I was hoping he'd GET OUT.

what i noticed is the female judge wiping away a tear when the girl accepted the pornography career

If Bing’s life is depressing and he’s part of their middle class in his little room then just imagine how depressing the janitors’ life are.

15 million credits = 15 minutes of fame How did I not catch that before?!?!? 🤦‍♀️

I thought bing would kill the judges, kinda disappointed he didn’t.

Black Mirror scares me more than any horror movie because it’s too real

Actually that's not the message that I got... When he finished his speech on the stage The audience was quiet, just waiting to be told what to think of it. Even if they didn't realize it before they had no choice now and yet they still just sat there waiting to be told what to think... Which shattered him even more making him realize that he can't fight the system, but he can climb it. So completely shattered, he just accepted it: "well if you people are to complicit to stand up for yourselves, you deserve it. I'm out!"

He is a very good actor, I like how he really feels the emotions of the people he's portraying.

The people that watch Bing's stream at the end of the episode are essentially the viewers themselves. They watch his stream, and that's it. It's entertainment that criticizes the society. We watch Black Mirror. Entertainment that criticizes the society. But there is little to no chance that any of us or the people in the episode will do anything to change the society they all live in. Sad. Wow that's a lot of likes thanks

Watching that episode made me feel so claustrophobic and uncomfortable that if I was in that world, I would want to get out IMMEDIATELY

Can we talk about the "compliance drink" they give people. She was clearly drugged out and didn't know what she was consenting too.

I think there was one interesting scene. The female judge (don't know her name, sorry) actually tears up a bit when she sees Abi Khan being compelled to pornography and to the whims of men surrounding her. She knows that it's a really sad thing, but realizes that she is powerless in face of the system.

Out of all the Black Mirrors, 15M Merits freaks me out the most. Too real, too real. lol.

Bing is basically all of us. He was a rebel he was anti-authoritarian, he was miserable in his dead-end job. But as soon as he got his 15 minutes of fame, his opportunity, he sold out for a better, more comfortable life. He is a hypocrite but so are we. He is no different from us.

The horrible thing about the ending is that Bing accepted the offer without the juice. He gave in to the system that he despised so much when it finally favored him.

"The ones telling you the system is corrupt are part of the system" Damn that's a good quote

This was the most haunting episode, especially the sexual exploitation

My interpretation of Bing in that final moment on stage was that he gave up. After that entire rant about the state of everything, the 3 judges basically shrugged it off and gave him a job offer. I think in that moment, 2 things happened. 1: Bing realized that there was no way he was ever going to beat this system. 2: He decided that if he can't beat it, he might as well live the rest of his life with some kind of comfort. Hence the decision to become another channel, rather than go back to the bikes.

I don't think Bing was initially hypocritical, but towards the end as he was presented with a better life and an opportunity--so yes, he gives in and allows himself to become part of the people he would have criticized in the past. Perhaps he didn't give up totally and is trying to work his way to the top, or maybe realized he can't really do anything by himself. I agree that the symbolism of "Locking Up" or "Protecting" his glass shard at the end was him locking up what he was once going to use to free himself from the oppression in the world.

Side note: i really loved how Black Mirror looked at how your fitness level and weight determined your respect level in society and oppurtunities through this episode, it was quite subtle but i noticed it. It really mirrors our reality in modern day society with materialistic and physical appearances being a huge part of your importance in society and the judgement when your dont meet those expectations or criterias.

This is my favourite episode because of Bings ending speech, it’s so real and accurate and incredibly performed. Daniel Kaluya acted the shit out of this episode

I was really hoping bing was going to kill the three judges with the glass shard. That was the emotion I would have if they drugged a girl I basically loved into doing porn.

