Season 4 Discussion Thread

[Chaos Theory]

I didn't see a General Season 4 discussion thread so I started one.   Please be aware that this is a thread for people who saw all 6 episodes and want to discuss them in a general fashion so there may be cross spoilers.  

 

Edited:  Just to get it started my list from best to worst

1.  USS Calister

2.  Black Museum

3.  Crocodile

4.  Arkangel

5. Metalhead

6.  Kill The DJ

 

Edited December 31, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[QQQQ]

Hmm, aside from technology and its  (mis)use, these episodes are as different as chalk and cheese (and that's a good thing because who wants to watch the same plot 6 times?), but here's my ranking in terms of how much I enjoyed each story:

1. Tie: USS Callister & Arkangel

3. Black Museum

4. Metalhead

5. Kill the DJ

6. Crocodile

[Arynm]

my list for this season is:

US Callister

Black Museum

Arkangel

Kill the DJ

Crocodile

Metalhead

I just thought Metalhead was boring, it happened exactly like I figured and I expect BM to shock and surprise me. Love Callister, at first I thought it was just a typical sci-fi story, but the more I think about it, the more the layers of what what really going on unfold for me. I loved trying to find all the previous stories in the Black Museum and the ending really surprised me. I hope they can get the woman out of the damn bear! "Monkey loves you, Monkey needs a hug" is haunting my dreams ya'll!

Edited December 31, 2017 by Arynm
Its a monkey not a teddy

[snowwhyte]

1. USS Callister

2. Black Museum

3. Kill the DJ

4. Metalhead

Joint 5 and 6 Arkangel and crocodile

I loved USS Callister. The was definitely my favourite. I liked all the actors and the story was suspenseful and emotionally engaging.

Black Museum was very well done and I enjoyed the way it featured elements of the larger Black Mirror universe. 

I enjoyed Kill the DJ. I think it does help to have a lighter episode to balance the bleakness that is inherent to Black Mirror and I think it had some intriguing ideas. 

Metalhead was a bit lacking in story and didn't make you think in the way that most Black Mirror episodes do but the visuals were interesting and it was watchable.

I thought Crocodile was interesting and well done but it was a bit too harsh. I normally prefer the bleaker episodes but I found it very unsettling and struggled to watch it. I might try it again when I'm in the right mood for it.

I really liked the ideas behind Arkangel but I thought the episode was a bit boring. 

[Cranberry]

For me, it goes:

• USS Callister
• Black Museum and Kill the DJ (tie)
• Arkangel
• Crocodile
• Metalhead

Metalhead was the only one that actually bored me. I do tend to prefer my Black Mirror episodes with a happy(ish) ending (San Junipero and Hated in the Nation were my favorites last year), although I can definitely appreciate the bleak ones, too (I thought Shut Up and Dance was a real gut punch and very well done; it's in my top five across all seasons). 

[CheezyXpressed]

My list would be:

1. Crocodile - I sympathized with Mia at first, but when she starts killing person after person and then a kid she became the worst person on the show. The thing is, the technology used here, while minimal, is the reason why she went psycho. If there wasn't a memory capturing device, would she have been found in the first place? Would Shazia and her family be okay? I liked that the technology part played a role without being the main focus of the episode. It felt very Black Mirror to me and I enjoyed this a lot. It also reminded me of Shut Up and Dance, and I really loved that episode.

2. Black Museum - I love the vignettes. White Christmas is my all time favourite episode, so I liked that this story had multiple ones in it. Plus we got to see a lot of callbacks done in a in your face, but relevant way. It did have a happy ending, but I didn't really mind it because of the circumstances in the episode.

3. USS Callister - I enjoyed  this one as well. We start off with a nice but cowardly guy who ends up using cookies as revenge. It makes him a jerk, especially since he killed a CookieKid, but at the same time it's just code. Once upon a time, my sim spouse cried one day and was depressed since I refused to do anything for him. But to be fair, it was his fault because he burnt part of my house down and I was angry. If I knew that he had actual feelings and wasn't just code, would that make me a jerk? I don't know (maybe). On one hand, Daly is a horrible person, but on the other hand real people put people they know in games and attack them to vent out their frustrations. (or they use the dart and picture method) The fact that he died in the end and the fact that RealNanette will know she played a role in this won't be easy for the humans. Daly wasn't likeable, but he was doing something a lot of people did which is why this episode resonated quite a bit with me.

