History Recap / BlackMirrorNosedive

[[center:[-'''BlackMirror/SeriesThree'''-]]]

** Downplayed with Bethany, who subtly shames Lacie for still living in Hoddicker. While moving to a better place was already in Lacie's plans before their conversation, it probably made her feel more pressured to do it, fueling her desperation to move to Pelican Cove and, as a consequence, to reach 4.5, which ends up destroying her life.

** Downplayed with the Reputelligent advisor, who uses a bunch of technical terms that only make sense in the context of the episode's fictional rating system, but it's pretty easy to get what he means.
** Played straight when Naomi reveals her true colors and explains why having a 4.2 as maid of honor would be advantageous for her:

--> '''Naomi:''' When I asked you to speak, you were a 4.2, okay? And the authenticity of a vintage bond low four at a gathering of this calibre played fantastically on all the simulations we ran. Forecast was a prestige bounce of 0.2 minimum. But now, you're a sub three!

-->'''Lacie:''' And she was there for me. Holding my hair back as I knelt, vomiting, in front of the crapper. Thank you for that, Naomi.

** In the social media page for Naomi, there's a message from [[Recap/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem Michael Callow]] stating: “Just got thrown out of the zoo again :(“

* CallBack:
** Lacie meets up with fans of a sci-fi show called ''Sea of Tranquility'', which was also mentioned in [[Recap/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem "The National Anthem"]].
** In the social media page for Naomi, there's a message from [[Recap/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem Michael Callow]] stating: “Just got thrown out of the zoo again :(“

* ContinuityNod: At the office, a post by Michael Callow, the Prime Minister from [[Recap/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem "The National Anthem"]], can be [[FreezeFrameBonus seen]] as a top trending post in Lacie's computer.

* CallBack: Lacie meets up with fans of a sci-fi show called ''Sea of Tranquility'', which was also mentioned in [[Recap/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem "The National Anthem"]].

* NoFameNoWealthNoService: Taken to its logical extreme. All of society is based on this principle.

* UrbanSegregation: Your score pretty much determines in what areas you can live.

* BadInfluencer: "High 4" Naomi is an AlphaBitch all grown up. She bullied Lacie and slept with Lacie's boyfriend Greg despite claiming to be her friend. In the present, she smiles as she watches Lacie mentally and emotionally collapse in front of her at her wedding, clearly enjoying the sympathy and notoriety she's about to get.

Directed by Creator/JoeWright, Written by Creator/MichaelSchur and Creator/RashidaJones, and starring Creator/BryceDallasHoward (Lacie), Creator/AliceEve (Naomi), and Creator/JamesNorton (Ryan).

* MaddenIntoMisanthropy: The truck driver Lacie meets during her journey to the ending is this, after her husband died for being denied medical care over someone with better rank than him, she said "fuck it all" and decided to leave outside what society and its points system expects from her. Something similar happens with Lacie at the very end of the episode as well.

* AtomicFBomb: The final line is Lacie and her prison mate yelling "Fuck you!" at each other.

-->'''Susan:''' It turned out a lot of my "friends" didn't care for honesty. Treated me like I had taken a shit at their breakfast table. But Jesus Christ it felt good, sheddin' those fuckers. It was like takin' off tight shoes.

* KafkaKomedy: Lacie's journey to the wedding has some elements of this.

* LaughingMad: Lacie, during the wedding speech.

* NonHumanNonBinary: Implied to be the case of Lieutenant Duster, a fictional character from ''[[ShowWithinAShow Sea of Tranquility]]'', who has no fixed gender. When one of the Trankheads asks Lacie who her favorite character is, as she refers to them as "she" and then "he", prompting the Trankheads to suspect she's lying about being a fan of the show.

* SocialClimber: Lacie's goal is to become a high four. {{Justified|Trope}}, as those with higher rankings get better housing, jobs, and immediate preference in everything from airline seats to medical care.

