For those of us longing for a series to fill in the hole the Twilight Zone left behind after its conclusion, thenNetflix’s Black Mirror could be said to be a worthy successor. Thisanthology seriespresents various tales set in a dystopian sci-fi future, ones that are incredibly thought-provoking, with gob smacking endings that’ll leave you on the edge of your seat.
And with the recent release of its seventh season, Black Mirror has continued to show why it’s still one of the best shows out there. The mind-bending aspect of the show is ramped up, showing more ways in which advanced technology can lead to psychological and physical harm, including subtle references to characters from previous episodes to a sequel to a fan-favorite. As such, we thought it high time to rank all the seasons of Black Mirror from the worst to the best.
Episodes
3
Although there’s the inclusion of a star-studded cast with the likes of Andrew Scott, Anthony Mackie, and Miley Cyrus, Season 5 is definitely the weakest in terms of plot and storytelling. The endings are either too predictable, confusing or simply does not fit based on how the story’s going.
The season begins with Striking Vipers, an episode that would be the strongest of the three. The episode tells of two buddies reconnecting by transporting their consciousness into a fighting game, but while both men are entirely heterosexual in their real-life relationships, they find themselves rekindling their bond in other ways. Much like the other episodes, it starts out promising, though its delivery and ultimate conclusion fell flat and doesn’t make your jaw drop.
5
Season 6 presents a decent season in comparison to the rest, returning to its roots of focusing on dark, mind-bending subject material while bordering on the supernatural at times (as seen in the episode Mazey Day). There are several highs and lows in this season, though you’ll find it’s pretty well-balanced, with certain episodes shining brighter than others.
Beyond the Sea is definitely the highlight of the season, presenting a dystopian thriller set in the 1960s, where two astronauts could stream their consciousnesses into machine replicas of themselves. When one astronaut’s family is murdered, the episode kicks the can down the road as both men begins to spiral in different ways, gifting you with a brutal, sobering ending. Another episode, Loch Henry, is also a worthy mention, a serial killer mystery thriller that speaks to real-life society’s commodification of serial killers.
6
The latest season starts out strong with a gritty and depressing episode with Common People, one that pokes fun (in an increasingly dark way) at the global takeover of subscriptions and applying it to healthcare. The show has other strong episodes like Bête Noire, and we even get a callback to Bandersnatch with the episode Plaything.
However, the season finale was truly unexpected, presenting you with a sequel to a fan-favorite episode, one that continues to chronicle the crew of USS Callister’s struggle for survival in USS Callister: Into Infinity. It was a worthy follow-up, one with unexpected twists and turns, with a climactic conclusion to the story of the USS Callister and the season as a whole.
The first season may be three episodes long, but they were enough to show the world what Black Mirror was all about. The show opens with the twisted satirical that was The National Anthem, commenting on the potential destructive force the media, the Internet, and the pressures of being a public figure could entail.
What follows is Fifteen Million Merits starring Daniel Kaluuya and the iconic The Entire History of You are both disturbing in their own ways, an impactful social commentary with fantastic performances and a believable, potential trajectory on how technology is going to affect the way we live.
Season 4 doesn’t pull its punches when it starts with the smashing episode, USS Callister, a truesci-fihorror that draws inspiration from Star Trek. This iconic masterpiece details the pitfalls of virtual gaming when in the wrong hands, with great performances by the likes of Jesse Plemons and Cristin Milioti.
Other standouts for the season includes Arkangel and Crocodile, with Arkangel being particularly poignant in its messaging and effective in its relatability to any parent out there. Crocodile gives a callback to The Entire History of You, where its protagonist spirals into a dark path as her effort to cover up a murder leads her to commit more. Season 4 goes a step further in its imaginative vision, delving into themes of free will, consciousness, responsibility, and the limits of parental oversight.
4, including the 2014 Special
Season 2 presses on with the show’s success, winning new fans with its successive run of hard-hitting episodes, most of which have proven to be some ofthe best episodesthe series has ever produced. The season starts with Be Right Back, a touching, though harrowing story of grief and the difficulty of moving on from a deceased loved one.
White Bear, however, proves to be this season’s shining glory, one that truly defines the word dystopia with its grim plot twist and messaging about justice and capital punishment. Overall, this season was everything you’d expect it to be: dark, mind-bending and bleak.
Arguably the best season of Black Mirror, Season 3 holds a lot of the show’s most iconic episodes, ones that have set the golden standard for the daring creativity of the show’s writers. Its first episode, Nosedive, stars the fantastic Bryce Dallas Howard, and already wows the crowd with its eerie mirroring of reality regarding social acceptance and the pitfalls of social media.
This is followed by the horrific AR gaming supertech in Playtest and the nightmarish Shut Up and Dance, exploring themes such as the terrors of ambiguity and the consequences of recklessness. The season concludes with the epic detective mystery Hated in the Nation, a truly gripping tale that warns of the dangers of when herd mentality and social media-fueled hate combine.