4. Arkangel - Overall, I found it okay. The technology used here was messed up, but I feel like more could have been done with it.

5. Metalhead - it was beautiful to look at, but I don't know what the point here was. I had a lot of questions, but none of them were ever answered or pondered over. Considering how powerful those dogs were, I don't think she ever had a chance.

6. Hang the DJ - I'm just not a fan of romance stories. Plus, the cynical side of me wants to say that even though they are a 98.9% match, they could still break up after a week or so. Real life is different from a questionnaire or cookie matchup. Even though the leads were cute, I could see how she would resent the fact that she'd always have to make the first move. While he would be annoyed that she doesn't understand his feelings or want to talk about feelings in general.....

[Chaos Theory]

Reading some of these posts I can see people didn't like Crocodile and liked Hang The DJ which is pretty much what I expected and exactly the opposite of how I feel.  Hang The DJ is most like last seasons San Junipero which I found boring and yet won all the awards.  I can see it happening with Hang The DJ as well.  Personally I adored Crocodile because it started with such a simple premise of a car accident and a decade (or so) of time going by and one person being able to move on and one person not.  The person not being able to move on wants to go to the police the other doesn't and things go down hill from there and continue to go downhill for the person who had made a life for themselves after a tragic accident that even a decade later could have been explained away with little or no consequence if she had taken a step back to think it over instead of reacting violently.   Its a perfect example of a good downward spiral.  Is Mia a bad person or did she just get caught up in doing bad things out of self preservation?    Plus the whole added benefit of a machine that could read thoughts.  I thought the episode was one of the seasons best.  

Metalhead was beautifully shot but didn't really tell any kind of story.  I am not sure what the ending was supposed to mean.  Were we looking at the end of the human race?  The last scene of  a war gone bad?  Or was it a human sacrificing herself to save what was left of humanity?  Either point of view works for me.  And so does the idea of this all starting not for some important medical technology but for some silly comfort for a dying child. 

Arkangel both worked and didn't work for me.  I liked the concept and understand what was intended but I would have rather the story go in other directions.  That being said I liked the idea of a mother and daughter being caught up in a power struggle.  A mother's worst nightmare is losing a child but to have that ultimately happen because she can't let go even in the smallest of ways is a great way to end the episode.  

Black Museum was just an awesome story.  I really liked all the smaller stories as well.  I understand why each of the people agreed to what they agreed to and how easily it snowballed out of control.  I am slow and I didn't get the last main reveal until just before it happened so i really enjoyed it.   I like a good revenge story especially when the woman is getting the revenge.

Finally the first and best of the season USS Callister just worked for me on every level.   So far it has been the only one I have watched twice and I liked that it had moments of humor to it.  There were moments that were actually kind of funny in a twisted way.  I liked the idea of Daly looking like the protagonist but actually being the villain of the story.  Watching scenes later you see people actually giving him a wide birth and yes him staring not longingly like someone who wants to belong but menacingly like someone who wants to get even for some unknown reason.   One minor detail that the episode might have been missing and I would have added if it was longer was more time with the real life people.    Get some insight into why they didn't like Daly (Not that we don't know but do they actually know or even feel kind of creep he is)  Other then that this was a top notch episode.

Quote

3. USS Callister - I enjoyed  this one as well. We start off with a nice but cowardly guy who ends up using cookies as revenge. It makes him a jerk, especially since he killed a CookieKid, but at the same time it's just code. Once upon a time, my sim spouse cried one day and was depressed since I refused to do anything for him. But to be fair, it was his fault because he burnt part of my house down and I was angry. If I knew that he had actual feelings and wasn't just code, would that make me a jerk? I don't know (maybe). On one hand, Daly is a horrible person, but on the other hand real people put people they know in games and attack them to vent out their frustrations. (or they use the dart and picture method) The fact that he died in the end and the fact that RealNanette will know she played a role in this won't be easy for the humans. Daly wasn't likeable, but he was doing something a lot of people did which is why this episode resonated quite a bit with me.