* IfItWasFunnyTheFirstTime: In-universe. When Lacie says "fuck the planet!" for the first time, one of the wedding guests laughs at it. This prompts her to say it again twice, while pretty much explaining she's trying to sound funny, and causing loud feedback the third time. No one finds it funny anymore.

** This trait of Susan is made clear in her interactions with Lacie. When Lacie asks if she wants to hear her speech, Susan replies with a blunt "no". And when Lacie says she's sorry for her husband's death, Susan unceremoniously says that since she doesn't know her, she's not really sorry, just awkward cause she "sprung some cancer talk" at her.

** Once Lacie's score drops, Naomi reveals her true colors. She demands Lacie not to come to the wedding, and blatantly says she only wanted her because bringing a 4.2 as maid of honor would play well with the guests, while also slamming in her face that it was all about numbers for both of them, since Lacie obviously just wanted to be upvoted by all the high fours.
** Lacie becomes brutally honest herself as she gets fed up with everything after Naomi ditches her. She openly tells the Trankheads that she has never seen their "stupid fucking show", and when she invades Naomi's wedding, she gives a speech that is pretty much a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.

* CallBack: Lacie meets up with fans of a sci-fi show called ''Sea of Tranquility'', which was also mentioned in ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem The National Anthem]]''.

* ContinuityNod: At the office, a post by Michael Callow, the Prime Minister from ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem The National Anthem]]'', can be [[FreezeFrameBonus seen]] as a top trending post in Lacie's computer.

** Lacie gets one-starred by passerby Tamara for accidentally bumping into her and spilling her drink on her, and by the taxi driver just for taking a little too long to get in the cab, and because we has annoyed by her conversation with Naomi, which is even worse considering she had given him five stars just before.

* FanCommunityNicknames: In-universe. The fans of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Sea of Tranquility]]'' call themselves "Trankheads". It's a minor plot point, as Lacie not knowing what the term means is one of the things that makes the Trankheads suspect she's lying about being a fan of the show. Lacie tries to brush it off, saying they're called "Tranksters" where she's from.

* LighterAndSofter: With its pastel colors, comedic elements and lack of bleakness and horror in general, ''Nosedive'' represents a significant shift in tone and aesthetic in Black Mirror, something observed in several episodes since the transition to Netflix. Downplayed, since at the end of the day the "sweetness" of the episode is a tool to make the setting feel like CrapsaccharineWorld, the ending is [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] at best, and it's not uplifting like subsequent episodes, such as ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorSanJunipero San Junipero]]'' and ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorHangTheDJ Hang the DJ]]''.

* NonHumanNonBinary: Implied to be the case of Lieutenant Duster, a fictional character from ''[[ShowWithinAShow Sea of Tranquility]]'', who has no fixed gender. It becomes a minor plot point when one of the Trankheads asks Lacie who her favorite character is, as she refers to them as "she" and then "he", prompting the Trankheads to suspect she's lying about being a fan of the show.

* ShowWithinAShow: Lacie pretends to be a fan of the sci-fi show ''Sea of Tranquility'' in order to get a ride from fans of it who are headed to a convention in Port Mary. The show had already been mentioned in ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorTheNationalAnthem The National Anthem]]'', and is referenced again in ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorRachelJackAndAshleyToo Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too]]''.

* [[CoolOldGuy Cool Old Woman]]: Susan is blunt, but she's friendly, genuine, and thick-skinned enough to not care what other people think of her. She even gives Lacie some booze for courage.

* FalseFriend: Naomi to Lacie. To be fair, it's constantly left ambiguous whether is Naomi is right when she says that she and Lacie are the same in terms of being callous users who only think of themselves, but Naomi ''is'' constantly condescending and cruel to anyone "below" her on the social ladder, and slept with Lacie's boyfriend in the past.

* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Invoked. Naomi helped Lacie make Mister Rags, which Lacie is genuinely attached to. However, bringing it with her to the wedding is clearly a tactical move.

