Upamanyu Biswas
At the end of ‘Eulogy,’ the fifth episode of ‘Black Mirror‘ season 7, we are left with a poignant and emotional resolution as Philip Carnathy comes to terms with his past relationship with Carol Hartman. After spending countless hours trying to piece together his foggy memories with the help of a futuristic device, Philip and The Guide slowly understand what really transpired years ago between two kindred souls. As a result, the protagonist has to contend with some painful recollections that stir up old wounds. However, it also triggers him to think of the happy moments, which far outweigh the bad times. It bothers him that parts of Carol remain unattainable following the passing of years and his imperfect recall. Thus, the final moments provide some closure to what might have been, as Philip finally sees what he wants to see. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 5 Plot Recap
After tending to some chores around the house, Philip Carnathy receives news via a phone call that a woman named Carol Hartman has passed away. Philip states that she was someone he knew, which compels the caller to ask if he is willing to contribute some memories for the funeral service being prepared for the woman. A company called Eulogy has been tasked with curating old memories of Carol from people in her life. The person who hired the company was Carol’s daughter, Kelly Royce. Even though Philip agrees to contribute, he is put off because the funeral is taking place in England, which is a considerable distance away. However, the caller provides a solution to the distance problem – delivering the Eulogy memory device to his doorstep.
Following the device’s arrival, Philip sits down to try and figure out how it works. Thankfully, a pre-installed AI known as The Guide helps him calibrate the small disc-like machine without having to work it out himself. It tells him to place the device on his temple and try to picture Carol as best as he can. However, the protagonist is unable to visualize anything, mainly because he cannot remember what she looks like anymore. The Guide tells him that looking through photographs might help. He finds some in his attic, which the AI helps him relive through an immersive visualization process. Inside the program, Philip is able to move around the photograph’s contents while trying to remember the details. Through the first batch of photos, it is revealed that Philip and Carol were in a relationship together.
As Philip inhabits more photographs, it becomes evident that he holds a grudge against Carol for something she did. Because of his negative emotions, a lot of his memories of Carol are unusable for the funeral service. We also learn that Philip has countless other photographs of Carol. However, he is hesitant to bring them out because he removed her face from them, indicating that he was heartbroken once their relationship was over. The Guide becomes doubtful of Philip constantly characterizing Carol as the bad person in the relationship. As time passes and they continue their exploration, evidence comes to light that he also did bad things to her. In fact, it becomes abundantly clear that neither Carol nor Philip ever tried to see their relationship from each other’s eyes.
How Does Philip Remember Carol’s Face? What are the Funeral Folk Seeing?
Amidst their boundless excavation into old memories, one thing constantly bugs Philip – his inability to remember Carol’s face. Despite being hurt by her, he still feels an unbridled urge to see and recognize her again. The fact that he can’t frustrates him to no end. However, at the end of the episode, Philip achieves his primary goal by popping a tape of Carol’s original cello music into the recorder, which helps him remember her more distinctly. Subsequently, he treks back to the hallway memory, where he finally sees Carol playing the cello and beaming at him. While his overall relationship with Carol may have gotten messy by the end, the memory of her playing cello shines out like a beacon, showcasing the purity of how much the two were in love with each other. Fittingly, it also ends up being the memory used in the funeral service.
In one of the final scenes, we see Philip arriving at Carol’s funeral. As he stands by the church door, his former girlfriend’s soulful cello music is played by her daughter Kelly. The rest of the funeral folk also have the Eulogy device planted on their temple, allowing them to visit Philip’s old memory of Carol. Meanwhile, in his memories, he stands by the door and listens to Carol play the same music. The fact that he can finally see her face proves that despite his many qualms, he still loves her. The Guide also senses that the protagonist has a lot of unprocessed emotions about the whole relationship, which may be why he can’t remember her. While the passing of time may have eroded his memory significantly, it is plausible that he is afraid to see her because he still loves her and is thus scared of being hurt. To that end, working through the memories is his only cure.