I'd agree with you on this except that most people don't collect someones DNA and then use that to create what is an artificial intelligence inside a computer.  That is the line in the sand.  They aren't just naming a car they are about to crash after their boss.  They are taking a straw he threw out and then using that to get his DNA and then putting that in their computer?     The episode is asking at what point do these people become people?   They have their real counterparts memories up until they were downloaded.   So are they real?  That is the question the episode is asking.  

 

If I had to grade them I would give USS Callister an A,   Crocodile an A-,  Arkangel a B,  Hang The DJ a C-  Metalhead a C,  and Black Museum an A-  

Edited January 1, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[CheezyXpressed]

50 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I'd agree with you on this except that most people don't collect someones DNA and then use that to create what is an artificial intelligence inside a computer.  That is the line in the sand.  They aren't just naming a car they are about to crash after their boss.  They are taking a straw he threw out and then using that to get his DNA and then putting that in their computer?     The episode is asking at what point do these people become people?   They have their real counterparts memories up until they were downloaded.   So are they real?  That is the question the episode is asking. 

I'm not saying that he didn't go off the deep end, because he did and it was really messed up, but the initial idea of placing someone you dislike in a game or story and making lives horrible isn't something unheard of. I've heard of authors who have done this, which is awkward, but probably a lot more common than we care to admit. The straws and lollipops make the situation irredeemable, but the basic premise of doing something like this is the thing that will stay with me the most.

As for the question of what point do these people become people, I feel like White Christmas presented this a bit better so I didn't have any unresolved feelings on that front. Cookies are always going to be unethical to me and if that technology is ever invented, then there needs to be Cookie rights established so they don't get abused. They may be code, but the moment you give them a sense of self is the moment they need rights.

 

You know what's interesting though. In Hang the DJ, the cookies there all died or vanished once they were matched and yet no one feels bad about it. (Or at least I haven't seen much discussion on that). It's done in a cute romantic way, but they're still cookies and they're still being used in a somewhat unethical way.

 

I didn't care for San Junipero either. I think most people like romance and feel good stories, which is why San Junipero and Hang the DJ will resonate with a lot of people. Since the series is fairly bleak and unforgiving at times, so those episodes help relive us of that.

[benteen]

I thought this episode was down a little from last season although I really enjoyed it.  I did notice patterns from last season.  I found the second episode of both seasons to be the weakest.  The third episode of the seasons for both were the darkest, followed by a digital episode that gave out such a happy ending.  The last episode featured justice being dispensed by someone outside the law at the end.

[benteen]

USS Callistar

Kill the DJ

Metalhead

Black Museum

Arkangel and Crocodile

[AgentRXS]

This season was good but I felt like I got beat over the head with the whole "It's never a good idea to make a digital copy of someone" concept. I guess Charlie was really annoyed that San Junipero was considered the standout episode of the series, so he went out of his way to show the various ways the technology would go wrong/be tortuous to the digital copy . I get it. I got it last season during "White Christmas".  USS Callister was great. I could have done without Hang the DJ and the stuffed monkey portion of Black Museum.  Metalhead was a waste of 41 minutes.

My list:

1) USS Callister

2) Black Museum

3) Crocodile

4) Arkangel

5) Hang the DJ

6) Metalhead

Edited January 6, 2018 by AgentRXS

[AgentRXS]

I didn't dislike it; just felt like the cookie thing was played out by that point.

[Nordly Beaumont]

For me Hang the DJ was just not re-watchable. It wasn't like other Black Mirrors where the story is interesting enough for me to watch again (maybe over and over). And I usually find little things I missed before. This was one and done for me. Boring dates aren't fun to be on or watch, so now that I know the end there's no reason to re-watch.

