i really enjoyed watching black mirror!! it has very obvious flaws and i wouldn't recommend it to most people (too much s*x‼️) but it has a tone of horror that is weirdly refreshing for me, as someone that hasn't consumed a ton of horror content until recently. one of the most fascinating things to me is reading wikipedia's critic reviews (along with my peeks at other website rankings), because my opinion aligned with very few of them, so i wanted to see how my opinions compared to others'.
anyway i'll start with my thoughts on every episode, obvious spoiler warning.
S1E1 - The National Anthem
immediately sets the tone for black mirror, an incredibly wacky situation that's played completely straight and terrifying. a lot of it feels kinda unnecessary though and i felt that its commentary on technology didn't really land due to the other elements. definitely not sure how to feel about a lot of the episode, probably for obvious reasons.
S1E2 - Fifteen Million Merits
this one is very popular but it was one of my least favorite episodes. very unsatisfied with the ending, and i hate how awful they treated Abi. the message is pounded over your head with a hammer, and the world made less sense the more i thought about it. i really enjoyed the way the emotional beats were played, but that was about it.
S1E3 - The Entire History of You
very very good episode. plot twists really got me, the tech was a great concept, and it was well utilized throughout the episode. main problems were the characters, as the main character was really unlikable to me and the dinner table conversation was really weird.
S2E1 - Be Right Back
perfect episode. the fact that part of it was turned into reality after the episode ran made it uniquely terrifying. personally annoyed about the ending, but the attic symbolism was so powerful that i'll let it pass. i feel that the episode's questions and horror in general were very uniquely powerful.
S2E2 - White Bear
absolutely horrifying. this was one of the few episodes i had watched beforehand, and i couldn't bring myself to rewatch it, so the rating might be a bit off. the plot twist completely threw me off. i personally feel that the questions it asks is ruined by the fact that her memory is wiped, which a later episode does better imo.
S2E3 - The Waldo Moment
this was one where i agreed with the critics and think it's pretty garbo. i only really like the ending where waldo lives on despite the creator, which is a neat concept (again, explored better in later episodes). i was really looking forward to the romance conflict during the debate, but unfortunately they neatly resolved it right before the debate. 90% of the episode was just a blue gummy bear hitting you with the message over the head with a hammer.
S2E4 - White Christmas
perfect episode. both characters you can really emphasize with despite their flaws, and the bits of foreshadowing is beautiful without giving it away. twists were pulled off amazingly, and all the concepts came together.
S3E1 - Nosedive
perfect episode. one of the few episodes i watched beforehand, but i rewatched it and liked it better the second time. it has messages that feel a lot more relevant and are pulled off in a much more digestible way than other episodes which makes it an easy recommend.
S3E2 - Playtest
this is another one that was received well but i disliked. i wasn't a fan of the main character, half of whose lines are about how much of a Gamer he is, and 90% of the episode is just jumpscare/violence horror, which is the exact type of stuff i do not like the horror genre for. i liked some of the twists but the last one makes them all pointless, and the conflict with his mother is my favorite part, but again the last twist just kinda ruins it for dark humor points.
S3E3 - Shut Up and Dance
perfect episode. i felt the tension throughout the entire thing, and the final plot twist is such a huge gut punch. great acting and build-up. made me depressed.
S3E4 - San Junipero
very good episode. i don't have any objective flaws with it, it just didn't personally speak to me. twists were pulled off very well.
S3E5 - Men Against Fire
twists were pretty horrifying, the implications of the technology was horrifying. ending ruined it for me.
S3E6 - Hated in the Nation
perfect episode, other than my strong personal gripe with the dude who pressed the big red button. feels like a much better and fleshed out version of S1E1. strong characters, great twists, technology was perfectly horrifying (if the tw*tter hivemind could actually choose who to kill??? also spooky mechanical bees)
S4E1 - USS Callister
perfect episode. another one i'd recommend to non black mirror fans, perfectly horrifying while also being funny and relatively PG. shoutouts to jesse pinkman.
S4E2 - Arkangel
oooh, mixed feelings. i remember liking this one because you could really emphasize with both characters, but the twists just make you feel awful. technology feels very believable
S4E3 - Crocodile
this one seemed interesting and then it just kinda became a murder spree for no reason??? like the technology was barely even part of it, this person just had the head to be a serial murderer??? i was invested in shazia and her investigation but the writers just kinda decided they hated her
S4E4 - Hang the DJ
perfect episode. only gripes are too much s*x‼️, and the fact that the ending muddies the message (characters were rewarded for rebellion from a dating device in order to... follow the dating app lol), but i can excuse both for the execution.
S4E5 - Metalhead
great episode, very scary, but much more of a thriller rather than psychological horror. i'd barely even consider it a black mirror episode before the final shot with the teddy bears, which honestly brings together the episode UNREASONABLY well.
S4E6 - Black Museum
not too fond. first story was completely pointless and unreasonably violent. second story is... ??? third story is very black mirror, and i loved most of the ending, along with the slow reveal of the villain. but most of it just felt kind of unnecessary or overly horrific.
Special - Bandersnatch
i had seen most of the content beforehand, decided not to play it. i didn't enjoy it very much, and most of it felt kind of pointless. will leave out of the ranking out of respect for fair judgement, though
S5E1 - Striking Vipers
That's it? That was the episode? That was just Men having gay s*x‼️
felt pretty aimless and without anything interesting to say. like 99% of it could have existed without the vr.
S5E2 - Smithereens
absolutely one of my favorite episodes until they completely and utterly fumbled it in the third act, where the lessons of the episode became "social media bad", and "don't look at your phone while driving", which has about as much depth as a certain other episode that says "you can't trust politicians". still, i love the tone and the characters, with billy bauer's rants being uniquely satisfying in a world full of corporate talk. also shoutouts to moriarty
S5E3 - Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too
perfect episode, though it barely felt like a black mirror episode, but not in a bad way. it asked very deeply horrifying questions about how celebrities are dehumanized and commercialized, while keeping it surprisingly positive and funny. the characters really felt like they were in a normal heist movie and it was pretty refreshing, though still a bit out of place.
Rankings (roughly ordered within tiers):
S --- Best of the Best
Be Right Back
Shut Up and Dance
White Christmas
A --- Very Good
USS Callister
Hated in the Nation
Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too
Nosedive
Hang the DJ
B --- Good
San Junipero
Metalhead
White Bear
The Entire History of You
The National Anthem
C --- Clear Flaws
Smithereens
Arkangel
Men Against Fire
D --- Meh
Striking Vipers
Black Museum
Playtest
Fifteen Million Merits
Crocodile
F --- Not worth watching
The Waldo Moment
Unranked ---
Bandersnatch
anyway if you made it this far thank you for reading, i will go to sleep and listen to Anyone Who Knows What Love Is on loop in the morning