* HoYay: When Paul finishes his speech at the wedding, he immediately goes over to his best man, Anthony, and gives him a very intimate-looking frat-boy chest bump, with their eyes locked to each other's. Not once in this sequence does he look at his gorgeous new wife Naomi, and the look on her face says it all. This heavily implies that the union is purely a MarriageOfConvenience for the sake of higher ratings and the two don't actually love each other.

* FeedbackRule: Downplayed. There is a slight feedback when Lacie grabs the microphone at the wedding.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Lacie acts like a jerk towards her brother Ryan when he tries to snap her back into herself, calling him "mister three point fuck", and she even rates him one star before leaving the flat. He rates her one star in return, kickstarting her downfall, which results in her ending up as a "zero point fuck" herself.

* LighterAndSofter: With its pastel colors, comedic elements and lack of bleakness and horror in general, ''Nosedive'' represents a significant shift in tone and aesthetic in Black Mirror, something observed in several episodes since the transition to Netflix. Downplayed, since at the end of the day the "sweetness" of the episode exists to make the setting feel like CrapsaccharineWorld, the ending is [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] at best, and it's not uplifting like subsequent episodes, such as ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorSanJunipero San Junipero]]'' and ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorHangTheDJ Hang the DJ]]''.

* NiceToTheWaiter: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]; in this universe, everyone ''pretends'' to be nice to the waiter lest they risk a downvote. Lacie is nice to the agent at the airport at first to keep from being rated down and so the agent makes an exception for her, but yells and curses at the agent when it's clear that the agent can't, or won't, give her that credit. Those behind her in line [[FromBadToWorse immediately give her a poor rating as soon as she gets frustrated.]]

--> '''Naomi:''' When I asked you to speak, you were a 4.2, okay? And the authenticity of a vintage bond low four at a gathering of this calibre played fantastically on all the simulations we ran. Forecast was a prestige bounce of 2 minimum. But now, you're a sub three! Sorry! That just puts the stink on things a little too much! That just plays badly for us!

* LighterAndSofter: With its pastel colors, comedic elements and lack of bleakness and horror in general, ''Nosedive'' represents a significant shift in tone and aesthetic in Black Mirror, something observed in several episodes since the transition to Netflix. Downplayed, since at the end of the day the "sweetness" of the episode exists to make the setting feel like CrapsaccharineWorld, the ending is [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] at best, and it's not uplifting like subsequent episodes, such as ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorSanJunipero San Junipero]]'' and ''[[Recap/BlackMirrorHangTheDJ Hang the DJ]]''. .

** Downplayed with the Reputelligence advisor, who uses a bunch of technical terms that only make sense in the context of the episode's fictional rating system, but it's pretty easy to get what he means.

* BecomingTheMask: Everyone in this society is clearely wearing fake "friendly" masks in order to thrive in the ranking system. Even though it's clear that Lacie is also playing along, as she is shown practicing her smiles and laughs at the mirror at the beginning of the episode, it's implied she was a pretty normal person up to that point, at least with her brother Ryan. However, as she tries to adapt her lifestyle in order to pander to Naomi and the other high fours, it ends up affecting her own personality, much to the chagrin of Ryan, who barely even recognizes her anymore. Every time he calls her out on it, she gets geniunely mad and responds in denial, as if she had really assimilated her new persona.

** Once Lacie's score drops, Naomi reveals her true colors, demands Lacie not to come to the wedding, and blatantly says she only wanted her because bringing a 4.2 as maid of honor would play well with the guests, while also slamming in her face that it was all about numbers for both of them, since Lacie obviously just wanted to be upvoted by all the high fours.

** Naomi points out, correctly, that Lacie only took up the offer to raise her own rating.
** Earlier, Lacie's brother gives some scathing commentary on the shallowness of the system and her frustrating, unfulfilling obsession with it. He also sneers at his sister's rediscovered fondness for Naomi, a former "friend" who mocked and bullied her (and apparently [[PrecisionFStrike fucked a guy she was into]]). He lays this on Lacie with the tenderness of a fist to the gut, but she knows it's true.