Edited January 1, 2018 by Nordly Beaumont

[DEM]

My list:

• USS Callister
• Hang the DJ, hang the DJ, hang the DJ, HANG THE DJ
• Metalhead
• Arkangel
• Crocodile
• Black Museum

USS Callister was head and shoulders above the rest.  For all the stories, it seems what was most important was how well I connected with the characters. For example, I typically don't care for romance stories, but somehow Frank & Amy were compelling to me.  By contrast, I actually shouted "You suck, Mia!" the moment she helped the boyfriend dump the cyclist's body, so she was operating from a deficit very early.  Black Museum doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

[Chaos Theory]

15 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

For me Hang the DJ was just not re-watchable. It wasn't like other Black Mirrors where the story is interesting enough for me to watch again (maybe over and over). And I usually find little things I missed before. This was one and done for me. Boring dates aren't fun to be on or watch, so now that I know the end there's no reason to re-watch.

That's kinda how I feel.  I have already rewatched  USS Callister and plan to rewatch Crocodile, Arkangel and Black Museum simply because I found them so interesting and think I might have missed important details.   Plus all three of them could have worked as longer more detailed stories that I would have enjoyed.  A full 6 episode season arc if you wish.   Even Metalhead might have something I missed and maybe if I have the time I might rewatch to see if I missed anything.   

I have no interest at all to rewatch Hang The DJ.    Its a romance story.  Ok.  Well cool.  We're done now.  

Edited January 2, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[Sader87]

They were all good to great imo....if I was forced to list best to "worst" I'd go:

1. USS Callister- lot of fun, love Jimmi Simpson

2. Crocodile- very dark in a "good" BM way

3. Hang the DJ-what can I say? I'm a sucker for a love story ala San Junipero

4. Black Museum- interesting concepts but I found it a little muddled

5. Arkangel-it was good but I found it a bit repetitive of other eps in the show

6 Metalhead-as others have said, visuals etc were great but story lacked exposition etc

Can't believe I've already burned through all these and have to wait another year or so for more.

Not to come off as a "He-man woman haters member" but overall this year seemed a little too female character driven...not a bad thing but a minor nit.

[Chicago Redshirt]

18 hours ago, 17wheatthins said:

Why did so many people dislike Hang the DJ? 

Different strokes for different folks. From the epiosde thread for "Hang," critics either a) don't particularly like romance stories b) don't like Black Mirror to be upbeat or c) are over yet-another-AI story.

For what it's worth, IMDB users rated "Hang" as the top episode from season 4, with a 9.1 rating, followed by "Black Museum" (9.0) "USS Callister" (8.6), Crocodile/Arkangel (tied at 7.6) and "Metalhead" (7.1)

[catrox14]

For me

1) USS Callister
2) Black Museum
3) Arkangel
4) Hang the DJ
5)  Metalhead
6) Crocodile

[Lady Calypso]

I haven't gotten around to the last two episodes yet. I've started Metalhead but I'm only a few minutes in because, as pretty as it is, the story hasn't roped me in yet. 

So, for the episodes I have seen so far, I'd say my order is:

1. USS Callister
2. Arkangel
3. Hang the DJ
4. Crocodile

I'm looking forward to Black Museum because it seems to be getting good reviews. 

I think why Hang the DJ seems to be getting praise elsewhere is because of the romance story. People really like happy endings and romance, and that's probably why it might get nominated over the other episodes. Which is a shame for me because Hang the DJ was ok, but it's not really all that different or thought provoking. I mean, the story is sweet and all and the acting is good, but I like Black Mirror for its grittiness and ability to go all in and not be afraid to risk it all. Hang the DJ felt like an episode I'd watch on any TV show, much like San Junipero (I still wish they had changed the ending to that episode to make it less happy and romantic). 

Maybe upon a rewatch once I finish the season, my feelings will change. 

I also really dislike Crocodile and am debating whether it's worse than the Waldo episode or not. 

[catrox14]

On 12/30/2017 at 10:37 AM, PsychoDrone said:

This episode was complete "meh" for me.  Looked great, but no substance.  There wasn't enough context around the people going to the warehouse and the robot dogs killing them.  Why would they leave their safe space, possibly, to retrieve teddy bears?  Really?!?!  Life and death situations would have a person(s) leave safety to get essentials for life (food, shelter, revolt against unjust system).  NOT to get stuffed animals.  Also, this episode should have been real short.  Where were the other dogs while all this was going on?  They came out of the woodwork at the end.  Why didn't they appear during the chase, even after the one dog was damaged?

