost gives her a sincere compliment, but decided to throw an extra word in there just to be a dick, kind of like Max did to Liam in the entire history of you, saying that was without a doubt probably the best piece of singing they've had this season. And the crowd cheers because it sounds like a compliment. But the word probably totally cancels out the rest of the sentence. Hope says he agrees with Wraith. Her voice is good, but it's not great. Plus, she's too pretty. Men are going to want her for her looks, and then the women are going to hate her for the same reason. Judge Charity gives a quick look like she disagrees with what he's saying. She knows her voice was amazing, but she doesn't have the balls to speak up. Judge Hope continues saying, "The entire time she was singing, he was getting turned on by picturing her in an erotic scenario." He says she has an innocent look that would be a huge hit. And all three judges admit they would watch it. Aby's eyes are filling with tears. What the [ __ ] is this? This isn't what she signed up for.

[00:22:14]Bing has had enough. He tries to run on stage, but security grabs him, and Abby watches as he gets taken away. She tries to tell the judges that's not why she's here, but Wraith interrupts her, saying she'd never have to pedal again. Plus, they had so many singers last year, there's no room. Cool. They knew she came to sing when she signed up, then picked her out of the crowd because she was the most attractive, knowing they were going to try and take advantage of her and talk her into this. That's [ __ ] sick. Wraith then takes it further, saying she doesn't have to worry about feeling any shame either.

[00:22:49]They have medications for that. All she's going to feel is pleasure for the rest of her life. Abby tries to speak up, but again is interrupted.

[00:22:57]>> This is starting to annoy me. They're literally bullying her, trying to make her feel guilty for not taking their offer, saying she's lucky to even be here, like she didn't pay 15 million merits to get the ticket. But them saying this turns the crowd on her, encouraging them to boo for her not accepting, saying it's disrespectful to turn it down. Abby looks over for Bing, but he's not there. She's all alone, terrified, and being bullied by a stadium full of people. It makes me sick to my stomach watching this. They ask her for her final decision. Is the crowd chance for her to do it?

[00:23:34]>> The crowd roars with excitement as she stands on stage, nervous and not fully grasping what she just agreed to. Or maybe she is realizing what she just agreed to. Either way, I think that compliance definitely played a part in it. Plus, not having been there for support left her feeling completely alone. Everyone is cheering except for Swift, who while she doesn't like her due to Bing liking her, would never wish this upon her. Swift has a good heart. I wish she got a happy ending in this.

[00:24:04]Bing was able to sneak the penguin back to his room, and now it's the only thing he has left to remember Abby by. He stashes it under his mattress next to Aby's empty compliance carton he took.

[00:24:14]He's laying on his bed thinking about how he just paid 15 million merits to turn the love of his life into a porn star against her will.

[00:24:22]That's [ __ ] up, Bing. Then we immediately see Abby on Wraith Babes.

[00:24:27]>> I get to meet lots of hot guys.

[00:24:29]>> She says she also gets to live in a beautiful place and wear beautiful things, too. Funny how they never show that part, though. And of course, it's interrupted by a lowass yellow reflection. Dustin loses it. And if you look in the background, you see Wraith's hand touching Aby's face. Then we cut to Bing back in his room playing that shooting game. And I just realized he's shooting the yellow cleaners. Not only that, they're literally in the break room. The oppression of the lower class is so real, they're treating him like Call of Duty zombies. But this time, Bing's not shooting him. He just lets them beat him up. He's a broken man. And of course, that's when we get a Wraith Babes ad, and Bing can't afford to skip it. It's advertising Aby's upcoming erotic debut special, and Bing is forced to watch. He tries to look away, but the screen sense it and they switch around the room to where he's always facing the ad. Bing tries to cover his eyes again, and the room instantly turns red. The alarm sounds.

[00:25:27]>> Resume viewing.

[00:25:28]>> Bing uncovers his eyes just in time to see a giant close-up of Aby's face getting a thumb shoved into her mouth.

