![]() ![]() “Black Mirror: Smithereens” Stuart Hendry / Netflix (Also, this episode does have Hayek shouting “Paragraph A can suck my dick!” so that’s not for nothing, either.) Time will tell how potent this chapter ends up being outside the context of the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes, which should make for some illustrative future context. Like those, your enjoyment of this is almost entirely dependent on how well you respond to the one track it sets itself and stays on for almost its whole runtime, Salma Hayek-as-herself-subplot and some other trickery notwithstanding. This show has a growing tradition of episodes based around watching one person melt down as their entire perception of reality is shattered (see also: “Nosedive,” “Entire History of You”). In maybe the strongest “call coming from inside the house” episode of the show so far, Brooker and director Ally Pankiw turn their attention to Joan (Annie Murphy), whose life is inverted when she finds out a streaming series is recreating her life in real time. “Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful” ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection It’s bleak enough to pacify the most masochistic technophobe, but ends with a parting message that offers the faintest bit of hope that the future isn’t as unconquerable as we might think. But what this episode truly delivers is an overwhelming sense of physical terror, the starkest example of characters wrestling with their own bodies - and even their own souls. With allusions to past installments and extensions of others, it’s the “Black Mirror” equivalent of a bonus track. Rolo Haynes (Douglas Hodge) is as good a narrator as he is an unreliable one, making for a tour guide through the show’s cemetery who delights in the twisted artifacts of his own creation. As a road-tripping visitor (Letitia Wright) stops into a gas station collection of technological curiosities, the accompanying trio of shorter stories make for a bizarre trip through the show’s self-contained history. ![]() Shot with soft light and draped in Millennial pink, the world projects a bubblegum vibe, sweetly smiling while stripping citizens of their autonomy.“Black Mirror: Black Museum” Jonathan Prime / NetflixĪs gutsy a season finale that the show’s put forth so far, “Black Museum” is somehow both a love letter to the series and a massive grenade designed to blast it to smithereens. The episode was penned by Michael Schur (“The Good Place”) and Rashida Jones (“The Office”) and directed by Joe Wright (“Pride & Prejudice”). “Nosedive” brought in big name Hollywood talent to kick off its first season on Netflix. Plus, the angrier Lacie gets about her situation, the lower she’s ranked by those she interacts with, creating a self-fulfilling spiral of social media exile. What starts off an an annoyance (can’t open certain doors) spirals into something more ominous and even life-threatening for others. But after a series of unfortunate incidents, her rank starts to slip. Bryce Dallas Howard plays Lacie, an amiable citizen with an above-average social media ranking. Set in a near future where a large percentage of the population has adopted a form of social-media eye implant that ranks people like Yelp reviews, this pastel meditation shows what happens when we allow fictional clout to dictate societal norms. Honorable mentions: “ Fifteen Million Merits,” “Be Right Back,” “Shut Up and Dance” and “Black Museum.” In celebration of Season 6, here are the 10 best episodes of the series, ranked. Season 6 ups the star power with Salma Hayek, Michael Cera, Aaron Paul and Kate Mara.Īs social media, artificial intelligence and technology still have a hold over our world, “Black Mirror” seems more relevant than ever. Several big-name stars got an early break on the series, like Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Whittaker and Letitia Wright, while later episodes spotlighted actors like Jon Hamm, Miley Cyrus, Will Poulter and more. ![]() One hallmark of “Black Mirror” is its cast. ![]() Each standalone story revolves around some kind of near-future technology, dystopian future or cultural obsession that wreaks havoc on characters’ lives, usually to a twisty, violent ending - with some exceptions! Almost every episode ends in tragedy, heartbreak or brutal death for the cast, but some, like “Hang the DJ” and “San Junipero,” end things on a lighter note. With Season 6, fans of bleak, sci-fi drama and twist endings will get five more episodes to entertain themselves.Ĭharlie Brooker created “Black Mirror” and has written almost every episode by himself, with some help along the way. Originally conceived as an anthology program on the British outlet Channel 4, “Black Mirror” moved to Netflix starting with Season 3 and has released 22 episodes and one film so far. “Black Mirror” has shocked, creeped out and warned audiences of the dangers of technology for more than a decade, and it’s returning with Season 6 on Netflix on June 15 after a four-year wait. ![]()
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