 

I was thinking it might be tied to the consciousness downloaded into the Teddy Bear in Black Museum. Maybe they had figured out that there was a warehouse filled with the consciousnesses of their loved ones or it would be the last of humanity essentially and they could store them somewhere out of the eyes of the robot dogs. Just a speculation on my part.

2 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I think why Hang the DJ seems to be getting praise elsewhere is because of the romance story

I'll say this for the episode. I can't get that song out of my head now. LOL

[Jael]

I'm so excited I finished the whole season, mostly because I can now hang out in this thread! Before Black Museum, I was going to say the quality of this season had dropped dramatically from the previous ones, but damn, they knew what they were doing when they put that episode last. USS Callister & Black Museum were head-and-shoulders above the rest, and seeing that one at the end made me feel retrospectively rosy about the whole season, honestly.

But what I mainly wanted to talk about was this: I wonder about Charlie Brooker's writing process, and whether he tends to write characters without gender or race and then either assigns those in a later draft or trusts the casting director to assign the best actor for the role. The casting for this season was exquisite (with the single and extremely distracting exception of Arkangel's "15-year-old Sara", sigh.) Whether it's happening intentionally or not, we're getting a nice broad range of female characters, for example -- from reprehensible murderers like Mia to avenging angels like Nish to the physically and mentally badass Bella in Metalhead. There's no plot-related reason any of those characters needed to be female, right? There's no plot-related reason Aldis Hodge's character in Black Museum or the investigator's husband in Crocodile needed to be black. (Obviously when there are kids involved they pay attention to casting within a plausible racial background, but otherwise, the field seems unusually open.) Which I like. It's great when TV tells stories that draw on a particular background or subculture, but it's also great to just see a more representative range of faces on screen, period.

[ganesh]

I've watched the first three, and I can't say I'm particularly impressed. Maybe the show is a victim of its own success. I try not to nitpick because you can nitpick anything over. I found the first two rather predictable, though Callister was very funny, and I had a hard time suspending my disbelief for the third. I just found the plots to be a little sloppier than I remember. 

I guess I like the episodes that have a larger societal context more.

[Sakura12]

My list would be

USS Callister

Black Museum

Kill the DJ

Arkangel

Crocodile

Metalhead

 

I found Metalhead boring and pointless and Crocodile just was just okay. Although I'm sure actual insurance investigators would love that memory tech.  I wasn't sure about USS Callister at first but then when it ended I loved it. Black Museum was great in showing us all the different tech in one place and I actually didn't mind kill the DJ, I know they use cookies a lot but I enjoyed it. I got the point of Arkangel and could actually seeing parents wanting that when their kid is young and of course abusing that power when they are older. 

[ganesh]

I watched the next two and eh. The idea of the dating algorithm was cool, and for the 'dog', I just really didn't care much because they didn't show much of the larger world. 

On 12/31/2017 at 5:47 PM, Chaos Theory said:

 Watching scenes later you see people actually giving him a wide birth and yes him staring not longingly like someone who wants to belong but menacingly like someone who wants to get even for some unknown reason.

I got that right off the bat so the episode was predictable in terms of the 'reveal'. The supporting cast on the ship really made the episode because they were self aware. 

[Lady Calypso]

So, now that I've seen all six episode, this is where my ranking stands:

1. USS Callister
2. Black Museum
3. Hang the DJ
4. Arkangel
5. Metalhead
6. Crocodile

I'm still debating whether to switch Hang the DJ and Arkangel or not. I liked both episodes and also disliked some of their elements. I think, with Hang the DJ, they should have set the world up more or explained what the dating simulations were. They didn't really do that at the end because they were so focused on the love story for the episode and then the twist in the last minute. I feel like I needed more (which is why I consider San Junipero the better of the two "love story" episodes, because they set that world up better). But Arkangel missed a lot of cues with the mother-daughter relationship, and I felt myself not as invested at times. 

