Step into the dystopian future and glimpse the terror, horror, and technology that awaits. The critically acclaimed anthology Black Mirror takes viewers on a journey into a possible future in this gripping science fiction series. Inspired by The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror is famous for featuring major Hollywood stars delivering unforgettable performances. Also known as speculative fiction, each episode features different characters and storylines dealing with overlapping themes while commenting on current topics. Created by Charlie Brooker, the British series debuted in 2011 to universal praise before moving to Netflix.
Critics consider Black Mirror one of the best shows of the 2010s. The beloved series exploded in popularity with its stellar cast, unique characters, and mind-bending plot lines. The series went on to win several awards, including multiple Primetime Emmy Awards for numerous episodes. Let’s look into the cracked mirror and uncover the Black Mirror’s best episodes.
19 Best Black Mirror Episodes of All Time
1. San Junipero (Season 3, Episode 4)
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Black Mirror has a reputation for its bleak storylines and depressing endings. However, the series breaks that pattern with the uplifting season three episode “San Junipero.” Set in 1987 at the resort beach town of San Junipero, the shy and quiet Yorkie meets the party animal, Kelly.
Their friendship blossoms into a deep and passionate romance. The shocking plot twist reveals that Yorkie and Kelly entered a simulated reality for the elderly. Like Yorkie, some stay in San Junipero permanently after they die. In reality, Kelly’s an elderly woman in an assisted living facility, while Yorkie’s in a coma about to pass over.
Unlike other times in the series, Yorkie and Kelly’s love prevails, and they have a happy ending driving off listening to classic 80s tunes. Starring Mackenzie Davis and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the episode received universal praise for the plot twist, happy ending, and cast. Critics and fans consider it one of the best episodes in the series, with the show going on to win two Primetime Emmy Awards.
2. USS Callister (Season 4, Episode 1)
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Inspired by the franchise Star Trek, the season four episode “USS Callister” is a favorite of many Black Mirror fans. Starring Jesse Plemons and Cristin Milioti, the episode revolves around a talented yet odd and bitter programmer, Robert Daly. Daly’s also the co-founder of the massively multiplayer online game Infinity. He feels his coworkers don’t show him any respect and creates a simulated game, USS Callister, to take out his anger on clones of his coworkers in a space adventure based on his favorite show, Space Fleet.
Everything changes when a new programmer, Nanette Cole, begins working at Callister. Daly decides to add Cole to the game, but she fights back. With the crew’s help, clone Cole defeats Daly, trapping him in the game. Critics and Black Mirror fans praise the episode’s tone, cast, and parody of Star Trek. Unlike other episodes, “USS Callister” is known for featuring more comedy and humor than other episodes.
3. Hated in the Nation (Season 3, Episode 6)
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Kelly Macdonald stars as Detective Karin Parke in the neo-noir season three episode “Hated in the Nation.” Parke and new partner Blue Coulson investigate a series of mysterious deaths. Each person was also a victim of social media hatred and online shaming over controversial statements they made.
At the same time, the government deploys Autonomous Drone Insects or ADIs to fight the extinction of bees. But it all goes wrong when an employee of the company, Garret Scholes, hacks the ADIs, using them to commit the murders. Series creator Charlie Brooker took inspiration from Nordic detective shows such as The Killing for the action that unfolds on-screen.
Brooker endured online shaming after writing a satirical article about George W. Bush joking about assassinations. Brooker incorporated that experience into the script. The episode is one of the most popular in the series, receiving high praise for the tone, story, and twist ending.
4. The Entire History of You (Season 1, Episode 3)
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The season one episode, “The Entire History of You,” is one of the series’ most popular. Starring Toby Kebbel as Liam, the episode occurs in the future where every person has a “grain” implanted in their memories. The grain records everything a person sees and hears, allowing them to re-watch memories instantly.