Ending really explained-Bing was seduced, Abi was raped. When Bing stepped out on stage he had nothing to express but inarticulate rage. The judges took that rage, processed it, packaged it, and sold it back to Bing as something of value. Having lost hope that he would ever find true value, represented by a relationship with Abi, he had nothing left but the faustian choice black mirror presents. Virtual life or physical death. Bing as a human wanted to believe his life could have value. The judges knew this and used Bing’s desire to seduce him not to cut his throat or kill them. Bing wasn’t a hypocrite he just chose life. In this piece the writers are making an autobiographical statement to the audience. This is who we are and the choices we’ve made. We are cognizant of the world we live in, but in the end we get to drink real orange juice.

The most brutal and haunting part of Bing's rant imao : 'You took away the only real thing I came close to' - which was falling in love with someone. They took away Abbi. Haunting really.

I felt so bad for the girl that was actually in love with him she was so cute

If you think Bing was a hypocrite, you need to read 1984. Bing is no more a hypocrite than Winston was. Both are men that tried to fight the system, and were ultimately subsumed by it. When the only options are to accept, or die, and you realise that your death with never have any meaning or impact, what other option is there?

This was the hardest thing I've ever watched. This episode litteraly made me depressed, it was uncomfortable, gut wrenching and brilliant.

It's interesting how porn ads are being played in public in that gym. Also there were no couples, no kids.

I also saw a major relationship between the protagonist's online web rants and the current state of KZfaq influencers (although i'm sure this was not intended by the Black Mirror creators). We, the audience, got so many of these KZfaq creators famous and rich because we could relate to them. Now that they are rich and no longer relatable their content is repetitive and they are just re-creating content of a life they once knew.

Idk why but Black Mirror scares me.

i cried 3 times while watching this episode because somehow it just hit so close to home. the moment abby was pressured by thousands of people into prostitution was heartbreaking

Wraith: A ghost or ghostly image of a recently deceased person aka a ghost shell of a person. Hope: What keeps a person chasing dreams and staying in the game. Charity: Handouts. Winnings. Inheritance. Selma = Seldom (ie rarely happens). Bing: The only guy in the episode "searching" for answers in life. Clever 😊

The most depressing character was Abi. Her fate was absolutely haunting. I still hear her singing as the guy on top of her has sex with her. She sounds so broken it gives me goosebumps. I think one question that was really a great way to end the episode was "are the windows hes looking out actually a view of something real or just more screens?"

6:25 "Trading one prison cell for a cosier prison cell, he becomes a CELL out" Nice 👌

What really messed me up were 2 moments, 1st one was when Bing broke the glass and he was laying there forced to watch Abi getting f*cked while she is singing her song and breathing heavily without any emotions at all, basically they made a mockery of her song and told her to sing it while f*cking, disturbing that anyone would get sexually aroused by that, seems like we will eventually get there in the future...2nd disturbing thing is Abi at the end, she looked like she was beat up and had bruises all over her face, while the guy put his finger in her mouth and told her to say that she likes it, which she said, then the guy laughs, also remember the judge told her to forget about all the shame etc. and that they medicate against that and that she is going to get pleasure for ever. They basically corrupt the people until they get so messed up inside so there is no more morality and people get sexually aroused by rape p*rn in which woman get beat up. And i think what happened to Bing, is that they gave him a show so he can talk about all these things so people get desensitized because you tell them whats wrong with the system but they still accept it and work for it. Just like in todays world we see the government and police do crimes on a daily basis, racist cops killing innocent black people on camera, we accept it, get more desensitized and keep quiet. WikiLeaks showed us what the government is doing but we accepted it, get more desensitized and and keep quiet, the government continues doing it with public knowledge, our morality is dead.

I've been aware of the system for years, but this episode made it all come into focus and it makes me feel trapped and it makes me feel like a shell of a real person.

i don’t believe bing was a hypocrite. i believe that the society that he lived in finally broke him. thanks for 1k likes. never would’ve thought that so many people would appreciate my opinion.