So, I think I'd put both on the same level, though Hang the DJ slightly outranks Arkangel due to my investment and enjoyment of the episode (I really liked the two leads in DJ, while I didn't really care for the mother and wasn't impressed by the actress playing Sara in Arkangel). 

The reason I rank Metalhead above Crocodile because, as boring as Metalhead was, I didn't grumble at my hatred for Bella. She was shrieky, but with good reason, and they did a better job setting some of the elements up than with Crocodile. I could see why Bella was hysterical and I admired her fighting and actually being smart. Plus, the scenery was pretty. More to the point, Metalhead had a point to it....somewhat. Sure, the episode dragged at points and it was really just Bella for the episode with the technology robot dogs, but they tried to go somewhere with the episode. 

Crocodile, on the other hand, pissed me right off because Mia was such a deplorable character. I thought she was going to be a morally grey character, or even an antagonist who I'd feel sorry for, only to have that disappear when she started making really bad and illegal choices. Sure, we started following Shazia for a while, but it felt very boring and it seemed like it was just wasting some time until the two crossed paths. And then everything kept getting worse and Mia kept crying and...yeah, I was pretty much done when I realized there wasn't much there. Black Mirror usually is good at presenting dilemmas, especially with technology, and laying out various choices. Crocodile, for me, didn't do any of that and I left the episode confused as to what the point of the episode was at all. Plus, I was super confused as to why that technology suddenly seemed like it was dated decades ago while the rest of Black Mirror has mostly taken place in the future, near or far. 

Yeah, if there was a legit point to Crocodile like other episodes have had, I must have missed it completely. 

[tennisgurl]

I enjoyed the season overall, and I dont think there were any full on "duds" this year, although it also didn't have something like White Bear or San Junipero that just blew me away. I also thought some of the technology got a bit repetitive (lots of virtual people getting downloaded into stuff this season) but they used it in different ways, so it wasn't super noticeable or annoying. I will say its a slightly more upbeat season than in the past, and if that bothers you, it might be a lesser season for you. Personally, I dont mind a few decent endings mixed in with the depressing ones, it makes the episodes more unpredictable when you arent going "but..." during every episode like Nish in Black Museum. 

1. U.S.S Callister

2. Black Museum 

3. Hang the DJ

4. Arkangel

5. Crocodile 

6. Metalhead. 

[PatternRec]

On 1/1/2018 at 0:42 PM, 17wheatthins said:

Why did so many people dislike Hang the DJ? 

More to the point, why do so many people think it's called Kill The DJ? 

[Miles]

On 20.1.2018 at 6:36 AM, Last Time Lord said:

I’ve heard of Black Mirror, before, but never actually watched it. All I knew going into this is it is an Anthology Series (in the Tales From The Crypt sense, and not the American Horror Story type)

It got a lot less anthology this season. With episodes tying back to previous ones. I recommend you start from the beginning. Most episodes are very good. But be warned, this season is the lightest one by far. The previous ones are a lot darker.

[ganesh]

No endings aren't cut and dried, but I feel the extended time left the overall episode unfocused. 

[CheezyXpressed]

I've noticed that those who started watching the show from season 1 ep 1 tend to dislike the happier moments on the show, like San Junipero and Hang the DJ, while those who watched sporadically or started in season 3 tend to like those ones more.

For myself, I know that I can't stand the happier episodes because it just makes me feel bad about the British PM. He was humiliated, raped, and psychologically tortured and his wife ended up leaving him. If he's not happy, I don't want anyone else to be happy. (That's not really true, I was happy for the girl in saving her father's cookie, but there was enough bad stuff in that episode for it to feel okay)

[romantic idiot]

I love happy endings n everything that I watch but in BM it makes me feel cheated.

[Which Tyler]

I'm going to my favourites list for Black Mirror as a whole, as I have a feeling that Black Museum is Charlie signing off on the program; which I also feel is good timing. Variations of the theme of Cookies have been done to death now, whilst I feel that the Netflix involvement has neutered Black Mirror a little, and then more so this season, whilst also watering down Charlie's personal involvement in his baby.