In the episode, Liam becomes obsessed with memories involving his wife, Ffian (Jodie Whittaker), and their friend Jonas. Liam’s obsession results in him losing his wife, daughter, and everything important to him. Fans and critics praised the episode and its allusions to present-day technology. Many critics noticed the similarities between the “grain” and modern technology like cell phones, devices that allow people to record every second of their day and re-watch it at a later time, similar to the future technology in the episode.
5. Nosedive (Season 3, Episode 1)
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Written by Rashida Jones and Michael Schur, “Nosedive” revolves around a new technology implanted in the eye. It allows people to rate every interaction they have throughout the day. The ratings range from one to five, profoundly impacting the person’s socioeconomic status. Lacie Pound (Bryce Dallas Howard) attempts to raise her rating from 4.2 to land an expensive apartment for 4.5 or higher.
After being nice to everyone fails, she agrees to be the maid of honor for childhood friend Naomi. Lacie’s rating plummets due to a series of mishaps on her way to the wedding, resulting in Naomi telling her not to come to the wedding after Lacie’s rating falls to 1.5.
Instead, she attends the wedding to deliver her maid of honor speech, resulting in a meltdown and her arrest. Lacie feels free when authorities remove her rating implant. Despite getting mixed reviews, the episode is among the most popular in the series.
6. Playtest (Season 3, Episode 2)
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Wyatt Russell stars as Cooper in the season three episode “Playtest.” The psychological horror revolves around Cooper after the recent death of his father from Alzheimer’s disease. While visiting London, he tests out a new augmented reality game. The horror game uses special technology to target a person’s worst fears. The game uses those fears to create a horrifying gaming experience.
Cooper finds himself trapped in his worst nightmare, trying to break free. The shocking plot twist reveals that Cooper died 0.04 seconds into the experiment, meaning the entire episode occurred in his mind. While some critics gave the episode mixed reviews, it became one of the most popular in the series. Fans often praise the twist ending as one of the best in the franchise.
7. Hang the DJ (Season 4, Episode 4)
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Black Mirror is known for blending horror, science fiction, and supernatural genres with futuristic technology. The series tried something different with the popular episode “Hang The DJ.” The romantic comedy revolves around a circular dating device, “Coach,” who matches Frank (Joe Cole) and Amy (Georgina Campbell) in a short-term relationship.
Despite developing feelings for each other quickly, Coach matches them with other people. Frank experiences an unhappy long-term relationship while Amy goes through a series of meaningless flings. Somehow, Coach rematches Frank and Amy, but they soon realize they’ve been in a simulated reality. The episode is famous for dealing with relationships and online dating. It also focuses on the couple’s romance and chemistry, which is atypical of the series.
8. Black Museum (Season 4, Episode 6)
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While driving down an empty road, Nish (Letitia Wright) comes across the Black Museum near a gas station. She meets the museum’s owner, Rolo Haynes (Douglas Hodge), who gives her a tour of the artifacts. These aren’t just ordinary artifacts though, with each one having a backstory involving Haynes and a piece of technology. Haynes tells Nish three different stories ending with a tale about the centerpiece of the museum, the hologram of Clayton Leigh.
Leigh was a person on death row when he signed up for Hayne’s exhibit. Haynes uploaded Leigh’s consciousness into the hologram so visitors could execute Haynes and pose for a picture, although it causes Leigh excruciating pain. After poisoning Haynes, Nish reveals that she’s Leigh’s daughter and is out for revenge against Haynes. It’s a bit of a divisive episode, with many fans enjoying it but critics considering it one of the worst in the series.
9. Be Right Back (Season 2, Episode 1)
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Losing a loved one and the intense grief is difficult to manage. In the distant future new technology will allow people to grieve their loved ones with the help of an A.I. version of their significant other. In “Be Right Back,” Martha (Haley Atwell) is devastated when her boyfriend, Ash Starmer, dies in a car accident. Unable to move on, Martha discovers an app that allows her to download Ash’s social media to create an A.I. Ash to communicate with on instant messaging. After discovering she’s pregnant, Martha spends all her time with the A.I. Ash.