I used to think fifteen million merits was the worst episode but honestly its the scariest one and true to the likeliness of reality right now, in comparison to other episodes that focus on future technology/movements this one is more of a distorted look of our current society and whats happening right now and when you’re watching the ep it seems weird and illogical but after when you carry on with your day you’re hit with realisation that this is exactly like fifteen million merits

The fact he barely or doesn't speak for the first 15 minutes stands out as a part of this episode. Especially after the ending where he ends up talking to millions everyday

What concerns me is that no one ever asked Abi what SHE really wanted. She didn’t want to go to the show!

Maybe that's what it means to "Sell your soul to the devil" for fame and riches.

the drug she was given also impaired her decision making ability. She accepted the offer due to pressure from the audience/judges as well as the compliance drink.

Fifteen Million Merits made me stop watching talent shows and/or reality shows because they are all fake. Nosedive made me stop using Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat because how fake it makes your life once you commit to it. I love Black Mirror because it changed my life.

I know it’s not really important but I’m still curious how the young people got in there. Where are their parents and siblings, friends? Could they ever leave? How are they supposed to start their own families? So many questions. I’m still confused about this episode.

I find this episode emotionally painful to watch.

One of my biggest questions for this episide is who is running the system? There's never any guards walking around, but there's seemingly no way to escape the facility they're trapped in. Who's stopping them? Where even are they?

The show demonstrates how the system works as intended. Isolate people from working together. Divide them by differences. Subvert movements and commodify them.

I love how Black Mirror episodes, especially this one, leave the audience feeling a sense of unfulfillment. Instead of everything working out and changing for the better, Bing just becomes another cog in the machine. But I guess that is just the nature of a dystopia, not meant to finish with a fulfilling ending where Bing kills the judges that symbolize oppression and waking up in a normal bed in a normal room.

Was literally the saddest episode to me😭

"Black Mirror is pretty much calling out itself" Well duh, the glass shard Bing holds is literally from Black Mirror's title screen

This episode feels eerily relatable to current day; under house arrest, doing mundane work and absorbing entertainment while being told how to think and given scraps to remain compliant.

i’ve seen many horror movies, i started watching horror movies in 1st grade. but nothing is more scarier than black mirror, it’s so real and it scares me sm

The apartment windows are screens. I’m blind so use Audio Description. The narrator tells you that they are screens

I thought he would go full Jhon wick mode and only use a glass shard to save abi

After rewatching the ending twice, I have to say that my takeaway is this... What I see is someone who hasn't sold out OR given up on defeating the system. He was caught off guard when doing his initial performance during the show and realized just how smart, prepared, and practiced they were at diffusing potential threats. When doing his weekly stream, he was pitching the bit they expected him to do, but... When it shuts off, so does his fake expression. He pays respect to the shard that got him where is he and the same song that previously helped inspire him begins playing as he looks at the penguin and then at the panoramic view. It strikes me that he realizes his past mistake and is contemplating his next moves while hustling the hustlers. I agree that a sequel to this episode would be awesome as I don't think he's done yet. Just smarter and willing to play the long game.

This is actually the only Black Mirror episode I *refuse* to rewatch just from how depressing, hollow, and *real* it was...

Personally I feel Black Mirror wasn't mocking itself; I feel like it was mocking us as a society. Even on the internet people preach about what needs to be done for change and freedom yet when it comes down to it, who is willing to sacrifice themselves to make it happen? Bing had a chance to make true change but instead chose himself over anything else. He could have sparked a fire but instead he may have put out the flame of a few like minded people. The world they live in is just comfortable enough that people can tolerate it so they don't fight back, just like in our society where people will get on social media, complain, and maybe hours or days later be talking about the Kardashians or who is having whos baby. Even my comment is meaningless, people will ignore or read it and forget about it in a couple of hours. I always ask myself do people really want change in society or do they just want to be better off than they are?

