Spoiler Alert: The next accommodates a spoiler from Season 7 of Black Mirror
Black Mirror will not be a present for the weak. The Netflix anthology collection explores how technological advances could be a unhealthy factor for society, and this new season of Black Mirror explores these new advances and tamer subjects, akin to film making, altering actuality on a whim, and treating mind surgical procedure expertise as a cellphone plan. Nonetheless, Black Mirror is not only a thriller style, as explored in different seasons and episodes, however somewhat, Black Mirror typically explores heavy topics of grief, dying, and loss, amongst different subjects.
Nearly each season has had a very bleak episode, reminding viewers that Black Mirror is commonly a dystopia, not at all times having a cheerful ending. With that, let’s rank the saddest episodes from all seven seasons to this point of this enthralling Netflix collection.
13
“The Nationwide Anthem”
Season 1, Episode 1
The episode that began all of it, “The Nationwide Anthem” is each gross and very unhappy on the identical time. Right here, Princess Susannah (Lydia Wilson), the daughter of the Prime Minister of England, Michael Callow (Rory Kinnear) has been kidnapped. The ransom for getting her again? The Prime Minister should carry out an “indecent” act on nationwide tv.
Whereas the episode is tough to look at, it’s additionally profoundly unhappy to look at England’s Prime Minster stoop to such a deplorable degree simply to get his daughter again. It begs the everlasting query: “How far would you go to get the one you love again? In “The Nationwide Anthem,” the reply to that query is deeply miserable.
12
“15 Million Deserves”
Season 1, Episode 2
“15 Million Deserves” follows Bing (Daniel Kaluuya) as he lives in a technologically superior world the place he and plenty of others journey stationary bikes to generate electrical energy. This results in Bing and different staff incomes deserves, a type of foreign money on this dystopian society. Nonetheless, in the future he meets a girl named Abi (Jessica Brown Findlay) and buys her a ticket to “Scorching Shot.”
From starting to finish, “15 Million Deserves” is a bleak world. Life is at all times the identical, and freedom hardly exists for folks. The one method to stand up on this planet is to turn out to be well-known. Nonetheless, the saddest second of “15 Million Deserves” is when Abi is profitable on stage, however the actuality that she and Bing stay in is so dismal and hopeless that the one method she will be able to rise to the highest is by becoming a member of a pornography website known as WraithBabes. It’s a heartbreaking realization that she will be able to solely be one thing due to her look.
11
“Joan Is Terrible”
Season 6, Episode 1
Think about, for a second, that you simply do one thing in your life that isn’t seen in one of the best of sunshine. Then, while you awake the following day, you discover that deplorable act remodeled right into a actuality present that everybody can see. That’s the principle premise of “Jone Is Terrible,” wherein Joan Tait (Annie Murphy) is on the mercy of a streaming service that, in near-real time, turns her life right into a less-than-glamorous actuality present starring TV Joan (Salme Hayek).
On the floor, “Joan Is Terrible” isn’t significantly a “miserable” episode, however that is the place you need to look deeper to search out the unhappy nature of our present leisure panorama, one which glorifies one’s misfortunes for the amusement of a mass viewers; and that, in itself, makes “Joen Is Terrible” a tragic episode to look at.
10
“Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too”
Season 5, Episode 3
Miley Cyrus stars on this Black Mirror episode, enjoying the position of Ashley O, a well-known pop star. Nonetheless, after her aunt (who can be her producer) learns that Ashley is planning on suing her, Ashley is put right into a coma attributable to a drug overdose. After months of being in a coma, Ashley’s consciousness — in-built a mini robotic — is woke up in one of many thousands and thousands of manufactured Ashley Too dolls.
“Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too” is a enjoyable Black Mirror episode stuffed with plenty of humor. Nonetheless, as soon as Jack and Rachel arrive at Ashley’s house and wake her up from her coma, Ashley freaks out as she is approached by a safety guard who is ready to return her to her comatose state. It’s the panic assault she experiences, strapped all the way down to a mattress, feeling fatigued and foggy, realizing that her life is threatened, that makes this scene unhappy. For a long time, Ashley has been under tight watch and compelled to sing underneath her aunt’s contract. Her life was threatened consequently, simply because she wished some leeway in her music.
