History Recap / BlackMirrorWhiteBear

* ShoutOut: The murder is meant to be a nod to the infamous [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors_murders Moors murders]] which, even now, still haunt the British public consciousness. Victoria shares a few traits with Myra Hindley. Unlike Hindley, however, her remorse appears to be genuine. ''[[AmnesiacInnocence Appears]]'' [[AmbiguousSituation to be.]] The detail of her boyfriend committing suicide on remand, leaving her to face justice alone references another British serial killer couple, Frederick and Rosemary West.

* SymbolicBlood: As Victoria is being driven in a van through a crowd of jeering and shouting onlookers, sponges covered in red paint are hurled against the glass walls of the vehicle.

* WouldHurtAChild: It is revealed that Victoria filmed her boyfriend torturing and murdering a six-year-old girl, and the "apocalypse" is a simulation she is forced to relive daily, meant to punish her for her crime.

* ShoutOut: The murder is meant to be a nod to the infamous [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors_murders Moors murders]] which, even now, still haunt the British public consciousness. Victoria shares a few traits with Myra Hindley. Unlike Hindley, however, her remorse appears to be genuine. ''[[AmnesiacInnocence Appears]]'' [[AmbiguousSituation to be.]]

->''"I guess they were always like that underneath. Just needed the rules to change, for no-one to intervene."''

It stars Creator/LenoraCrichlow (Victoria), Creator/MichaelSmiley (Baxter) and Creator/TuppenceMiddleton (Jem).

* ActionGirl: Jem is introduced as a competent survivalist, although it's subverted when it turns out this is just a role the actress is playing.

* AmnesiaLoop: Stuck in a particularly painful one, as the protagonist has to repeat the experience multiple times for the audience's entertainment.

* AndIMustScream: What happens to Victoria. She's [[spoiler:forced to relive the traumatic events of the episode, over and over, possibly for ''the rest of her life'']]. Jury's out on whether she deserves it.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Basil. He seems like a nice and heroic guy at first before revealing that he's just as homicidal. Then it's subverted when it's revealed he's just an actor pretending to be a serial killer and is actually a pretty jovial guy. Played somewhat more straight with Jem who is also an employee just pretending to be Victoria's ally though, like Basil, she's also fairly polite and likable.

* BlackAndGreyMorality: Part of the way in, it becomes clear that there are no decent characters in the whole episode.
* BookEnds: The protagonist is punished, has everything explained to her, and then has her memory wiped to do it again tomorrow. ''It's also at least the eighteenth time it's happened... in October.'' The ending credits have her go through the park ''[[HereWeGoAgain yet another time]]'' and possibly begin another one.

* BigDamnHeroes: Jem comes back to help Victoria after escaping Baxter in the forest.It turns out to just be a part of the game.

* CapitalismIsBad: ''"White Bear"'' presents a society where justice porn is monetised; notorious criminals are [[GroundhogDayLoop continually]] run through a torture theme park for the entertainment of the mob. [[PunchClockVillain And in doing so the mob and the park personnel are made criminals too.]]

* ColdBloodedTorture: Supposedly performed by the Hunters. Later turns out that the whole experience is a particularly inventive kind.

* ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive: Baxter helping the two women escape in his van. Subverted when he turns on them, and double subverted when it turns out the whole thing was an act.

* CosyCatastrophe: {{Deconstructed}}. The breakdown of law and order is fun for the Hunters and the recorders, not so much for the other survivors. Part of the reason why is it is all a theme park attraction, and the catastrophe is Victoria being an accomplice to a child's murder.

** We open up on a failed attempt, hence the amnesia. It turns out the suicide wasn't actually attempted, though Victoria begs to be killed every single night after she remembers.

