Safe and Sound

Best of the season for sure. So relevant and makes me want to turn off my phone. We are living in dangerous times for sure and this is a cautionary tale much like the Handmaid's Tale.

This is a great episode focused on two groups of people not unlike Americans. There's the establishment "in" group that believes you need to trade freedom for security. For your freedom you will receive high technology and lose your privacy. The other group prefers freedom and is willing to give up high technology to maintain privacy and personal freedom. The establishment group is taught that the "out" group is evil and that they are terrorists even though nobody has ever seen any actual terrorism. They say if you're on the "inside", you're perfectly safe except they show "in" group members violating each other. You're only protected from those on the outside of the group. We can all figure out for ourselves who is who in this drama so I hope that everyone pays close attention to why creating these groups is never a good thing.

An interesting episode at its core with some paranoia-inducing scenes, even if mild ones, good acting and flow, up until the totally unnecessary ending!

The episode is a good idea based on the well established premise of the Big Brother watching your every move knowing just how to manipulate you to achieve its own nefarious end. It is well shot and well acted. It lets you establish real empathy with the main character, albeit in a manner which can be possibly considered crude or rough around the edges. I think conspiracy theorists will find this story anthemic, but don't let this take away anything from the overall production value.

The episode is a fusion of many current issues. Terrorism, racism, increasing government surveillance.

Foster Lee and her activist mother have moved east to an advanced technological society from their bubble in the west, which is more low tech. However Foster and others at school who do not have have a Dex (A handheld tracking and tech device) are treated as second class people, even viewed as terrorists. Those with a Dex look like people from the town where The Stepford Wives reside which deep down is a rather nasty, consumerist society, where you do not get something for nothing.

A fellow student helps Foster get a Dex illegally. The device has a tutorial voice who initially helps her but then inflames her paranoia.

This is a well constructed pacy episode that maybe simplifies its story a bit too much. The viewer immediately is suspicious of the voice from the device and its motives as you figure that the government is inventing scare stories to control the population.