She even downloads A.I. Ash into an android she built. Martha feels uneasy about android Ash and frustrated that he doesn’t have the real Ash’s negative characteristics. So she shuts him down and keeps him in the attic.
The episode deals with the grieving process and how people handle losing a loved one. Additionally, it deals with the dilemma of deleting a dead person’s name from your contacts or closing down their Facebook account, all very relatable things.
10. The National Anthem (Season 1, Episode 1)
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Black Mirror hit the ground running with the critically acclaimed and controversial episode “The National Anthem.” In the episode, a member of the British Royal Family, Princess Susannah, is abducted. The kidnapper demands that Prime Minister Michael Callow engage in intercourse with a pig on live television.
Throughout the episode, the government attempts to track down Susannah but to no avail. Despite the public act, Callow’s rating holds steady, and Susannah returns. The episode set the tone for the critically acclaimed series.
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11. White Bear (Season 2, Episode 2)
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The season two episode “White Bear” follows a woman with amnesia who awakes in a world where a television signal, the “white bear,” controls humanity. The woman goes on a quest with several others to stop the transmission while having flashbacks of a young girl, Jemima Sykes, and her fiance, Iain Rannoch.
In a mind-bending plot twist, the walls drop to reveal an elaborate game show and form of torture. The amnesiac woman is actually a convicted killer, Victoria, who murdered Jemina Sykes with her boyfriend. While Iain committed suicide in prison, Victoria repeatedly endures the torturous game show as they wipe her memory at the end of each session. The episode received widespread praise for dealing with contemporary issues such as technology’s effect on empathy, vigilantism, justice, and punishment.
12. Metalhead (Season 4, Episode 5)
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Black Mirror often takes viewers to a dark and disturbing dystopian future. It’s safe to say no future is as bleak as in the black & white season four episode “Metalhead.” Often compared to the movie The Terminator, the episode takes place in a distant future where humanity is nearly extinct.
Belle (Maxine Peake) struggles to survive as a robotic monster known as “dog” that hunts her down. The episode is popular with fans but received mixed reviews. Nonetheless, “Metalhead” is famous for its ambiguous ending while dealing with themes of loneliness, isolation, and survival.
13. Fifteen Million Merits (Season 1, Episode 2)
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The first season of Black Mirror wasted no time showing viewers a bleak and depressing future. In the episode “Fifteen Million Merits,” most of humanity spends their days riding a stationary bicycle to earn merits in the distant future. The plot follows Bing (Daniel Kaluuya) after he overhears Abi (Jessica Brown Findlay) singing in the bathroom. As their romance blossoms, Bing convinces Abi to try out for an American Idol-type show called Hot Shot.
Instead of landing a high-profile singing gig, Abi finds a career in pornography. A devastated and enraged Bing ends up on Hot Shot, holding a shard of glass to his neck and ranting about their lives and conditions. Surprisingly, the fans and judges love his rant, giving Bing his own show.
14. White Christmas (Christmas Special, Episode 7)
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The final Black Mirror episode produced for the U.K.’s Channel 4 was the 2014 special “White Christmas.” Starring Jon Hamn as Matt, the plot revolves around two men in a cabin, Matt and Joe, on Christmas Day. The episode then breaks down into three stories. In the first, Matt talks about running a group of men who seduce women using “Z-eyes.” However, one of the guys dies when a woman kills him in a murder-suicide.
In the second story, Matt talks about training digital clones, known as “cookies,” of people stored in an egg-shaped device. The final story concerns Joe and his ex-fiance, who blocked him in a real-life. When Joe sees his ex-fiance, she’s a grey blob, preventing him from contacting her. Eventually, Joe snaps and murders his ex-fiancee’s father.
The plot reveals that they’re both “cookies,” and cookie Joe just gave testimony in his trial. Fans and critics praised the episode’s structure and shocking plot twist. Furthermore, Jon Hamn received universal praise for his performance.
