Black Mirror is an anthology Science Fiction show created by Charlie Brooker, that analyses the (sometimes unanticipated) consequences of technology on human lives. As an anthology series, different episodes have different casts – including some big names like Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World Series), and Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who).
The show aired on a British television channel for the first 2 seasons with Netflix taking over since season 3. Having won 6 Primetime Emmyâ„¢ Awards, Black Mirror is a darling of both, the critics and the audience for its innovations in storytelling despite its penchant to provide grim stories. Here is a rating of all 20 episodes (19 episodes, 1 interactive movie) of the Black Mirror universe so far.
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Cast -Â Malachi Kirby, Madeline Brewer
Runtime – 60 mins
In a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future, a soldier Stripe (Kirby) is tasked with exterminating mutants called “roaches†but he feels that something is wrong. This story is a look at modern warfare with a Black Mirror twist but the third act of the episode is quite weak. By Black Mirror standard, this episode feels like a misfire.
Cast -Â Daniel Rigby, Chloe Pirrie
Runtime -Â 44 mins
The Waldo Moment is about a blue cartoon bear named Waldo, voiced by Jamie (Rigby) who insults politicians on a TV show until Waldo is entered into an election and his support takes off even though he stands for nothing. In a less crazy world, perhaps The Waldo Moment would be better received because people would see the humor in it. However, as things stand, this episode is less satire and more a depiction of reality and our reality has had far crazier things happening than Charlie Brooker could imagine.
Cast -Â Rory Kinnear, Lindsay Duncan
Runtime -Â 44 mins
As the very first episode of Black Mirror, The National Anthem is the introduction to this anthology series. As an introduction, it leaves much to be desired. Like The Waldo Moment, this episode too was meant to be a satire. However, in the crazy world that we live in, the events depicted were closely mirrored by real-life events. Â I will say this – that last scene is not for the weak of stomach.
Cast – Rosemarie DeWitt, Brenna Harding
Runtime – 52 mins
Directed by Jodie Foster, Arkangel is a story of a new mom Marie (played to perfection by Rosemarie DeWitt). She believes she has her daughter, Sara’s best interests at heart when she signs her up for an experimental, tech-integrated child monitoring system, that live streams Sara’s vision to her tablet. Unfortunately, once Sara hits teenage, the Arkangel system leads to disaster. This episode is a commentary on the perils of helicopter parenting and the emotional trauma that it causes but does not do a very effective job of it which is a pity because the story had a lot of potential.
Cast -Â Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen
Runtime -Â 57 mins
Cooper (Wyatt Russell) is an American in London who volunteers for a full-immersion, augmented-reality video game that uses his memories to create a personalized scary environment. Playtest is genuinely terrifying and probably the scariest, even if it does not rank among Black Mirror’s best episodes due to its simplified approach.
Cast – Andrea Riseborough, Andrew Gower
Runtime – 59 mins
Shot in  Iceland, Crocodile is the story of Mia (Andrea Riseborough) who helps her friend Rob (Andrew Gower) cover up a hit and run. Years later he wants to confess and she feels cornered because it will destroy her happy life and things just unravel for her as she kills him to keep him quiet. The cinematography is breathtaking and the acting is mostly on point, however, the quantum of violence feels unnecessary and it drags the episode down.
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Cast – Alex Lawther, Jerome Flynn, Susannah Doyle
Runtime – 52 mins
Shut Up and Dance is a story that you either love or hate, there is no middle path with this one. This is the story of a teenager Kenny, who is videotaped in a compromising position and blackmailed via anonymous text messages. The mystery of the identity of his blackmailers and their reason for targeting him is not revealed until the final minutes, which turn the episode on its head. Brooker clearly wanted to make a statement with this episode but misses the mark.
Cast -Â Lenora Crichlow, Michael Smiley
Runtime -Â 42 mins
A woman (Lenora Crichlow) wakes up with amnesia and sees a symbol on the television screen and she goes outside, only to be attacked by unknown assailants but other people are too busy recording her on their smartphones to help out. White Bear is an episode that makes a switcheroo in the final act and it is impossible to understand the full picture of what is happening until then. This episode draws a very visceral reaction from the audience because its end is truly shocking and makes it impossible to decide who the audience should root for.
Cast -Â Kelly Macdonald, Faye Marsay
Runtime -Â 89 mins
The final episode of the third season, Hated in the Nation is a police procedural, murder mystery story. It is a commentary on the dangerous and ugly side of social media and how far people are willing to go when they have the luxury of anonymity that the internet provides. This episode effectively marries the high concept that Black Mirror does so well with the traditional storytelling and delivers a solid episode despite its almost feature movie length.
Cast – Fionn Whitehead, Will Poulter
Runtime: Varies
Bandersnatch, a standalone interactive movie was an experiment into the storytelling of the future. The audience gets to make the choices that lead to different stories and different outcomes. In essence, Bandersnatch is the story of a programmer, Stefan Butler (Whitehead) who wants to adapt a “Choose your own adventure†book called Bandersnatch into a video game and approaches a video game company, Tuckersoft. The episode’s interactive nature is both a blessing and a curse because sometimes the effort comes across as too gimmicky. Still, you have to appreciate Brooker’s ambition and innovation in bringing Bandersnatch to life.
Cast – Maxine Peake, Jake Davies
Runtime – 41 mins
At 41 minutes, Metalhead is the shortest episode of Black Mirror so far and shot entirely in black and white. The story of Metalhead is that of a post-apocalyptic survivor Bella (Peake) trying to flee from robotic dogs after human society collapses. The episode is completely shot in monochrome which gives the story a haunting and terrifying feel and although the story is a little dull, the short runtime makes up for it.