[00:25:35]He loses it. He begins hitting the wall as hard as he can, trying everything to make the ad stop. The glass breaks and the screen scrambles a little bit, but you can still hear the man moaning in the background as Abby tries to sing anyone who knows what love is while getting banged for the rest of this entire scene. It's so [ __ ] up. And after saying how [ __ ] up it is, I got to mention this. Director Euros Lynn said on a hard drive somewhere, there is a way worse version of Aby's Wraith Babe scene. He said one morning he got a call from Charlie Brooker who was left utterly speechless after watching it.

[00:26:11]They ended up going with just the thumb in her mouth because it's a weird enough violation that you know what's going on without having to show anything more explicit. Bing picks up a big shard of glass and starts to cut the brand off his hand. A consistent reminder of what happened, but then he notices the compliance carton and stops cutting himself. He's got an idea. The next morning, Bing is the first person into the bike room as soon as the lights turn on. He's working his ass off, pedaling hard as [ __ ] all day long, using the tiniest amount of toothpaste and eating the scraps other people leave behind so he can save as many merits as possible.

[00:26:48]Just look at his eyes. That's a hungry man on a mission. He decided to leave the brand on his hand as motivation.

[00:26:54]Instead of using it as an excuse to break and give up, he's using it as a reason to keep fighting. He refuses to let them get away with this. He even watches a girl get robbed by the faulty vending machine and purposely doesn't say anything just so he can go get the apple as she walks away. That's how dedicated he is to stacking right now.

[00:27:13]Then in the little downtime he does have, he practices dancing in his room.

[00:27:18]Pedal, dance, sleep. Pedal, dance, sleep. That's all Bing's doing. His brand finally wore off, so it's been about 2 months now and he just hit 5 million merits. Earlier they said 15 million merits was about 6 months of working hard and saving. So it adds up and Bing's locked in so he probably got there in less than 6 months. And the second he hits 15 millie he stops pedaling. He goes back to his room and buys a ticket for hot shot leaving him with zero merits. He sticks his glass shard in the back of his pants and heads up to the waiting area where he's the first person in an empty soon to be full room. That's when the same worker from earlier is told to find >> a what?

[00:27:58]>> An ethnic one. But lucky for him, there's Bing. He grabs him to take him back for a preview, which again pisses Glee off. In the back, Bing is instructed to speak to the camera.

[00:28:10]>> I'm an entertainer.

[00:28:11]>> As he walks to the stage, he pulls out the old compliance carton he had, telling the woman he already drank his so she doesn't have to give him another one. He drops it and heads on stage where the same three judges are waiting for him. He says he has a bit of a performance for him and gets started.

[00:28:27]The song Lap Dance by Neard comes on, an ironic choice considering the profession that Abby was forced into. Bing begins dancing and it's a mix of a lot of things, including a moonwalk, but it's the pure rage we see him channel at the very end that sticks with me the most.

[00:28:43]You know, he wanted to go over and stick that glass shard through Wraith's neck when he walked in. So, I think he used this rage dance of his to try and get that anger out so he could think straight again. He rips his jacket off, pulls the glass shard out, and holds it to his own neck, threatening to cut his throat if anyone tries to stop him from saying his piece. But he didn't plan a speech. He just knew he had to get up there and make him listen. But before he gets started, a couple cool notes about this scene. When Daniel Kuya auditioned, this was the scene they had him do, which is a pretty intense audition, but he nailed it and they knew right away he was the guy. Then, because this scene is so emotional and took so much out of him, they completely skipped rehearsals and only filmed two takes. After seeing his audition, they trusted he would bring the heat, and he sure as [ __ ] did.

[00:29:30]During each take, they had three cameras running, so they had different angles to work with, and he nailed it on the very first one. They only did a second take as a backup in case something happened to the footage. That's how good it was.