I thought that Asian girl would’ve had a bigger difference on the episode since she was showed so much it would’ve been a cool after credit if it showed her doing what bing wouldn’t

So pretty much wake up, go to work, go home, sleep, then do it all again. Unless you're a celebrity.

It was horrible what happened to Abi. Nothing was real in that world, not even Bing's love for Abi in the end.

I decided to watch 'black mirror' after putting it off for so long and I just can't let go of what happened in this episode. Am I the only one that feels this episode left you feeling disgusted and sad? I know realistically that this is just human nature and anyone would seize the opportunity to live a better life... but man I'm still stuck at the point that abi was coerced to do something she didn't want to do. That people in her own situation, watching from their boxes would push her to be a wraith babe when she so obviously doesn't want to. Not only that, I just can't stand the way the judge hope and wraith were looking at her and how the one woman there could not be empathetic enough to help her through the unpleasant situation. How can she just sit there with this blank look on her face and not say anything while judge wraith is asking her adamantly to show her breast? WTF. It makes me so sad to see how people want her to be grateful for something she doesn't want. And then there is the preview of her in the act... and you just see her looking up and a hand on her face... Probably judge wraith's telling her... ugh. I really feel for bing and abi. The fact that bing finds a way out and for all we know abi is forever living in a hell just didn't sit well with me. I was hoping they would both find a way out. P.S. Really nice job explaining the episode.

I feel like Bing wasn't a sellout When i watched it for me it didn't feel like he sold out it felt like he gave up. He tried and then he tried he realized no-one was listening. What is the point in trying if nobody is listening... If you can't beat them join them so he gave up.

Corona virus lockdown - this is where the path leads. We are now living an episode of black mirror. Enjoy the ride!

What I got from this episode was that if I had to choose between this world and the stone age, I would probably pick the stone age. I wouldn't be able to bare the futuristic life. It feels so claustrophobic and its probably located underground. It scares the shit out of me that this could be our future.

I would sell out too😂😂😂 did you see what happens when he tries to close his eyes and not watch commercials lol

The pessimism of this show is like a wrecking ball through the head

I'm binge watching Black Mirror now and coming to this channel every time I finish an episode to get a in depth explanation. Really helps me enjoy each episode that much more. Thank you!

This episode is the perfect representation of 'if you can't beat them, join them!'

Thumbnail just screaming GET OUT!!!

props to the other girl who got rejected

I think he gave in at the end because he realized there was no changing the system. He knew the meaning of his speech was pretty much unheard so he was left with going back to his normal life or trading it for a slightly better one. I don’t blame him for what he did

Thank you for this! I was tasked with performing this piece as a monologue, Bing’s rant, for my Drama course and having an understanding of the context and meaning behind it has helped me improve my performance:)

This episode made me feel sick. Mostly, because everything in this episode is happening right now in our real world, just not as extreme. There are so many thoughts in my head, even if I wanted to I couldn’t say what I am thinking.

What is Bing drinking now? He is having "Compliance" in his juice. He's just as lost.

This episode is so real. Everyone is against the system until they realize they can benefit from the same system.

This Episode has one Message: Follow your own Dream. Don't let anyone trick you into pursuing you, into a living Nightmare disguised as a dream. Don' t be brainwashed bye Money/Power/Famous People. Have the guts to say no. You live this life now, you should decide how your life will be. It is your life after all. Follow a dream that makes you happy.

