# What do you think the best episode of Black Mirror is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2017, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268 "2017-03-29T05:18:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/1 "2017-03-29T05:18:32Z")
…and why is it San Junipero? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/2 "2017-03-29T05:43:16Z")
It’s not “San Junipero” (for which I figured out the plot twist about two minutes in). The answer is either “Be Right Back” or “Shut Up And Dance”, both exploring the very personal aspects of excessive social media connections on the essential privacy of modern lift, albeit in different ways. But all of the _Black Mirror_ stories are some shade of excellent, of lacking the essential optimism or karmic justice of _The Twilight Zone_ from which it takes inspiration. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/3 "2017-03-29T05:55:31Z")
“White bear” for me. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/4 "2017-03-29T05:56:43Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > But all of the _Black Mirror_ stories are some shade of excellent … I agree. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/5 "2017-03-29T07:01:12Z")
Whilst San Junipero was the most enjoyable episode, I don’t see it as “the best example of a Black Mirror episode”. That honour goes to Nosedive. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/6 "2017-03-29T12:04:55Z")
White Christmas is the clear winner for me. Nothing is as scary as total isolation with nothing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/7 "2017-03-29T12:09:17Z")
For millions of (subjective) years, even! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/8 "2017-03-29T12:12:05Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > For millions of (subjective) years, even! Is subjective the right word here? I know what you mean, though. They set the timer at the end to feel like thousands of years. Was it millions? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/9 "2017-03-29T12:24:56Z")
Thousands of subjective years for every real-world minute, and they left it running for the entire Christmas holiday, so…it’ll add up to millions before somebody gets back to the office and turns the thing off. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/10 "2017-03-29T12:54:24Z")
I’ve never really understood why San Junipero is so highly rated. I didn’t hate it by any means but for me it’s not a standout. I’m going to agree with\*\* Mahaloth\*\* about “White Christmas”. I could feel the icy cold, loneliness. Also, my sweet baby, Jon Hamm. “Shut Up and Dance” was pretty tense and the ending gave a satisfying jolt. “The National Anthem” is the most memorable, possibly because it’s the first ep and I was \*not \*prepared for a story like that. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/11 "2017-03-29T13:12:11Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I’ve never really understood why San Junipero is so highly rated. I didn’t hate it by any means but for me it’s not a standout. I’m going to agree with\*\* Mahaloth\*\* about “White Christmas”. I could feel the icy cold, loneliness. Also, my sweet baby, Jon Hamm. > “Shut Up and Dance” was pretty tense and the ending gave a satisfying jolt. “The National Anthem” is the most memorable, possibly because it’s the first ep and I was \*not \*prepared for a story like that. San Junipero has entered into “too much hype” area for me. I watched it last of all episodes and thought it was very nice. “Very nice” is not something we often say for Black Mirror, but it really was. Am I the only one that expected at least one of the girls in San Junipero to be biologically male in the real world and that this episode was going to be about transgender people and the implications of changing gender in a virtual world? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/12 "2017-03-29T13:26:29Z")
White Bear is the only one that suckered me into being disappointed with it, only to then deliver after all. I mean, yeah, full marks for one I enjoyed all the way through, and no marks for one that plods along to an obvious conclusion – but getting me to drop my guard and _then_ eliciting an OH MY GOD, that’s good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/13 "2017-03-29T13:31:59Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > San Junipero has entered into “too much hype” area for me. I watched it last of all episodes and thought it was very nice. “Very nice” is not something we often say for Black Mirror, but it really was. > > Am I the only one that expected at least one of the girls in San Junipero to be biologically male in the real world and that this episode was going to be about transgender people and the implications of changing gender in a virtual world? I hadn’t thought of that but that actually might be better than the actual premise. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/14 "2017-03-29T13:59:53Z")
Easily San Junipero. Not even a question. Next would be White Bear and the Entire History of You, for me. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/15 "2017-03-29T15:21:17Z")
Definitely 15 Million Merits. The satire goes like three levels deep in that one. My opinion on San Junipero is…different. As I wrote in the thread back when it first aired: to me the ending would be a nightmare in the long run. Knowing I was artificial and life would never end would eventually drive me insane. It doesn’t matter how gilded the cage is, It’s still a cage. ETA: White Bear and White Christmas would round out my top three. Although White Christmas is really multiple episodes so it’s kind of cheating. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/16 "2017-03-29T16:29:08Z")
I started watching Black Mirror a couple months ago knowing very little about the series and knowing exactly nothing about any individual episode. Every episode I saw ranked somewhere from like it to like it a lot. Then I saw San Junipero and it blew me away. With no hype at all, I found it to be one of the most, if not \*the \*most, profound and insightful episode of any show I’ve seen. So then I had to go online and check “has everyone seen this!?!?” And sure they have. Who knows, if it had been ultra hyped up before I saw it, it might have totally altered my perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/17 "2017-03-29T16:46:40Z")
I thought the OP was joking about San Junipero…it’s easily the worst episode of the season and battles with pig fucking for worst. episode. ever. I guessed the twist early on, because it’s not a very original story. And the world was even more limited and dull than typical depictions of VR. Ok, now that everyone that previously loved the episode has been converted to my point of view, I bid ye farewell. (oh and white christmas is prob my fav). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/18 "2017-03-29T17:03:08Z")
Dunno where you’re coming from; I picked San Junipero. You could easily make a feature length movie from that, exploring some of the more dark and ambiguous elements. That said, I damn near voted for “Hated in the Nation,” which was excellent, and on a different day it might win out. “The Entire History of You” was also absolutely first rate. “San Junipero” might stand out just because it’s strikingly different. What it doesn’t do as well as it could is enter into true science fiction territory. To me, really good sci fi always asks this question: **How would people change if this technology changed?** The brilliance of “The Entire History of You” is that it presents an answer to that question; if in fact you could replay parts of your life as if you were in them, how would it change people? Relationships? The way society works? It doesn’t have time to explore every avenue of that question, it just concentrates on one relationship, but damn if it doesn’t do it well. “Hated in the Nation” sort of takes that tack as well, as do “Men Against Fire” and “Nosedive.” “San Junipero” brushes against that issue - the Quagmire is seen and mentioned, and implied to be what happens to people if they live a life that lacks consequence, but you don’t see a lot of it or really explore much of it through the main characters. (Its having the same name as the Family Guy character is surely not entirely a coincidence.) But the story is still very solid and moving. The worst episode is, of course, The Waldo Moment. The most disapppointing was Playtest, which looked like it was going to become a really interesting exploration of the nature of fear, and then just gave up. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/19 "2017-03-29T17:51:51Z")
I was lucky enough to discover _Black Mirror_ when it first came on in the UK, having been a fan of Charlie Brooker already. I watched “The National Anthem” first, by myself, in the dark, and it totally fucked me up! Really I was deeply concerned about the constant threat of animal abuse but then I started thinking about how this could totally happen. The Internet is insane! The media is insane! Oh gaaaaaawd that poor pig! And there was nobody to talk about it with me because nobody around here had seen it yet and I had to tamp tamp tamp it down and get over it and then finish the series because damn that story was good. Anyway, I don’t see how or why “San Junipero” stands out so much but at least people are finally watching _Black Mirror_ and I don’t have to be alone anymore. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268/20 "2017-03-29T18:08:51Z")
I agree that “San Junipero” is a great one, but “White Bear” edges it out. Whenever someone says, “Have fun,” I still shudder. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-the-best-episode-of-black-mirror-is/783268.md?page=2)