15. Striking Vipers (Season 5, Episode 1)
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“Striking Vipers” deals with themes of friendship, infidelity, and obsession with adult videos. Starring Anthony Mackie, the episode revolves around two old friends, Danny and Karl, who reconnect by playing a virtual reality fighting game. Karl struggles with feeling isolated while Danny’s having problems in his marriage, with the game giving both men an escape.
Karl uses a female character, Roxette, in the game, while Danny plays as Lance. They experience all the sensations of fighting. Things take a surprising turn when they begin having sex as their characters in the game. The episode received praise for including gender and sexual fluidity.
16. Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too (Season 5, Episode 3)
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Starring pop icon Miley Cyrus as Ashley O, the season five episode “Rachel, Jack, Ashley Too” blends the world of Black Mirror with the music industry. The episode follows two sisters, Rachel and Jack Goggins, whose mother passed away a few years earlier. Rachel is a giant fan of pop star Ashley O, receiving an A.I. Ashley O clone doll known as Ashley Too for her birthday. Meanwhile, Ashley O is frustrated with her lack of creative control over her career.
Ashley O’s manager and aunt drugs her until she ends up in a coma. However, Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too come together to rescue Ashley and free her from the coma. The episode ends with Ashley O and Jack rocking out on stage while Rachel and Ashley Too watch from the audience.
The upbeat episode received praise for its realistic depiction of the music industry. Fans also loved Miley Cyrus’ cover of classic Nine Inch Nails songs “On a Roll” and “Right Where I Belong.” Critics gave the episode mixed reviews criticizing the structure and themes.
17. Arkangel (Season 4, Episode 2)
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Creator and writer Charlie Brooker often drew inspiration from his personal life for Black Mirror episodes. For instance, helicopter parenting is the central theme of the season four episode “Arkangel.” Brooker came up with the idea after the birth of his children.
Directed by Jodie Foster, the episode follows the relationship between a mother and daughter, Marie and Sara, throughout the years. Marie becomes an overprotective mother, having an experimental technology called Arkangel implanted in Sara. The chip allows Marie to track her daughter’s location while seeing and hearing everything Sara experiences. She also has the ability to censor anything that’s upsetting to Sara. Marie’s helicopter parenting eventually pushes Sara to run away and leave town.
Critics loved Foster’s directing but the plot’s morals didn’t go over well with viewers. The episode drew comparisons with how smartwatches allow parents to track their kids and continues to divide fans.
18. The Waldo Moment (Season 2, Episode 3)
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The season two episode, “The Waldo Moment,” was set in the present day but it managed to predict the future. The episode follows an actor, Jamie Salter, who plays the rude and crude animated blue bear, Waldo. Under the guise of a children’s show, Waldo interviews politicians for a satirical series. After a member of the parliament files a complaint, Waldo runs for the same seat.
Despite offering no policies, Waldo surges in the polls after a rant about politicians goes viral. Series creator Charlie Booker notes former Prime Minister Boris Johnson inspired the main character. Many critics feel the episode predicted the Presidency of Donald Trump as he shares many similarities with Waldo, from having no policies to being an anti-establishment candidate.
19. Smithereens (Season 5, Episode 2)
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Not every Black Mirror episode is set in a dystopian future. The season five episode “Smithereens” occurs in the present day, dealing with modern technology and social media accounts. In the episode, a grieving rideshare driver, Chris, begins attending group therapy sessions after his fiance dies in a car accident. He meets a woman, Hayley, trying to get the password for her daughter’s social media accounts to find a reason for the daughter’s suicide.
Eventually, Chris abducts an intern working at Twitter-like social media app Smithereens. He requests to speak with the company’s CEO and demands the password for Hayley. The episode often ranks low with Black Mirror fans for lacking a shocking plot twist but received much praise for the depiction of social media addiction. Critics also enjoyed Andrew Scott’s performance as Chris and Topher Grace as Smithereen CEO Billy Bauer.
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