** Bethany subtly shames Lacie for still living at her place. It's what instigates Lacie to become to desperate to move to Pelican Cove and, as a consequence, to reach 4.5. It ends up destroying her life.

* YourMakeupIsRunning: Lacie, by the time she gets to the wedding, as the image at the top shows. Though if anything, [[UnkemptBeauty she looks better that way.]]
** It's worth pointing out that the effect was caused by Lacie falling into a bog on her way in to the wedding rather than crying. However because the mascara runs down her face while she loudly tears into [[AlphaBitch Naomi]] with a speech, they look like tears of resentment. It's a very powerful effect.

** Ryan might come of as a bit of a jerk, especially for how blunt he is to Lacie, but he geniunely cares about his sister. He's very upset she's not her true self anymore, he's worried about her impulsively making the deposit for Pelican Cove and asks if it's refundable in case the wedding speech thing doesn't work (and he turns out to be right), and he's visibly devastated after Lacie drops a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech on him, and even more so after she one-stars him.

* TheAllegedCar: Lacie's rented I-Cruiser 2 is this, alongside having the look of a 2000s beater, it has the voice only in Czech and having no charger adapter.
* AlphaBitch: ''Naomi.''

* TheBeautifulElite: Those rated 4.5 or higher. Naomi's wedding is full of them.

* BrokenAce: While Lacie technically wasn't an "ace", she was a 4.2, which is a pretty respectable score, and according to the Reputelligent advisor, she would probably naturally reach 4.5 in about a year and a half. However, her as she feels pressured to move to a better place, she gets desperate to reach 4.5 as fast as possible. This leads to her making a series of mistakes, which, coupled with a string of bad luck, result in her score sliding all the way down to below 1, and in her ending up in prison.

** This trait of Susan is made clear in her interactions with Lacie. When Lacie asks her if she wants to hear her speech, Susan replies with a blunt "no". And when Lacie says she's sorry for her husband's death, Susan unceremoniously says that since she doesn't know her, she's not really sorry, just awkward cause she "sprung some cancer talk" at her.
** Ryan is also very blunt with Lacie. He is very straighforward about how shallow the system is, how her personality has changed, and how Naomi used to be a jerk to her in every way. She is very pissed about it and takes his honesty as aggression.
** Lacie becomes brutally honest herself as she gets fed up with everything after Naomi ditches her. She openly tells the "Trankeads" that she "has never seen their stupid fucking show", and when she invades Naomi's wedding, she gives a speech that is pretty much a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
* CallBack: Lacie meets up with fans of a sci-fi show called ''Sea of Tranquility'', which was also mentioned in "The National Anthem."

* ContinuityNod: At the office, a post by Michael Callow, the Prime Minister from "The National Anthem", can be [[FreezeFrameBonus seen]] as a top trending post in Lacie's computer.

** Lacie gets one-starred by passerby Tamara for accidentally bumping into her and spilling her drink on her, and by the taxi driver just for taking a little too long to get in the cab and because we has annoyed by her conversation with Naomi, which is even worse considering she had given him five stars just before.

* ForTheEvulz: when a 2.8 Lacie asks for a ride, the driver one-stars just because of her low score. Another driver passes by and also dings her, even though she literally did nothing. There's also the charge station guy, who one-stars her simply because it "wasn't a meaningful encounter", even though she had just given him five starts. While "evil" might be a harsh word, considering how having a low rating has devastating effects on people's lives in this society, it's a very mean thing to do, especially towards someone whose score is already low.

* TheGhost: Greg, Lacie's love interest with whom Naomi apparently slept with, is unseen.

* HumiliationConga: For Lacie.

* IfItWasFunnyTheFirstTime: In-universe. When Lacie says "fuck the planet!" for the first time, one of the wedding guests laughs at it. This prompts her to say it again twice, while pretty much explaining she's trying to sound funny, and causing loud audio feedback the third time. No one finds it funny anymore.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Naomi points out, correctly, that Lacie only took up the offer to raise her own rating.

