The Best Black Mirror Episodes from Each Season

Charlie Brooker’s long-running dystopian, “the world is sometimes good but mostly terrible” series, Black Mirror recently returned for its seventh season on Netflix. As the technology speculated in the series becoming more and more real everyday (to the point where anything remotely dystopian happens, thousands on social media will cry “it’s like living in a Black Mirror episode”), Brooker’s writing still manages to lead you to a dark place with a range of human emotions at the core of it all. It’s a fantastic show, you should watch it if you haven’t already. 

With the latest season having been available on Netflix for a while, I thought it would be great to list the best episodes from each Black Mirror season, in a lightly veiled hope that if you haven’t already, you’ll watch the series soon. Though oftentimes bleak, the show does have shining examples of incredible writing and acting, some of which are listed below. I’ve tried to avoid spoilers as best as I can, though there is a slight overview of each episode. That being said, let’s get into the best Black Mirror episodes.

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The Entire History of You (Season 1)

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I was originally going to put The National Anthem as the best episode for season one – it set the tone for the rest of the show, with an ending that left jaws dropped and a feeling of unease as the credits rolled. To be honest though, despite the initial shock, I can’t say it’s the best episode for season one, especially since the following two episodes were much stronger outputs. Personally though, between Fifteen Million Merits and The Entire History of You, I have to go with the latter. 

Set in the probably not too distant future with the way technology is going, The Entire History of You is focused on the troubled relationship between Liam (Toby Kebbell) and Ffion (Jodie Whittaker). With memory implants that can record everything you say, see and do, people are able to rewind through their memories and recollect the good times, as well as the bad. After an awkward dinner party, Liam spends the better part of the episode trying to decipher if his wife had an affair or not. There’s no place to hide, no room for lying, and eventually his jealousy pushes them to a breaking point that might shatter them completely.

Though its speculative fiction setting provides the crux of the drama, the powerhouse performances from Whittaker and Kebbell especially keep the episode rooted in reality and cement this as one of the best Black Mirror episodes.

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White Christmas (Season 2)

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The last season to be broadcast on Channel 4 before moving to Netflix, it was arguably the last gritty season as well. It found its footing with Be Right Back and White Bear, both incredibly emotional episodes for different reasons, and though it faltered slightly with The Waldo Moment (honestly, I don’t think I rewatch this ever), it ended strong with the highest rated episode of Black Mirror so far – White Christmas. 

One of the show’s longer episodes before the move to Netflix, White Christmas told three interconnected stories, all leading up to the shocking final moments. Matt (Jon Hamm) and Potter (Rafe Spall) are spending Christmas together – peeling potatoes, drinking wine and listening to Christmas music on repeat. Matt spends his time trying to get Potter to open up about his past, and once he does, it takes you on a twisting journey.

In truth, I don’t want to share too much about the episode, in case you haven’t managed to watch the show’s only attempt at a festive special. What I can share about it is that with a mix of incredible writing and ranging performances from Hamm and Spall, the show managed to create a feeling of crushing isolation despite consistently following two characters throughout the episode. The exact kind of vibe you need at Christmas time.

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Shut Up and Dance (Season 3)

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With season three being the first series to land on the streaming giant Netflix, it needed to make a lasting impact – too often Netflix has commissioned excellent shows, only to cancel them three seasons in, sometimes less (I’ll miss you forever Glow and Santa Clarita Diet). I would argue that for a while, season three was the only strong season released on Netflix – there were arguments that Black Mirror had focused too much on bringing celebrities in, rather than the stories, criticisms that steadily grew as the later seasons went on. It could be why out of the whole season, I found Shut Up and Dance to be the strongest episode. 

Though San Junipero holds a fondness in viewer’s hearts for being the first emotionally devastating episode with a somewhat happy ending, and I find Nosedive to be especially liberating, Shut Up and Dance felt as though it could have been in one of the original series and my heart at that point could not let go. After falling into an online trap, Kenny (Alex Lawther) finds himself in an uneasy alliance to protect a secret he doesn’t want revealed to anyone, let alone the entire world, responding to anonymous trolls’ constant beck and call, whatever they may be.

The reveal is fairly easy to guess to be honest with you, but Lawther spends so much time making you feel so sorry for Kenny that when it is revealed, you feel horrified with everyone involved, including yourself. Plus the final scene, with Radiohead’s Exit Music (For a Film) rising to a devastating crescendo as everyone’s world collapses – incredible piece of cinematography to be honest.

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Black Museum (Season 4)

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I really struggled to choose between the bookends of season four to be honest with you – U.S.S Callister holds a special place in my heart for the cast alone, with Jesse Plemmons becoming a consistent force of nature in any film or show he’s in and Cristin Milioti quickly making a name for herself as one of the better actors of today. To be truthful however, Black Museum pinches the victory for me. The underlying sinister feeling as the museum proprietor shares horrifying stories will leave you on edge. 