What Sort of Closure Does Philip Find? What Was in the Letter?
Soon after embarking on the memory-hopping trip, it becomes evident that Philip is caught up in a cycle of self-pity that has kept him trapped in his own feelings. As such, he continues to be haunted by the past without even realizing why. He believes that the entire relationship fell apart because Carol left him. However, he does not take personal accountability for his part. The Guide repeatedly points this out to him, explaining that he discarded Carol’s feelings multiple times in their relationship, blaming her for not understanding him. For instance, he made her play the keyboard while she was part of their band when her favorite instrument was the cello. He also flirted with another woman, thinking she was alright with it, but got jealous when he saw her seemingly do the same with a guy.
As the memories pass, The Guide constantly pulls up Philip on his shortcomings, something he has never done himself. Although he gets defensive continually, he realizes in his heart-of-hearts that The Guide is right. There were numerous occasions where he could have acted better but failed to. Later, we even learn that he cheated on her by sleeping with the woman he was flirting with. While he describes it as a one-night stand and a mistake, the damage was done, especially when Carol caught him red-handed. Perhaps the biggest regret of all took place when he visited her in England to propose marriage. Hopeful of her acceptance, he was devastated when she simply heard his proposal and walked out. It left him feeling humiliated, thinking that she must hate him or be cheating on him herself.
When he went back to the Hotel room after the failed proposal, he saw that Carol had already moved out with her belongings. Enraged, he trashed the whole suite and then left to drink himself into a stupor. Unbeknownst to him, Carol had left him a letter explaining her reasons. The contents of the letter explained that Carol had a one-night stand with another guy and got pregnant. As such, she did not know what to do when he proposed to her in the restaurant. However, she was willing to meet up with him one last time outside the stage door the next day. Tragically, because Philip never read the letter in time, he missed his opportunity to be with her. Meanwhile, Carol likely thought that he hated her when he never showed up. Thus, a case of misunderstanding tore them apart. Philip finally realizes that she never stopped loving him, just as he never stopped loving her.
Who is The Guide?
While Philip uncovers a lot of valuable insights through his memories, one of the biggest revelations takes place outside it. While explaining the marriage proposal scene, The Guide tells Philip she is an AI avatar of Carol’s biological daughter, Kelly. The reveal shocks Philip, mainly because he thought she was an uninvested stranger in the whole ordeal. However, she has a genuine interest in learning what transpired between Philip and her mother because it was a period the latter never talked about when she was alive. To that end, The Guide already knows something painful must have occurred. She is disappointed, however, that Philip has not tried to see the failings of the relationship from Carol’s side. Instead, he only tries to focus on his own pain.
The Guide represents Kelly in the digital form but is not actually her. By keeping the real person away from Philip, the AI ensures that Philip’s memories do not get tampered with by undue influences. It is also likely that the real Kelly would have gotten even angrier with Philip if she had been physically in the room with him. The AI tries to approach the situation in a less judgmental way, albeit still accusatory occasionally. Without The Guide pushing back on many of Philip’s observations, the real truth behind Carol and his relationship would never have found the light of day. She keeps challenging him because she knows the truth behind what Carol did after she parted with the protagonist. The AI tells Philip that Kelly’s biological father was not an impressive man, and the girl had only seen him a handful of times. As such, Carol had her own share of troubles after leaving Philip.
Although The Guide is often on Philip’s case and arguing with him, it takes on a more gentle approach later. When it becomes clear that Philip is haunted by his regrets with Carol, especially when the protagonist reads the letter detailing how she waited for him, The Guide expresses her consolation with a simple but effective, “I’m sorry.” It gets the message across that they both had something extraordinary and ended up losing it tragically. It’s the final thing the AI tells Philip, showcasing that his character arc is complete and he finally understands the gravity of what transpired. Therefore, the episode serves as a poignant reminder of the fleeting nature of the good things in life and how easy it is to mess up. While Philip may not understand it, The Guide certainly does and tries to make him see it for himself.