* TheEndingChangesEverything: A while into the plot it's revealed that the entirety of the episode was a setup; Victoria's fiancé abducted and burned alive a six-year-old girl, while she stood and filmed it. After they were caught, the boyfriend hanged himself in his cell, leading to her sentence to be centered around not letting Victoria escape justice.
* EvilVersusEvil: Somewhere in between this and BlackAndGrayMorality. Victoria is abjectly a monster who assisted in murdering an innocent girl, but the Park is extracting money by keeping her in an infinite loop of torture, wiping her from even knowing what she did wrong.
* FateWorseThanDeath: At the end of each day, Victoria begs to be killed, but White Bear Justice Park doesn't seem to be in any hurry to do that. And who knows how long this punishment will last. It's the whole point of her sentence. People think her fiancé [[KarmaHoudini got off easy]] when he killed himself in prison.
* ForcedToWatch: The Observers. None of them complain, though, because they feel they're doing the right thing.

* HarmfulToMinors: During the end credits, a young girl is seen participating in the park charade and being encouraged to enjoy Victoria's torment.
* HappierHomeMovie: Throughout the episode, Victoria keeps having flashbacks of a homemade video that shows the little girl in her photo having a picnic with her stuffed toys. Very much subverted when it turns out that the video concludes with Victoria's boyfriend burning her ''alive''.

* HumiliationConga: Invoked by the park management, as the entire experience is meant to torment and degrade Victoria... [[HereWeGoAgain endlessly]].

* ImplacableMan: Jem and Victoria can't shake the Hunters while on the run. Justified, as the simulation requires no one to be hurt in real.

* KarmaHoudini: The public considers Victoria's fiancé one, because he hanged himself in his cell before he could go to trial. Then they turned their attention to making sure Victoria herself didn't get off so easy...
* TheKillerInMe: Baxter reveals to Victoria that the entire "onlooker apocalypse" is an elaborate simulation tailor-made to punish her for her participation in the torture and murder of a young girl.

* TheMole: Baxter was one of the Hunters all along, and both he and Jem turn out to be park employees manipulating Victoria.

* ShoutOut: The murder is meant to be a nod to the infamous [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors_murders Moors murders]] which, even now, still haunt the British public consciousness. Victoria shares a few traits with Myra Hindley. Unlike Hindley, however, her remorse appears to be genuine. ''[[AmnesiacInnocence Appears]]'' [[AmbiguousSituation to be]].
* SymbolicBlood: As Victoria is being driven in a van through a crowd of jeering and shouting onlookers, sponges covered in red paint are hurled against the glass walls of the vehicle.
* ThisLoserIsYou: You (especially bystanders) are just as bad as the voyeurs. WordOfGod even stated it that the inspiration of this episode was taken from BystanderSyndrome and mob mentality, especially Internet mob mentality, just the spectators don't have anonymity as a cover.
* TookALevelInBadass: Victoria spends the whole episode as TheLoad to Jem's ActionGirl, but finally picks up the shotgun while surrounded by Hunters inside White Bear... [[WhamShot and shoots confetti]].

* WouldHurtAChild: It is revealed that Victoria filmed her boyfriend torturing and murdering a six-year-old girl, and the "apocalypse" is a simulation she is forced to relive daily, made to punish her for her crime.

* HumansAreBastards: Jem suggested that the onlookers of them being chased are that way because the White Bear signal really brought out what was beneath the surface. Played straight as the truth about the protagonist is revealed, with the whole thing being a ruse designed to make sure she "doesn't escape justice" like her [[CompleteMonster boyfriend]], as she is chased, brought to the place with a braying crowd watching her, watches the clip she filmed of the little girl's last moments, while she's mind-wiped, every day. In their minds, of course they are giving justice to the deceased girl, while ensuring Victoria doesn't live a single second of peace.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Vast amounts through her slowly returning memory. Most notable is when the protagonist picks up the dropped phone and the other survivor points a taser at her claiming she'll go mad if she looks at it; it's later revealed that the protagonist would have seen it was all a setup, and the tasers are used for days when things don't go according to plan. Baxter, in his acting role, is particularly harsh with Victoria when talking to her, indicating that he holds some deep-seated contempt for her for a reason that isn't initially apparent.

