Black Mirror, the anthology series known for its intricate plots that intertwine humanity and morals with the technological world, has justreturned for its sixth season on June 15. The series consists of suspenseful stories surrounded by a disruptive technological backdrop, with the stories usually ending with a moral. Part of the allure is due to the often shocking twists and bleak endings to the stories, which provide a change to the usual happy endings in television series.
Some plots inBlack Mirrorresonate more than others due to the technology and experimental premise. It is the originality ofBlack Mirrorthat makes it one of the best and one of the most popular speculative fiction series of all time.
10"Joan Is Awful" (Season 6, Episode 1)
The first episode of the newest season ofBlack Mirroris about Joan, who discovers that her life has been dramatized on a streaming site.Salma Hayekplays Joan in the television show “Joan Is Awful,” which slowly ruins the real Joan’s life by releasing private information.
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This episode starts by satirizing Netflix through the streaming site, Streamberry,which bares a color and stylistic semblance to Netflix.Black Mirrordeveloped a critique on streaming culture in the episode and some commentary on user privacy. However, the shocking meta-plot twist in the episode solidifies it as one of the more creative plots in the series.
9"Be Right Back" (Season 2, Episode 1)
“Be Right Back” surrounds Martha, a young woman grieving the death of her boyfriend, Ash, who was killed in an accident. Martha’s friend tells her about a service that allows for communication with the deceased through AI. After discovering she is pregnant, she communicates more and more with the AI Ash. Unfortunately, the AI Ash starts to become more and more like the deceased one eerily.
This episode differentiates itself from its predecessors by providing a more slow-paced story highlighting the crossroads of grief and technology. Especially due to the increase of AI culture in society, the innovation of theBlack Mirrorshowrunners may soon become an appalling reality.
8"White Bear" (Season 2, Episode 2)
This episode features a woman named Victoria who wakes up in a suspicious room without her memories. Frightened, she stumbles outside to discover everyone is filming her with their phones while attackers attempt to hunt her down.
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The slow and intelligent build-up to the shock twist is enough to make this episode one of the most rewatchable in theBlack Mirrorseries. The commentary on the degrees of punishment can potentially start a dialogue regarding technology and retribution.
7"Fifteen Million Merits" (Season 1, Episode 2)
This episode takes place in an alternate reality where individuals are forced to ride exercise bikes for hours to accumulate credits that they can spend on various items. While on the bikes, the riders are surrounded by televisions displaying useless, mind-numbing programming. After finding hope in a young singer, the main character, Bing, is motivated to spend his credits to see her succeed.
This episode in season one is filled with allegories, from the stationary bikes symbolizing the mundanity of life to the mind-numbing programming on the television symbolizing the consumption of mindless media. Along with the world-building and symbolism, the big twist at the end makes this episode one of the most originalBlack Mirrorchapters.
6San Junipero (Season 3, Episode 4)
In a nightclub in San Junipero, a small retro beach town, two women, Yorkie and Kelly, meet. The two women develop feelings for each other but are reluctant to proceed with a relationship due to individual issues. After San Junipero is revealed to be a simulated reality where the elderly and deceased can live, the decision to stay or leave is intensified between Yorkie and Kelly.
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ABlack Mirrorepisode with a positive ending is a rarity, but it is part of what makes “San Junipero” so great. The episode connects technology to concepts of nostalgia theory and afterlife to create an experience unlike any other. The originality in almost every approach to the episode makes it one of the most profound love stories in cinematic history.
5"Hang the DJ" (Season 4, Episode 4)
Another episode that veers away from darkness can be found in the love story between Frank and Amy in “Hang the DJ.” The episode revolves around a couple matched on a dating site that puts an expiration date on relationships. They promise not to check the expiration date, but when Frank defects, their perception of reality collapses.
Black Mirrorexcels at taking modern-day issues and amplifying them to several degrees to create an extreme, which they use to tell a story. In this episode, the concept of online dating is challenged through the overabundance of technology and the ability to have a meaningful connection with others. The combination of masterful storytelling and realistic consequences makes for a very well-executed plot.
4"Shut Up and Dance" (Season 3, Episode 3)
After Kenny’s computer is infected with malware, hackers record him masturbating and instruct him to commit criminal acts to block the distribution of the video. From there, he meets others who have also been blackmailed as the series of tasks gets more and more sinister, revealing a dark truth about Kenny.
This episode is only the second episode to feature available technologies, which helped the episode reach a far more daunting conclusiondue to the realism of the situation. As well, with the horrifying plot twist at the end of the episode, a rewatch will reveal the brilliance of the plot development, making it one of the few episodes of its kind.
3"Black Museum" (Season 4, Episode 6)
In this episode, a young woman named Neesh visits the Black Museum, which contains a wide array of rare artifacts. She comes across the owner, who talks about the antiques and explains the story that connects them together, leading her to the mysterious main attraction.
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This unique installment differentiates itself from otherBlack Mirrorepisodes by leaning into the horror genre. Through the storytelling structure and atmospheric intensity, the story twists and turns, keeping the viewers engaged all the way up to the stunning finale.
2"The Entire History of You" (Season 1, Episode 3)
In this futuristic episode ofBlack Mirror, the entire population possesses memory implants that record their surroundings and store them so that they can be played back. When Liam, a lawyer, suspects his wife is cheating on him, he suddenly searches his memory for clues, spiraling into an obsession.
This episode, part of the original installment ofBlack Mirrorepisodes, is reminiscent of a traditional tragedy. Written byJesse Armstrong, who went on to writeSuccession, this episode looks at how a technology that starts extremely beneficial can morph into something destructive. Due in part to the acting and directing, this episode has grown to become one of the most original episodes of the technology series.
1"White Christmas" (Season 2, Episode 4)
During the Christmas season, two men at an outpost in the wild discuss three interconnected stories. As they delve deeper into the stories, the realities of their positions in the outpost are revealed.
This episode ofBlack Mirrordevelops a multifaceted storyline that brings into question the morals and ethics of countless original technologies, including the use of “cookies,” which are chips that can make a digital copy of the user, and “blocking,” which essentially blocks the visibility of the blocker, to create a dark, bleak, and yet exceptionally original plot.