 

For me, Black Mirror is about showing us a promising new technology that could easily sweep the world, and then showing us what could happen when the law of unintended consequences has its say (especially via human nature).

So, favourite episodes:

2.S White Christmas - everything just goes horribly, horribly wrong as we work our way through the less obvious downsides of Cookie tech.

1.3 Entire History of You - introduces us to the most basic form of what would become a cookie, allows obsessive people to obsess in ever greater detail, and ruin everything in the process

3.3 Shut Up and Dance - shit goes down, getting worse and worse, no particular new tech, but 4chan gets out of control. It helps that I didn't see the twist coming.

2.2 White Bear - just shows the very worst desires for vengeance rather than justice, that gets expressed in cases like this; humans are NOT nice people.

2.1 Be Right Back - I can absolutely see why someone would think this a good idea, and why someone greiving would go with it; it also puts the brakes of the wife's greiving process, which is really not healthy.

4.6 Black Museum - like White Christmas, several stories into one, with tech going horribly wrong, still neutered by a happy ending. When you're showing the worst that can happen (the darkest reflection) happy endings just don't feel right; I've no objection to happy endings, but this is not the show for too many of them.

1.2 15 Million Merits - a really good episode, just taking place in a world that's a bit too different from ours, and a bit too inconceivable to actually happen for me to buy in early on.

3.2 Playtest - I'm sure I'd have enjoyed this more had I been a gamer.

3.4 San Junipero - I enjoyed this, but it's not really Black Mirror

1.1 National Anthem - didn't need much tech, but certainly showed the darker side of human nature.

4.1 USS Callister - unintended for the bad guy maybe, but seems more interested in Star Trek nostalgia and planting Easter Eggs, but still quite enjoyable; just not really Black Mirror.

3.1 Nosedive - it's alright, but not particularly memorable, consequences are a bit minimal

3.5 Men Against Fire - it's interesting, but really doesn't explore the downside of anything much

3.6 Hated in the Nation - decent episode, but nothing that really grabs me, didn't need the last 5 minutes

2.3 Waldo Moment - Just too ridiculous

4.2 Arkangel - too obvious

4.3 Crocodile - pretty straightforward

4.4 Hang the DJ - nothing wrong with it

4.5 Metalhead - they're just getting lazy now

 

There's no bad episodes, they just become less and less like Black Mirror, less and less like Charlie's baby. Those episodes lower down on my list could have come from any other program

Edited March 8, 2018 by Which Tyler

[NutMeg]

As the last two posts hint at other episodes/seasons, I'll jump in because I don't know where else to post this:

After binge watching the first season way back then and watching all of second season in a somewhat timely manner, this first episode has made me not eager to watch the rest of the season. And I know it doesn't make any sense, because each episode is different etc. but this one just didn't resonate enough with me to make me continue watching.

I'm not even sure why I'm posting this - maybe someone will answer that following episodes are much closer to season 1? Or not all in the same vein as this one?

I DO feel ridiculous - I KNOW that each episode is a different ballgame. And still, after the first episode, I couldn't be bothered to watch any other. What gives?   

[Nordly Beaumont]

4 hours ago, NutMeg said:

I'm not even sure why I'm posting this - maybe someone will answer that following episodes are much closer to season 1? Or not all in the same vein as this one?

USS Callister is the one you saw, right? No, the rest are not in that vein. I feel like that one felt different because it had some humor, the rest do not. There is some more Artificial Intelligence in Black Museum, but the story telling there is more comparable to Black Mirror/White Christmas. Honestly, I had to sit here and think to remember the season four episodes. In my opinion season 4 was not as interesting as season 1 or 2 (although I hated 15 Million Merits or Waldo Moment - so if you liked those, pay no attention to me!)

Season 4 wasn't bad - just not as good for me.

[NutMeg]

6 minutes ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

USS Callister is the one you saw, right? No, the rest are not in that vein. I feel like that one felt different because it had some humor, the rest do not. There is some more Artificial Intelligence in Black Museum, but the story telling there is more comparable to Black Mirror/White Christmas. Honestly, I had to sit here and think to remember the season four episodes. In my opinion season 4 was not as interesting as season 1 or 2 (although I hated 15 Million Merits or Waldo Moment - so if you liked those, pay no attention to me!)