[00:29:44]Bing goes on a 4-minute rant about how the system is designed to take anything real and turn it into something fake, destroying the true meaning behind it, such as Aby's singing. They took something genuine, a special family tradition, and twisted it to exploit it in the most disgusting way possible for a profit. Cuz that's just how [ __ ] goes around here. He explains how people are numb and just go along with whatever they're told. All they do is consume and distract themselves with stupid shows and imaginary clothes for an imaginary doppel character. Nothing has value anymore. Everything is content. They ride all day for what? No one knows why or what it actually powers. They live in tiny cells with tiny screens. And the only improvement is to move into a slightly bigger cell with slightly bigger screens. And [ __ ] you. He starts to get emotional, cursing the judges for not only allowing this, but contributing and making it worse. They took the one real thing he cared about and completely crushed it.

[00:30:46]>> [ __ ] YOU FOR HAPPENING >> from him and everybody else that doesn't have the ability to speak up for themselves.

[00:30:52]>> [ __ ] you.

[00:30:54]>> Everyone sits in complete silence. Hope and Wraith can't even bring themselves to make eye contact with Bing after that. And while you think they might be sitting there reflecting like, "Fuck, he's right. We really need to change our ways. It doesn't take long for Judge Hope to speak up and shoot that excuse square in the face because there's only two moves they can make here. Back down, admit they're wrong, and their entire society unravels, or find a way to twist this and benefit them like they do with everything else, and they've got all the leverage on their side. They can offer this guy almost anything, and it's going to be better than what he's currently doing. And just like I mentioned a second ago, the system is designed to take anything real, turn it fake, and exploit it. So that's exactly what Judge Hope does to Bing right here. He says that was the most heartfelt thing he's ever seen on the hot shot stage. And the crowd roars back to life. Just like that, Bing is powerless again by the judges and the crowd treating it as an act. It becomes an act and loses anything real that was behind it. He continues to manipulate the entire crowd by saying everyone in this hall, including him, can agree on what Bing said, like he's somehow on the same level as the crowd that isn't even allowed to attend in person. But he plays it up like he's one of them, saying they all feel it. A lame. He says he gets where Bing's coming from, and he likes his stuff. Bing tries to cut him off, saying it's not stuff, but then Hope cuts him off, calling it truth, and he'd like to hear him talk again. How so?

[00:32:26]>> Hope offers him a spot to speak his truth on one of his streams, just like he just did.

[00:32:32]>> I'd watch it.

[00:32:32]>> Wraith even calls his throat cutting thing a neat gimmick.

[00:32:36]>> He's all right.

[00:32:37]>> Judge Hope makes him an offer. Stream 30 minutes two times a week. And this look he gives him is pure [ __ ] evil. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's breaking Bing by offering him the exact same thing he was just demonizing. Now here, Bing has two options. Option A, stand strong. Tell Hope to go [ __ ] himself and make what he did actually mean something. Turning down something like this to take a stand against something that's wrong would be such a powerful message. It might even give other people the motivation to speak up as well. You're at least planting the seed and letting people know they aren't alone in feeling this way. And then there's option B. Take the chicken [ __ ] way out and completely go against everything you just claim to stand for.

[00:33:20]And for what? a slightly bigger cell with slightly bigger screens. He said it himself, but Hope just stares at him, knowing he made him an offer that only an idiot would turn down. And the crowd's chanting, "Do it!" just like they did to Abby. And when Bing looks up to the crowd cheering for him, it's right then he made his choice. If you're even considering it, you're already taking option B. Because if you're going to take option A, there's nothing to think about. You're standing on what you said. And while everyone's cheering, Swift is the only one looking on disgusted, hoping he doesn't make the wrong choice.

[00:33:55]>> Pizza.

