According to Charlie Brooker, the situation only became more troubling from this point on. “The guy came out and was rummaging through the trunk. I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ “, he recalls. “Turns out he just got out a bottle of water and didn’t want to interrupt me.”
Season 5, Episode 2 (“Smithereens”) follows a man named Chris (Andrew Scott) who poses as an Uber driver in order to pick up Jaden (Damson Idris), a target who works for a social media company, and hold him hostage. As for his own experience, while Brooker’s moment of panic was ultimately unnecessary, the idea of getting into a stranger’s car being a dangerous prospect dates back long before modern advances in ride-sharing services.
After all, many drivers, both regular and professional, have used the offer to drive someone as an excuse to put them in a dangerous or compromising position. Still, the fact that we’re several steps into the process with Uber or Lyft adds an extra layer of paranoia that perfectly matches the tone of a “Black Mirror” episode. “The phone is meant to keep you there,” producer and co-anchor Annabel Jones explained. “It’s very interesting to see how the ingredients have changed in a subtle and gradual way.”