There's no feeling like the one you get when you face just how bad things could become, or even how they already are. I get that bleak, insightful feeling whenever I watch Black Mirror, and I love it. I think the best kind of media we consume is the one that sends a clear message worth pondering, or worth talking about. So now that the new season is out, I want to talk about my favorite episodes from each season!
Season 1: The Entire History of You
Usually when a show starts it needs a bit to find its footing, and knowing how good Black Mirror got I agree that this is the case here. With the three episodes we get, all with stand out concepts, The Entire History of You has the most compelling story. The concept: What if there was a device that logs everything you see, hear, and do for you to replay at any point? What if it exposed all of your secrets as well?
Season 2: White Christmas
No not that White Christmas, but I love that one as well. Where the movie is filled with love and romance, this one is filled with death and heartbreak. There's snow in both though! Black Mirror's White Christmas follows three stories intertwined together, akin to Love Actually. Two men tell stories in a remote cabin, but everything is not as it seems. It's a great episode for people who hate Christmas, or need something to watch early on in December.
Season 3: San Junipero
Happy pride! Season 3 is one of the best in the series, but a clear standout is San Junipero. I also love Shut Up and Dance, but San Junipero has two things I love: tech I'd actually want in our reality, and a happy ending. An outgoing butterfly and a shy soul create a bond unlike any other, and I enjoyed every minute of it. And so did a lot of people, this episode won an emmy!
Season 4: Crocodile
Ahhhhh this one was so hard!!! Season 4 is my favorite, if not objectively the best season in the series. USS Callister is widely hailed as one of the best episodes in the series, and for good reason, but I want to talk about one of the most underrated episodes in the series. Crocodile is an episode I think about a lot. A LOT. The tech is similar to that in The Entire History of You, but this time your memories are whatever you're trying to picture. Which is great for an insurance investigator, who is using it to investigate a claim. But it's so much more than that, as always, and the twist is one of the best in the series. Out of all of my picks on this list, I implore you to check this one out the most.
Season 5: Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too
No, I'm not just choosing it because my name is in it! Season 5 only had 3 episodes, mostly revolving around happier endings. My personal favorite is Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too. Long story short: it's fun, and not too bleak. A good intro to Black Mirror if you're dipping your toes in! What happens when a tween obsessed with a mega star gets a robot that sings and dances just like she does? Chaos, adventure, and Miley Cyrus singing. Ashley O, I'm a HUGE fan!
Season 6: Beyond The Sea
Look, it's kind of cheating since I haven't technically finished season 6 yet (I just need to finish Demon 79!) but man. Beyond The Sea. What a ride! Two astronauts are able to control robot doppelgangers while they're in space. It gets dark. It gets sad. You will be horrified. Aaron Paul is incredible.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
And finally my favorite Black Mirror film, Bandersnatch. This interactive movie is incredibly well done. The acting, the sets, the story, the choices, it's incredible. A game developer in the 80's has an idea for a game based on a choose your own adventure novel, and you decide how he goes about that. I need to play it again someday, but I got all of the endings! And you can, too. Play/watch it today!
Black Mirror is some of the best television out there, and I hope you give it a go!