Cast -Â Douglas Hodge, Letitia Wright
Runtime -Â 69 mins
The last episode of the fourth season, Black Museum is actually three stories rolled into one. The stories are narrated by Rolo Haynes (Hodge), proprietor of the “Black Museum” to a visitor, Nish (Wright), all involving exhibits related to cutting edge technology with regards to the human brain, that Rolo had developed in his career as a scientist. This episode has a lot of easter eggs and callbacks to other Black Mirror episodes giving rise to the theory that all stories are happening in a shared universe. The episode itself is a middling story, not the worst but not good enough to be remarkable.
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Cast – Jesse Plemons, Cristin Milioti
Runtime -Â 76 mins
USS Callister is about Robert Daly (Plemons), who is the creator of an MMOG (massive multiplayer online game) and is bitter over not getting recognition for his work. He takes out his dissatisfaction by simulating a Star Trek-like space adventure within the game and uses his co-workers’ DNA to create sentient digital clones of them. This critically acclaim episode is only the second time Black Mirror received Primetime Emmyâ„¢ Award (besides San Junipero). The episode has a dark comedy vibe and has a relatively positive climax but the plot could have benefited from a slightly shorter runtime.
Cast -Â Daniel Kaluuya, Jessica Brown Findlay, Rupert Everett
Runtime – 62 mins
Taking place in a dystopian society, where people cycle on stationary exercise cycles to power their surroundings and in return earn currency called “Meritsâ€, Fifteen Million Merits is out and out Daniel Kaluuya’s show. The English actor who got recognition and acclaim for his role in the film Get Out is the heart of this episode and he does his job perfectly. What seems at first to be a sweet romantic story, in true Black Mirror style, turns into a thought-provoking commentary on what reality shows could become in the future. For a new viewer, this episode is a far better introduction to the world of Black Mirror than the episode that preceded it, National Anthem.
Cast -Â Georgina Campbell, Joe Cole
Runtime -Â 51 mins
The world of Black Mirror is often bleak, sometimes terrifying but every once in a while it is almost hopeful – in a way that only this show can be. Hang the DJ is one of the very few episodes that deliver an uplifting ending (of sorts) – with a Black Mirror twist, of course. Georgina Campbell and Joe Cole are pitch perfect in this take on dating in a dystopian world where the choices are made by an artificial intelligence  called Coach. Brooker’s writing elevates this story from a simple love story to a very satisfying episode of the anthology.
Cast – Hayley Atwell, Domhnall Gleeson
Runtime – 44 mins
Be Right Back narrates the story of Martha (Atwell), a young woman whose boyfriend (Domhnall Gleeson) dies in a car accident and while grieving, she discovers a technology that allows her to communicate with an artificial intelligence imitating him. With grief and sentiment at the core, this is a heartbreaking story and the acting supports the narrative perfectly.
Cast – Jon Hamm, Rafe Spall
Runtime -Â 74 mins
The multiple stories within the story structure that Black Museum used was first perfected by Black Mirror in this 2014 Christmas Special. Starring Jon Hamm, White Christmas is sentimental and yet wicked at the same time, which is the beauty of Charlie Brooker’s writing. Matt (Hamm) and Joe (Spall), posted at a remote outpost in a snowy wilderness, pass the time by telling each other stories. To say any more about the premise of the episode would be to destroy the thrill of experiencing it firsthand. Suffice it to say that White Christmas is one of the best episodes in terms of story, execution and, acting.
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Cast – Toby Kebbell, Jodie Whittaker
Runtime -Â 44 mins
The Entire History of You takes place in a world where people have a device called a “grain†implanted into their brain which allows them to record and playback their memories. For Liam (Kebbell), a man who suspects that his wife (Whittaker) might have had an affair, this ability leads to obsession with finding out the truth. The story is executed beautifully with truly great performances and despite the technology angle, the story is far more about obsession and jealousy in relationships.
Cast – Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve
Runtime -Â 63 mins
Many episodes of this show hinge on the technology of the type that does not exist today but may exist in the future however, Nosedive is one episode that utilizes technology that has parallels in today’s world. It is the story of Lacie (Howard) who wants to improve her rating on a fictional social media platform in a world where the ratings of a person can affect their social and economic status directly. The episode has comedic undertones as Lacie’s efforts to improve her standing backfire and her rating crashes overnight. Since life really does imitates art, in the real world China has started using a social credit system that works in a way eerily similar to this episode!
Cast -Â Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mackenzie Davis
Runtime -Â 61 mins
If you are a fan of uplifting stories, San Junipero is as uplifting as a Black Mirror episode can get. The fact that it is completely different from other episodes is even more emphasized by the use of colorful visuals and 1980’s music (fun fact – all the songs in the episode are from a single year: 1987). San Junipero won two Primetime Emmyâ„¢  Awards, has been critically acclaimed and was heaped with praise for both its leading ladies who deliver spectacular performances.
The Cape Town, South Africa locale of the show masquerades as a California city beautifully and provides some dazzling shots. Although don’t be mistaken, because for all its positivity this is still a Black Mirror episode and as such the “happy ending†comes with a huge caveat and raises a lot of questions – but if you are a hopeless romantic like me, you’ll find yourself not caring about those issues as the credits roll on this episode.
So what did you think of our rankings? Tell us in the comments below!
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