Afterwrapping up its sixth season with a horror storyrevolving around no technological babble whatsoever,Black Mirroris taking yet another step out of the sci-fi box it has put itself into. Its streamer, Netflix, has recently announced that the series will be pulling a first in its upcoming seventh season in the form of a sequel episode. The chosen one wasSeason 3’s beloved “USS Callister,”aStar Trekspoof with a relatively open ending that leaves a lot of room for imagination. Fans of the hit anthology series were excited, of course, and many jumped at the opportunity to discuss what other episodes ofBlack Mirrorthey would love to see a follow-up to in upcoming seasons. Favorites like“Be Right Back”and “Nosedive” are among some of the most popular choices, but,if we truly look at it, theBlack Mirrorepisode that mostly deserves a sequel is far from making anyone’s top ten.We’re talking, of course, about the awkward, but weirdly prescient “The Waldo Moment.”
A Season 2 original, from back when theCharlie Brooker-created show was still exclusive to Channel 4,“The Waldo Moment” is frequently ranked among some of the worstthatBlack Mirrorhas to offer. With its off-putting mascot, its lackluster sense of humor, a plot that drags, and an ending that leaves much to be desired, it’s not hard to understand why it’s not exactly a classic. However, the story of the blue cartoon bear that manages to almost get himself voted into Parliament, despite the protests of its own creator, has been seen as a prediction and a commentary on a particular moment in politics.The episode serves as a scathing caricature of a political movement that is both populist and media-oriented— a movement that more often than not finds its leader in figures that have made a career out of making jokes or being laughed at on television.
Black Mirror
An anthology series exploring a twisted, high-tech multiverse where humanity’s greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.
“The Waldo Moment” Targets Clownish Political Figures
Perhaps no one can explain quite what we mean here better than Brooker himself, who oncespoke to Vultureabout howformer British Prime Minister Boris Johnson served as an inspiration for “The Waldo Moment.”“He was one of the guys behind Brexit and also quite a clown,” the showrunner stated. “He appeared on comedy-panel shows here in the U.K. and was known as a sort of an oaf — which inoculated him from criticism, weirdly. There was a feeling that politicians were all bland robots parroting the same platitudes, and suddenly now you’ve got colorful characters springing up. Here was an entertainer coming along and taking advantage of that and becoming a lightning rod.”
The description fits like a glove on theCare Bears-meets-South Parkcharacter at the center of “The Waldo Moment.” The titular Waldo is a cartoon bear that serves as a crass reporter and commentator for a late-night TV show. Behind the screen, though, he is failed comedian Jamie Salter (Daniel Rigby), who deeply resents having an animated mascot as his biggest success. Things seem to take a turn for the better for him, though, when the network decides to give him a show of his own. However, the project quickly turns into something else asone of the producers suggests that Waldo run for Parliamentafter an interview with a conservative candidate proves to be a hit.
The Hidden Meaning Behind ‘Black Mirror’s Weird Little Cartoon Bear Waldo
What does Waldo truly represent?
Jamie isn’t exactly keen on the idea, but he allows himself to be swayed. Initially, his candidacy serves only to poke fun at Liam Monroe (Tobias Menzies), the politician he so successfully humiliated on air. Soon enough, though, Waldo begins to openly antagonize Labour candidate Gwendolyn Harris (Chloe Pirrie), a woman with whom Jamie has a failed romantic history. Faster than anyone can control,voting Waldo becomes the key protest sign of a group of people who are simply fed up with conventional politics.
The problem is that Waldo doesn’t actually represent any kind of alternative. He has no platforms and no actual opinions on any kind of policy. He merely points his finger - or, rather, his animated penis - at his rivals and laughs at them. Waldo makes a mockery of the entire political system without actually promoting any kind of debate. This soon catches the eye of some high-up figures, and Jamie and his boss, Jack Napier (Jason Flemyng), are visited by an American (David Ajala) who introduces himself as being from “the agency.”While he knows that Waldo cannot win the election, he’s interested in using him to destabilize governmentsin South America and other parts of the world.
