Keeping Ash

In this episode of "Be right back" from the "Black Mirror" series, we watched what lengths a person may go to keep their loved ones. Ash and Martha were a couple who represented the main characters in this show. Ash and Martha had just traveled back to Ash's childhood home to live together when Ash was killed in an accident. This left Martha in the house all alone not to mention her being pregnant. The futuristic environment they live in consists of Martha having online assignments with deadlines she must work to fill. She also has a device capable of fixing her broken phone in a short period just by setting it on a pad. However, this is not the only futuristic thing we will encounter. Martha's friend recommends her to an app that she can talk to and interact with "Ash". This started as a coping tool but later lead to Martha ordering a robot "Ash" that she brings to life. He is downloaded with the mindset and memory of the old Ash. After some getting used to, Martha really connects with Ash 2, maybe even a little too much. What started as a coping tool begins to bring about ideas of whether this is right or wrong. Discussing this, we asked whether this is the same as listening to an old voicemail someone left you before they died or looking through their old photos. I believe this is 100% not the same. Martha took advantage of the Ash 2 and didn't use it to get over her loss, but instead treated it as it never happened. She began to live her life the way she did before with her new Ash and expected Ash 2 to perform in the exact way the real ash would normally. Deep down I believe she knew this wouldn't work this way. Ash 2 began to reveal apparent signs that he just wasn't the same as Ash. She at first picked up on them and tried to correct it, but it later lead to her breakdown on the cliff above the water where she realized the robot Ash wasn't capable of expressing the same emotions as a human can. To me this shows that this is morally wrong at least in today's culture. Later in the story once Martha's daughter is born, we see Martha made the choice to keep Ash 2 in the attic only to visit him with her daughter on the weekends or specials occasions. To me it seems she was never able to fully get over her loss and is still living with her denial.