On what appears to be a road trip, and momentarily stranded with not much else to do, Nish (Letitia Wright) wanders into the Black Museum, an out of the way derelict building with a lot of stories to tell. There inside, down-on-his-luck Rolo (Douglas Hodge) shares the best and the worst his museum has to offer, leading you and Nish through different stories. The one that has stood out to me since the first watch was the one with the teddy bear – to not spoil anything, it remains a minor plot that makes me feel a little emotional whenever I’m rewatching.

Honestly, on the surface, it appears to be an anthology episode – the stories told aren’t long enough for their own episode, and so they’re spliced together for one big episode. However as the plot moves forward, you realise eventually that Nish has a motive of her own, and one that could end the Black Museum for good. A strong end to an otherwise fluctuating series.

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Smithereens (Season 5)

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This wasn’t even hard to choose. Season five I think is one of the weakest seasons, and with only three episodes to hold it together, the argument of style over substance once again reared its ugly head. Buried between an episode where two bros play a game that expands their relationship in ways they didn’t imagine and another dedicated to a Miley Cyrus-like character trying to change their music while being controlled by the powers that be (played by Miley Cyrus), lies one of Black Mirror’s more subtle outputs. Unfortunately, it’s often forgotten, which is a shame because Andrew Scott’s performance is incredible. 

When explaining the plot of Smithereens, it does seem to be more convoluted than it is. Rideshare driver Chris (Andrew Scott) takes a fare from Jaden (Damon Idris), an employee that works at Smithereen – a fare, you soon realise, with a malevolent intentions. Chris kidnaps Jaden, and during hostage negotiations, demands to talk to one person only – Billy Bauer, CEO of Smithereen (Topher Grace). Watching it though, you’re more enthralled than you may have initially expected to be.

I’ll never know if this episode is only as strong as it is because the others are so much weaker, however I’d like to think it’s because of Scott’s performance and the message behind the episode. It’s one they’ve pitched before, especially in Be Right Back, but the emotional weight of the character’s grief gives it the thought the writers want from you. You’ll never really know the end of the story, but it’s one worth watching, I promise.

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Beyond the Sea (Season 6)

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For someone who has pointed out the criticism the later seasons of Black Mirror had, it’s hypocritical of me to then list an episode with two big stars as the main characters. Unfortunately for you, I don’t care. Perhaps one of their more divisive episodes, with people either loving or hating it, Beyond the Sea to me felt like a return to the show’s darker roots, with a painful ending that reminded me somewhat of White Christmas. 

Set in an alternate version of history, astronauts Cliff (Aaron Paul) and David (Josh Hartnett) are alone in space for an extended period of time. The only way to visit their respective families is by transferring their consciousness to artificial bodies when they’re not needed on the ship. After a devastating attack on his family and his artificial body by a cult depicted in a similar vein as the infamous Manson family murders, David falls into despair. Cliff offers for David to visit his own family, each of them taking it in turns to visit, leading to an unfortunate but expected end.

It’s an episode where grief, jealousy and rage are at the core of every action, pain taking over every other feeling. Hartnett and Paul are an odd-couple of sorts, with Hartnett’s charisma carrying the episode through, but it’s in this episode I can see the return to form to the show that is eventually carried through to the latest season.

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Common People (Season 7)

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I struggled to find just one episode to choose – the latest season of Black Mirror is, for me, the strongest to date, its strength lying once more in the writing and the actors who carry those performances through. We returned to U.S.S Callister, this time with Jimmi Simpson carrying the mantle of insufferable man you hope karma gets. Eulogy was essentially a Paul Giammati monologue special, and it was incredible to watch. Hotel Reverie gave us stellar performances from Issa Rae and Emma Corrin as right place, wrong time lovers. I could write about every episode if I had the time. For me though, it’s the devastating Common People that edges them all out. 

After a medical emergency leaves Amanda’s (Rashida Jones) life in the balance, her husband Mike (Chris O’Dowd) signs up to Rivermind, a cloud based subscription system that promises to keep her consciousness going for many years to come. Slowly yet surely, the subscription service becomes too much for the working class couple to maintain – tiers that restrict her movements, becoming a walking billboard with her being completely unaware, and eventually taking over her sleeping routine. Mike does everything he can to keep money rolling in, to keep his wife happy, to make sure she’s living a regular life without having everything taken away from her, but even debasing himself on a streaming website isn’t enough.

With subscription services everywhere, beyond TV and now for things such as food boxes and cars, it’s not hard to see where the writers got the inspiration for this episode. Capitalism really does suck the life out of you, until you don’t have a lot left to give – the ending for this episode packs an emotional punch, and I found myself weeping (not for the first time in this season). Incredible to see a season of Black Mirror without any filler.

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Conclusion

Though only a handful of episodes have been selected for the list, I will say it was often difficult to choose just one. The beauty about an anthology series like Black Mirror is that your favourite episodes may differ from mine – there is no wrong answer and most can be easily enjoyed (as much as you can enjoy watching a dystopian future become rapidly more real, anyway). 

What do you think of our list of best Black Mirror episodes? Did I miss your favourite? Let us know in the comments!

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