[00:33:59]>> In the end, Bing takes the offer. He completely sold himself out, and he can't even blame the compliance because he didn't drink any of it. He made that terrible choice with a clear head. The next day, Bing isn't on bike 324 anymore. I just noticed this guy in bother guts is the same guy who got demoted into yellows earlier. So the lower class are not only janitors, but they're also targets to be killed in video games and humiliated on TV for everyone to watch. That's crazy as [ __ ] Dustin is watching Hot Shots and we see annoying ass Glee finally got on stage only to be a horrible singer and get completely destroyed by the judges. Then he turns on Wraith Babes and we see a now blonde turned out Abby who's on her 47th video. And just based off her eyes, she's already dead on the inside. The ginger kid is watching Bing's live stream where he speaks directly to the camera with the same shard of glass to his neck. You can even buy the glass shard in the Doppel store. They completely made a joke out of everything he said and did. He ends his stream saying the only thing stopping him from slashing his throat is the fact he might not die right away and they'd find a way to charge his half-dead body a cleaning fee. Then taking a page out of Judge Hope's book, he pretends to be able to relate to the people on the bikes, his audience, and pushes the same us versus them rhetoric, even though he's technically part of them now.

[00:35:22]>> To the same time next week.

[00:35:24]He signs off and carefully walks his glass shard through his giant house that actually has furniture and the walls aren't covered in screens. He gently places it into a padded box to keep the shard safe. He treasures it because that piece of glass and what it motivated him to do completely changed his life. He's in a [ __ ] mansion compared to that airplane bathroom he used to be in. He closes the box, pours himself a tall glass of OJ, and looks down at the penguin statue he has on the table. Just like Abby and his beliefs, the system took something real and created a fake version of it. He treasured the penguin Abby made him. It meant something because she made it. Now he has this cheap fake replacement that means nothing. It's just fodder and he knows it. The song Anyone who knows what love is comes back on as being walks to his window and looks out as he sips his juice. He now has a giant floor tose ceiling window that shows him the outside, which is a neverending forest below him. How crazy would it be if they just had all these people trapped in the middle of a building somewhere, like the movie The Village, and the judges have regular lives in the normal world, but they just keep all these people locked up as slaves for free power and entertainment. [ __ ] is probably ran by Tuckeroft. And there's evidence to support this, too. In the episode Crocodile, the hotel worker confirms Hot Shots takes place in the same world. So, there's definitely stuff going on outside of that bike riding hellbox. And just like all good Black Mirror episodes, it ends with us having more questions, like what happens if Bing's stream gets cancelled. Does he go back to the bike and it's like nothing ever happened? Or maybe he gets retired or he has an accident or does he actually off himself? And at this point, it means nothing because he's already spent 50 episodes threatening to do it. Who knows? Also, we never see anyone older anywhere. The judges are the oldest people we see. If you're middle class, you're on the bikes. If you can't do that, you're low class as a janitor. But what happens if you can't do that? Do they just take you out back like old yeller? I mean, it's [ __ ] up to say, but I don't think anyone would care if they did. They're so looked down upon. I could see management or whoever getting rid of them the second they're no longer useful. And speaking of management, who the [ __ ] runs this place? There's a theory out there this entire thing could be taking place inside of a cookie. And since cookies eventually won human rights, what if this is where they send cookies when they're done with them? But I don't have any answers for you, so let's talk alternate endings. Charlie Brooker had a few different ideas for the end. The first one had Bing and Abby living together, but they were both extremely unhappy. Abby had gotten all kinds of plastic surgery because she had become shallow and was addicted to compliance. The second one was similar to the ending we see now, except after Bing's stream ends, he anxiously watches the ratings for his show. So, he basically swapped one treadmill for another. Then the last one, which I think is the most simple and most dark, was going to have the camera pull back to reveal that the bikes weren't connected to anything. Since the episode implies they're powering something, and that's basically their purpose in life, that would be a sick reveal. Also, don't get it twisted. If I was in Bing's shoes, I would 100% take the same deal that he did. The [ __ ] You'd be crazy not to. And last thing, I just recently started channel memberships. It's only a dollar, but if I get enough people to do it, it'll really help me out, and I'll hopefully eventually be able to put out more than one video a week. You'll be getting early access to videos and input on topics of future videos. If you can, great. Thank you very much. If not, no worries. I just appreciate you being here and watching. That being said, if you made it this far in the video and you like the video, please like the video and subscribe if you want to see more content like this. I got a lot more in the works. Till the same time next week.