** Ryan might come of as a bit of a jerk, especially for how blunt he is to Lacie, but he geniunely cares about his sister. He's very upset she's not her true self anymore, he's worried about her impulsively making the deposit for Pelican Cove and asks if it's refundable in case the wedding speech thing doesn't work (and he turned out to be right), and he's visibly devastated after Lacie drops a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech on him, and even more so after she one-stars him.
** Similarly, Susan's BrutalHonesty is not well-received in this world, and while her bluntness can also sound jerkish, she's one of the nicest characters in the episode. She's the only person who offered Lacie a ride, after other drivers not only refused but even dinger her. Even after Lacie calls her old, she doesn't vote her down, while many other people dinged her for very petty reasons. While she forthrightly tells Lacie she doesn't want to hear her wedding speech, she wishes her good luck on it as they part ways.

** Lacie pretty much delivers another one to Naomi at her wedding, "disguised" as a maid of honor speech.

* SocialClimber: Lacie. {{Justified|Trope}}, as those with higher rankings get better housing, jobs, and immediate preference in everything from airline seats to medical care.

** It happens again twice, with two people who are genuinely kind to Lacie (Susan and her brother). Her brother gives her the first one star in petty sibling rivalry; it starts a nightmarish free fall of her score. Susan also gives Lacie a ride and is extremely supportive of her...but she also gives Lacie alcohol and results in her losing what little is left of her dignity by that point.

* BecomingTheMask: Everyone in this society is clearely wearing fake "friendly" masks in order to thrive in the ranking system. From the start, it's clear that Lacie is also playing along, as she is shown practicing her smiles on the mirror right the beginning of the episode. However, it's implied she was a pretty normal person up to that point, at least with her brother Ryan. However, as she tries to adapt her lifestyle in order to pander to the 4.5s, it ends up affecting her own personality, much to the chagrin of Ryan, who barely even recognizes her anymore. Every time he calls her out on it, she seems to get geniunely mad and responds in denial, as if she had really assimilated her new persona.

* BrokenAce: While Lacie technically wasn't an "ace", she was a 4.2, which is a pretty respectable score, and according to the Reputelligent advisor, she would probably naturally reach 4.5 in about a year and a half. However, her impatience to reach 4.5 in order to get a discount at Pelican Cover makes Lacie desperate. Her recklessness leads to her demise, as her score plummets down to below 1, and she ends up in prison.

** Lacie gets one-starred by passerby Tamara accidentally bumping into her and spilling coffee on her, and by the taxi driver just for taking a little too long to get in the cab and because we has annoyed by her conversation with Naomi, which is even worse considering she gave him five stars just before.

* ForTheEvulz: when a 2.8 Lacie asks for a ride, the driver one-stars her because she's a 2.8. Another driver passes by and also dings her, even though she literally did nothing. There's also the charge station guy, who one-stards her simply because "it wasn't a meaningul encounter", even though she had five-starred him. While "evil" might sound like a harsh word for this, considering how having a low rating has devastating effects on people's lives, it's a very mean thing to do, especially towards someone whose score is already low.

** Ryan might come of as a bit of a jerk, especially for how blunt and unceremonious he is to Lacy, but he geniunely cares about his sister. He's very upset she's not her true self anymore, he's worried about her impulsively making the deposit for Pelican Cove and asks if it's refundable in case the wedding speech thing doesn't work (and he turned out to be right), and he's visibly devastated after Lacie drops a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech on him, and even more so after she one-stars him.

** Bethany questions Lacy about if she's still satisfied in the place she's living, subtly shaming her for still living there. It's what instigates Lacy to become to desperate to move to Pelican Cove and, as a consequence, to reach 4.5. It ends up destroying her life.

* BrokenAce: While Lacie technically wasn't an "ace", she was a 4.2, which is a pretty respectable score, and according to the Reputelligence advisor, she would probably naturally reach 4.5 in about a year and a half. However, her impatience to reach 4.5 in order to get a discount at Pelican Cover makes Lacie desperate. Her recklessness leads to her demise, as her score plummets down to below 1, and she ends up in prison.