Black Mirror , Netflix’s dystopian nightmare-fuel of a show, dropped its fourth season right before the New Year. Like any tech-enabled millennial, I spent the last few days watching the series and hiding under my blanket. I’ve always been a huge fan of anthology series, not having the attention span to remember what happened in previous episodes or the time to waste learning characters’ names. After watching all six of the new Black MIrror Season 4 episodes, I can say that there are some real winners and some true duds. I’ve listed them from best to worst, hopefully saving the time of whoever stumbles across my ramblings.
Of course, there will be spoilers below, because how do you rank a series without complaining about its flaws?
Arkangel- The second episode of the season is by far my favorite. Helicopter parents, with their need to control their kids’ lives, which end up dooming them in the real world, has been a constant part of my life. I honestly believe that if technology was at the point, my mother would have slammed a chip in my forehead long ago. Every part of this episode is captivating, with each scene building into the next. Becoming immune to scary outside stimuli, like a dog barking, is an important part of growing up. If you don’t let your child experience life, they can detach from their surroundings, potentially becoming sociopaths. If you can only watch one episode, I highly recommend this one.
USS Callister- My girlfriend’s favorite of the bunch, this Star Trek inspired look into virtual reality is a trip down a man’s dark sociopathic tendencies. You never know what that weird guy from work is up to after hours — it could be taxidermy or locking the virtual consciousness of all your coworkers into a hellscape. “USS Callister” reminded me of a modern version of the Twilight Zone episode “Miniature” that had a bunch of random people trying to figure out life after turning into a child’s plaything. The ending is a little lackluster, but that’s only because there’s nowhere really left to go after you’ve boldly gone where nobody’s been before.
Metalhead- Horror tends to be my least favorite genre, with gore often making me feel sick to my stomach. This story is about a group of rebels that raid an Amazon-esque store after an apocalypse and stumble upon a killer dog robot. It’s extremely violent, but I actually didn’t mind. The performances of all the actors were top notch, the robots looked believable and the story had little to no plot holes. The squeamish side of me took a backseat and it was totally worth the nightmares.
Black Museum- An anthology inside an anthology, this is the first Black Mirror episode to feature even smaller stories. The overarching narrative that ties these stories, a museum filled with props from the show’s history, together is a little bland and could have used more polish, but it’s still a great ride. There’s a great story with a pain-addicted doctor written by Penn Jillette, which is worth watching on its own. If anyone ever thinks about throwing my mind inside a plush monkey, I’ll make sure to haunt them in their dreams.
Hang The DJ- I’m a huge proponent for online dating. Nothing helps awkward introverts meet people like an app. The first half, where you’re still not sure how the world works, is fascinating to watch. As the onion starts to peel away its layers and everything starts to fall apart, the overarching idea of the story tends to get a little muddled. I can’t tell if it’s for or against online dating. The ending is just so confusing.
Crocodile- Just skip this one. There’s an Icelandic murderer who kills a baby and a guinea pig saves the day. The end.
