After
two series and one Christmas special, we now have seven installments of
Charlie Booker's fantastic anthology series, "Black Mirror." More are
reportedly in the works, but who knows when they'll actually make it to
the screen. So it's a good time to take stock of the series so far.
And thanks to the anthology format and low episode count, it's a good
fit for one of my lists. So, without any further ado, here's my ranking
of the episodes of "Black Mirror" that have aired so far, from best to
least-best. It's hard to pick a "worst" with a series this good.
"Fifteen
Million Merits" - The reality-TV obsessed, video-game integrated
dystopia is a lot of fun and provides some memorable visuals, but the
story is what sets it apart. "Merits" feels like Charlie Booker
examining his own place as a media critic and what that means. Daniel
Kaluuya also delivers a great performance as our hero, particularly a
scorching monologue on the despair of life in a world where nearly
everything has been reduced to virtual reality.
"The
National Anthem" - Shock value can have plenty of value when it's used
in the right way. "The National Anthem" is the only episode so far that
only relies on already existing technology, namely social media like
Twitter and Facebook, and it's not hard to imagine the events depicted
could actually happen in the present day. I'm impressed not only with
the embrace of a potentially disastrous concept, but that the creators
were willing to take it as far as they did.
"Be
Right Back" - I love this one for the performances of Hayley Atwell and
Domhnall Gleeson. The concept is simple and the narrative doesn't offer
many surprises to anyone remotely genre savvy, but the execution is
lovely and the intimate moments hit just right. Quiet and lachrymose,
this is a bit of an outlier for "Black Mirror," which usually leans
toward horror and black comedy, but it's every bit as effective in
hitting its target as the louder, showier outings.
"White
Christmas" - A nice triptych of stories show off a little of everything
that "Black Mirror" is know for: intimate relationship stories, flashy
dystopias, and some really biting social commentary. Jon Hamm and Rafe
Spall do a lot of the heavy lifting to pull off a complicated,
exposition-heavy narrative with a lot of twists. There were definitely
some sections that worked better than others, and some of the ideas
could have used more fleshing out, but this was a wonderfully nasty
holiday surprise.
"White Bear" - This one feels
like something made for a straight horror anthology, as social media
only plays a small part here. The bulk of the episode played
out fine, but it was the epilogue that really got to me, showcasing the
systematic inhumanity of everyone involved in creating the illusion.
"White Bear" is lower on the list for being very heavy-handed and not
taking some of the satirical opportunities it could have, but the
nightmare scenario it presents is extremely effective.
"The
Entire History of You" - This is a favorite for many viewers, but I
thought it was a pretty average story. I think this is because I've
seen the concept before in other sci-fi media and because the salacious
elements struck me as far too unsubtle and gimmicky. Like "White Bear,"
the characters don't feel like real people, and the structure feels far
too mechanical. It's certainly not a bad episode, but one that feels
limited by its fascination with its own premise.
"The
Waldo Moment" - I don't think this is a surprise, as many others have
pointed out that "Waldo" has some serious story problems. It's
certainly an interesting idea, but I don't think Booker worked out what
he really wanted to say here, or where the concept was supposed to go.
The ending in particular is infuriating because it fails to land the
final punchline with nearly enough oomph. It's a rare example of the
series pulling back when it should have gone for the throat.
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