* AndIMustScream: What happens to Victoria. She's [[spoiler: forced to relive the traumatic events of the episode, over and over, feasibly for ''the rest of her life'']]. Jury's out on whether she deserves it.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Vast amounts through her slowly returning memory. Most notable is when the protagonist picks up the dropped phone and the other survivor points a taser at her claiming she'll go mad if she looks at it; it's later revealed that the protagonist would have seen it was all a setup, and the tasers are used for days when things don't go according to plan.

It stars [[Series/BeingHumanUK Lenora Crichlow]] (Victoria), Creator/MichaelSmiley (Baxter) and Creator/TuppenceMiddleton (Jem).

* HateSink: Victoria is revealed to be one.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[spoiler:There is no signal, and nobody is brainwashed. [[HumansAreBastards They're all just enjoying the show.]]]]]]

* AmnesiacDissonance: She's quite clearly upset when she sees that she assisted in the murder of a little girl.

* CapitalismIsBad: ''"White Bear"'' presents a society where justice porn is monetised; notorious criminals are [[GroundhogDayLoop continually]] run through a torture theme park for the entertainment of the mob. [[HumansAreBastards And in doing so the mob and the park personnel are made criminals too.]]

* HumansAreBastards: Jem suggested that the onlookers of them being chased are that way because the White Bear signal really brought out what was beneath the surface. Then it gets turned very straight as the truth about the protagonist is revealed, with the whole thing being a ruse designed to make sure she "doesn't escape justice" like her boyfriend, as she is chased, brought to the place with a braying crowd watching her, watches the clip she filmed of the little girl's last moments, while she's mind-wiped, every day.

* {{Hypocrite}}: The people running the park and subjecting Victoria to her "punishment" as well as the people enjoying the show are completely oblivious to the fact that they are guilty of the exact same kind of dehumanisation and moral degeneracy that they are disgusted at Victoria for. Or they know and don't care or think it's justified.
* ImplacableMan: Jem and Victoria can't shake the Hunters while on the run.

* {{Mundanger}}: There is no actual brainwashing signal. The truth is '''much worse.'''

* NotBrainwashed: ''All'' the people observing, in a fairly chilling example

* ShoutOut: The murder is meant to be a nod to the infamous [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors_murders Moors murders]] which, even now, still haunt the British public consciousness. Victoria shares a few traits with Myra Hindley. Unlike Hindley, however, her remorse appears to be genuine. ''Appears'' to be.

* ThisLoserIsYou: ''You are just as bad as the voyeurs.''
* TookALevelInBadass: Victoria spends the whole episode as TheLoad to Jem's ActionGirl, but finally picks up the shotgun while surrounded by Hunters inside White Bear... [[ItWorksBetterWithBullets and shoots confetti]].

* VillainProtagonist: Victoria, in a way, though the episode makes it very clear who the true monsters are.

%%* CoolAndUnusualPunishment

%%* MindScrew

* HateSink: Victoria is one.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Jem suggested that the onlookers of them being chased are that way because the White Bear signal really brought out what was beneath the surface. Then it gets turned very straight as the truth about the protagonist is revealed, with the whole thing being a ruse designed to make sure she "doesn't escape justice" like her boyfriend, as she is chased, brought to the place with a braying crowd watching her, watches the clip she filmed of the little girl's last moments, while she's mind-wiped, every day.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Basil. He seems like a nice and heroic guy at first before revealing that he's just as homicidal. Then it's subverted when [[spoiler: it's revealed he's just an actor pretending to be a serial killer and is actually a pretty jovial guy]]. Played somewhat more straight with Jem who [[spoiler: is also an employee just pretending to be Victoria's ally though, like Basil, she's also fairly polite and likable]].

** Victoria's boyfriend (who actually killed the girl) did hang himself in prison.

* HappierHomeMovie: Throughout the episode, Victoria keeps having flashbacks of a homemade video that shows the little girl in her photo having a picnic with her stuffed toys.

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Victoria's prolonged torture and emotional agony is little more than a holiday for the citizens and a normal day at work for the employees of the park.