I found it hard to sympathize with Bing. He seemed like an unsavory person from the start, overinflating his own sense of being above his world. His support of Abby, to me, was not trying to make something real happen; it was trying to win the affection of a pretty girl. Look at the difference in how he treats Abby and the Asian girl. He pursued Abby based on little more than a pretty face and a modestly above-average voice despite her having shown no interest in him, while ignoring the Asian girl who demonstrated interest attempted to initiate a rapport with him. But Abby was prettier, so he picked her and gave up everything he had to endear himself to her when she never did a thing to justify his emotional nor economic investment in her. When she chose to star in porn, he wasn't upset that her realness was wasted. He was upset that the object of his attraction would be getting fucked by other men on camera (on his dime, since he paid for the ticket which got her that job). The fact that he never tried to get her out of the porn show after becoming famous himself solidifes that. She was a fleeting crush who ultimately came to mean nothing to him. He didn't save her because he didn't care to. If his interest in her had been as meaningful as you describe it, he would have gone back for her. It all comes together to build Bing's character as somebody who thinks he is more unique and more of a black sheep than he really is. Which is true for a lot of people. How often do you see that type of behavior from your friends on Facebook, self-indulging over their "quirks" that actually aren't quirky at all?

This reminds me of what has been bothering me people will post on Instagram describing how toxic it is but don’t realizing how easy it is to just delete the app and free yourself , it’s exactly like this episode

I picked up on a lot of this stuff subconsciously, well done putting it into words especially toward the end. subscribed

This was the episode that made me fall in love with this show for all the reasons you said

When he said it’s just confetti and that she has something real it actually means so much.. I mean I can’t be the only one that works their ass off and then looks up and asks “ what’s really the point “ you gotta find what’s real in this world for yourself 💯

when abby started singing that one song in the video my heart just broke into a million pieces

The fat people being janitors, that broke my heart. I'm fat and I feel like that all the time. Being less of a person because of my weight. This is not far fetched from real life

Reason I love black mirror is almost every story in a horrifying sort of way is completely possible to actually happen in the far future

I really love what happened in this episode, put in simple terms; its about a guy that doesn't like what's happening and when he tries to take it down he end up as part of the problem he was fighting against. That's already happening on KZfaq, I remember all of the KZfaqrs that were complaining about reaction videos a year ago; this year *they* are the ones making the reaction videos. They became part of the problem they wanted to destroy. They became hypocrites for their own benefits.

Black Mirror is our phone/tablet/tv screen... and it's reflecting our society like "mirror"

I found this episode, and by extension the *show* by complete chance. If somebody didn't mention it in a KZfaq comment on some sci-fi video, I wouldn't have found either of them! Thank you, kind stranger, and thank *you* for making this video and getting more fans on it!

One detail I haven't seen anyone point out is that he keeps the glass shard, so he can just kill himself whenever he wants, but still chooses not to, so he's not only complying with the system, but also actively choosing to benefit from it. In that way, he is equal or worse than anyone else shown in the episode.

Just now I realized this society was a capitalistic-media version of Oceânia from 1984. Three social classes, individuals constantly watched and surrounded by propaganda mixed with advertisements, an opressed protagonist who falls in love and that at last gives up to the sistem.

Bing's emotional outbreak is one of *the* definite scenes of BM. So amazingly acted that just watching it gives me lasting goosebumps 👍

This is a well-crafted and insightful thesis riven essay in video form. Wonderful!

As soon as he gave up his merits to the girl I knew where the story was headed. This episode was amazing and had a stellar set up!

I was really angry with the judges and how they provoked Abi... I was almost same angry and disappointed as Bing when he saw Abi in pornography

The bike pedalers weren't middle class. They were slaves. Their all-day pedaling provided the energy source for the entire city...

We do not live in an era of information, we live in an era of marketing disguised as information

I was stunned when he talked about buying unnecessary stuff with their money as it's just stuff, when he said "we buy hats for our avatar, hats that don't even exist", it hit me that it's now our reality, with the Metaverse, NFTs, Crypto currencies and God knows what will happen next. Shit is real scary man. This show paints a picture of our reality so much that I sometimes wonder who really made it and what do they really know!

every episode of black mirror is really insane and u cant stop watching it because u'll get curious what will be the story of the next episode

I have only seen two seasons of BM so far, but this episode depressed me the most, because it just seemed SO real to me. Great summary and analysis!

Great explanation. Very insightful!

oh man, I just watched this episode during lockdown. It hit so hard, so shook right now !