Jamie repeatedly tries to walk back on the monster that he created. Sadly, it is too late. Waldo is no longer his, it never has been, as his rights have always belonged to Napier. Despite his protests, the character is taken out of his control.The episode ends with Monroe winning the election, but, some time later, a drunk and destitute Jamie is arrested after throwing a bottle at a TV showing images of Waldo all across the globe.
Despite Its Flaws, “The Waldo Moment” Is an Eerily Prescient Episode of ‘Black Mirror’
“The Waldo Moment” is an episode that has its flaws, both as storytelling and as political commentary.It is naive to believe that clown-like political figures like the Waldos of the world enter this universe with no interest in actually gaining power. At the same time, the episode can frequently get boring to watch, and the narrative is somewhat confusing as Jamie’s actual political takes get mixed up with his feelings for Gwendolyn. The story could’ve definitely done with a little polishing, and Charlie Brooker is the first to admit it. However, he’s also the first to recognize how eerily close to reality “The Waldo Moment” got.
“At the time, I thought that was one episode that I didn’t really nail, didn’t get the stakes right,”Brooker told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2016 interview. “But if you look at that now, it’s really quite terrifying. It’s more prescient than I realized.He’s an anti-politics candidate who’s raucous and defensive, and that’s all he is, and he offers nothing. He insults everyone, and they lap it up because they’re so sick of the status quo. And then you look at Trump…”
Indeed, Waldo has a lot in common with Donald Trump, as well as with Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, Argentina’s Javier Milei, and many other 21st-century politicians who claim to be, first and foremost, anti-establishment — and who also rose to fame as a result of this philosophy. Ukraine’s Volodymy Zelenskyy is a particularly Waldo-ish member of this worldwide movement: a former comedian who once played a fictional president on TV, he performed stand-up routines in place of rallies andran a campaign that was mostly held online. But said figures don’t stop at making themselves into Bozos: through their absurdness, they create entire armies of trolls ready to wreck the lives of whoever dares speak against them. Much like Waldo,such politicians represent a group of domestic and foreign political and entrepreneurial interests that isn’t always clear.
“The Waldo Moment” Could Revisit Its Story in a Post-Waldo World
People like Trump, Zelenskyy, and Bolsonaro have been extremely successful in their rise to power. However, they have not always enjoyed smooth sailing after they took office.We are not living in a Waldo-dominated world as the end ofBlack Mirror’s episode predicted— or, at least, not yet. Both Trump and Bolsonaro have been one-term presidents and are now facing criminal charges, but both of them are still politically strong enough to either be elected to office again or to build a political successor. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, is facing a war in his home countrywith dwindling worldwide support. Still, other populist leaders remain firmly where they are, and while Trump’s and Bolsonaro’s attempted coup d’états failed, they still might prove valuable as lessons for a second try.
We are living, then, both in a Waldo and in a post-Waldo world. Things haven’t quite worked out for our flesh-and-blood blue bears, but that doesn’t mean they are completely lost. In this scenario,an episode ofBlack Mirrordetailing the world after Waldo becomes a global leader might prove extremely valuable. Not because we are looking for Charlie Brooker to give us the answer to how to get out of this mess — that would be absurd — but as a commentary on our current state of affairs. After all, Brooker has already proven to have the insight necessary for such works of art. It would be interesting to see him expand on his original Waldo idea now that the thing he is mocking is not only a vision of the future but our actual present.
A sequel to “The Waldo Moment” would also give Brooker the opportunity to correct his perceived wrongs with the original episode. SinceBlack Mirroris open to doing sequels now, Brooker could take the chance to increase the stakes of his story and look at it with a new perspective, one that knows how much truth it actually contains. He threw bottles at Waldo when the damned bear was still just a candidate. Why not do it again now that he’s a de facto leader, disgraced or not? Besides, he should really do it before it becomes illegal.
