The meta nature of an episode where the viewer controls a video gamer as he questions the nature of free will is a clever thrill for the first. It's hard not to initially be enamored by the innovative format of Bandersnatch. ( Read the TV Guide review of "Smithereens" here.) Instead of digging deeper into the psychology behind our growing addiction to social media, the ways it can harmfully impact our mental health, and the fear of losing control of it - as Grace's character mentions - "Smithereens" is ultimately about an angry white man who needs to go to therapy. While relatable human tragedies and anxieties are often the foundation of Black Mirror's tech-centric storylines, here, Brooker's feeble premise fails to offer the poignant insight we've come to expect from the series. because checking a notification caused his wife to die in a car crash. It's shocking that the same man who wrote "Nosedive," an incisive examination of our relationship with social media, also wrote the impressively insipid "Smithereens." In it, a rideshare driver ( Andrew Scott, aka Hot Priest from Fleabag Season 2) kidnaps an employee of the titular Twitter-esque site so he can yell at the CEO (a pony-tailed Topher Grace) about how much he hates social media. When a teen beating her mom's face in with a tablet is a snooze, you know you've got a dud.ĭiscover your new favorite show: Watch This Now! "Arkangel" is one of the most lackluster of the series, free of the gurgling tension and sharp cultural commentary that makes Black Mirror so enthralling. We already have parental controls on our devices, so why not put 'em directly in the kids' brains? The child tracking device of "Arkangel" is spookily plausible, and an intriguing concept to explore, but the Jodie Foster-directed episode fails to take it into any interesting territory. It's a frustratingly insipid attempt to denounce the circus of politics that falls remarkably flat. A crude cartoon character becoming a viable political candidate in an election isn't exactly an edgy concept - not in 2013 when this debuted or in today's much more outrageous political climate. The whole concept behind Black Mirror, as Brooker has said, is what our world could look like in 10 minutes "if we're clumsy." "The Waldo Moment" is the only episode of the futuristic series that felt both far too unrealistic and dated upon arrival. Where do those Black Mirror episodes rank on our list? Read on for our definitive ranking of all 23 episodes of Black Mirror, from worst to best. As Black Mirror obsessives, we happily accepted to challenge.Īfter releasing the choose-your-own-misadventure episode, Bandersnatch, at the tail end of 2018, Netflix dropped three new episodes on fans' screens in spring of 2019: the trio, making up Black Mirror Season 5, featured some of the biggest stars in the show's universe, including Miley Cyrus and Avengers: Endgame star Anthony Mackie. Most impressive, creator Charlie Brooker has churned out far more excellent episodes than disappointing ones over the sci-fi series' four seasons, only making it more difficult to rank them. But Black Mirror is also so much more than a multi-genre exercise in bleak nihilism it's one of the smartest and most inventive explorations of contemporary society and our culture's toxic relationship with technology. There's futuristic dystopias, post-apocalyptic thrillers, police procedurals, love stories, political satires, interactive video games, and a copious supply of sadistic twists to leave you crippled with despair for days. The beauty of Black Mirroris that there's a little bit of something for everyone in the Netflix anthology series.
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