Season 4 wasn't bad - just not as good for me.

Thank you. As it happens 15 million and Waldo are among my least favorite too. I'l watch the rest at some stage, for sure, but I right now I'll keep on procrastinating... First time I procrastinate watching rather than by watching, but I guess Black Mirror is unique that way... 

[Lady Calypso]

On 3/9/2018 at 7:44 PM, NutMeg said:

Thank you. As it happens 15 million and Waldo are among my least favorite too. I'l watch the rest at some stage, for sure, but I right now I'll keep on procrastinating... First time I procrastinate watching rather than by watching, but I guess Black Mirror is unique that way... 

I can understand that. Personally, the first time I watched season 4, I liked USS Callister. I haven't given it a second watch so maybe my opinion will have changed, but there are some ok episodes in season 4. Overall, though, the season is definitely not as good as past seasons. 

I guess it depends on what your favourite episodes are. If you liked San Junipero, you'd probably like Hang the DJ. If you like the episodes that really make you think, Black Museum is probably the closest one this season for that (though it's also callback-heavy which can either be fascinating or annoying). 

Honestly, even from only watching the season once, I can't think of any season 4 episodes that are a must-watch, which is different from the last three seasons. Black Museum comes close, but even I don't think that's one that everyone absolutely needs to tune in to see, unlike an episode like White Christmas.

[NutMeg]

8 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I can understand that. Personally, the first time I watched season 4, I liked USS Callister. I haven't given it a second watch so maybe my opinion will have changed, but there are some ok episodes in season 4. Overall, though, the season is definitely not as good as past seasons. 

I guess it depends on what your favourite episodes are. If you liked San Junipero, you'd probably like Hang the DJ. If you like the episodes that really make you think, Black Museum is probably the closest one this season for that (though it's also callback-heavy which can either be fascinating or annoying). 

Honestly, even from only watching the season once, I can't think of any season 4 episodes that are a must-watch, which is different from the last three seasons. Black Museum comes close, but even I don't think that's one that everyone absolutely needs to tune in to see, unlike an episode like White Christmas.

Thanks for the feedback. I will get to watch it all, for sure. But maybe I'm still bummed that season 3 wasn't overall as good for me as season 2, despite still being strong, and that season 2 already engaged me less than season 1. 

It's still an amazingly clever show, and I'm fascinated by stories that take current situations/ trends and bring them to their extremes. So I'll continue watching, just taking a hiatus for now :)  

[CheezyXpressed]

On 3/12/2018 at 7:34 PM, NutMeg said:

Thanks for the feedback. I will get to watch it all, for sure. But maybe I'm still bummed that season 3 wasn't overall as good for me as season 2, despite still being strong, and that season 2 already engaged me less than season 1. 

It's still an amazingly clever show, and I'm fascinated by stories that take current situations/ trends and bring them to their extremes. So I'll continue watching, just taking a hiatus for now :)  

Season 3 has one of my favourite episodes (Shut up and Dance) but I find Season 1 and 2 stronger in the sense that it really showed the downsides of technology. It was bleak and cold, but kind of addictive too. Waldo was horrible though. Season 4 is more in the line of Season 3 in that it feels more happy, which I suppose is a good thing since it provides balance, but it also feels like since the show has gone on Netflix the tone has changed completely. It still has a bleak outlook, but it still feels lighter in some way. I don't really know how to explain it, but that's how I feel. Black Museum was great, but it doesn't hold a candle to White Christmas.

San Junipero and Hang the DJ were some of the more popular episodes, so I expect season five to have another love story there. I'm not really looking forward to that, but it's to be expected.

Judging by your post, I don't know if you'll like this season all that much.

[K42]

I never thought I'd say this about Black Mirror but I honestly hated Season 4. I didn't mind the "optimistic" endings. I just thought the whole season lacked in proper storylines.

[NutMeg]

I wouldn't go as far as to say I hated it, but I agree that season 4 lacked the punch in the gut factor, and is less memorable in general.