9
“Males In opposition to Fireplace”
Season 3, Episode 5
“Males In opposition to Fireplace” performs with the concept of augmented actuality — by way of MASS — that alters one’s actuality. Stripe (Malachi Kirby) is a part of the army that kills harmful humanoid creatures known as roaches. Stripe ultimately discovers that the roaches are precise people that the army is killing off.
This realization in itself is especially harrowing, because the viewers learns in a short time that Stripe — and different troopers — have been committing mass genocide on a big scale. Because of the actuality being warped, viewers discover out that there’s zero mercy being given to those people, which makes for a horrifying and solemn actuality in Black Mirror.
8
“Loch Henry”
Season 6, Episode 2
“Loch Henry” follows two movie college students, Pia (Myha’la Herrold) and her boyfriend Davis (Samuel Blenkin), throughout their travels to Davis’ hometown in Scotland. They’ve plans to work on a movie venture there. Nonetheless, after studying a few serial killer that plagues that city, Pia decides to alter the movie venture.
Whereas “Lock Henry” was an fascinating, adrenaline-rushing episode that examined a small-town crime, it entered darkish territory quick. Pia finally ends up dying after studying Davis’ mom is the true serial killer. This leaves Davis alone, and on the finish of the episode, he carries a solemn expression. “Loch Henry” may not have been the saddest episode, however realizing that on the finish — even via the success — Davis was finally traumatized makes for an sad finish.
7
“Past the Sea”
Season 6, Episode 3
“Past the Sea” follows astronauts in an alternate universe in 1969. Cliff (Aaron Paul) and David (Josh Hartnett) stay bodily on a spaceship; nonetheless, their consciousness could be transferred to synthetic our bodies again on Earth, the place they will stay life and be with their households.
The episode instantly begins as unhappy, as David — a seemingly sort man who loves his household — loses them for no purpose aside from these considering his second physique (the bogus one) is an abomination. It’s a tragic starting, and the horror solely continues. David, regardless of being lent Cliff’s synthetic physique, murders Cliff’s family when he is forbidden from returning to his physique. All the episode was tragic from starting to finish, ending with the 2 males dwelling alone collectively in area in heartache and grief.
6
“Smithereens”
Season 5, Episode 2
“Smithereens” follows rideshare driver Chris Gillhaney (Andrew Scott) as he picks up Smithereen worker Jaden, although he isn’t conscious that Jaden is just an intern. Nonetheless, regardless of this, Chris holds Jaden hostage in a discipline with police surrounding him. His solely demand is to talk to Smithereen CEO Billy Bauer (Topher Grace) simply to inform his story of social community dependancy and the way it killed his fiancée.
Though viewers aren’t fairly certain why Chris needs to talk to Billy at first, it turns into clear when Chris confesses to killing his fiancée in a automotive accident when checking his Smithereen account. The entire confession is unhappy; Scott’s guilt and grief shine via on this efficiency, because it’s exhausting to not cry or really feel unhappy for Chris.
5
“Be Proper Again”
Season 2, Episode 1
Martha (Hayley Atwell) has misplaced her boyfriend, Ash (Domhnall Gleeson), as a consequence of a automotive accident. She is left to grieve alone, remoted of their house within the countryside that they’d simply moved into. Martha then joins a program that permits her to speak along with her deceased boyfriend by way of cellphone, after which receives a synthetic physique that’s an almost-perfect equivalent clone.
In “Be Proper Again,” Martha learns that regardless of how a lot this synthetic being appears like her associate, it’s not actually him. There are lacking items, like how Ash would react to sure eventualities — like fights — and an absence of emotion, like concern or love. At this second, Martha realizes this might by no means actually be Ash, and “Be Proper Again” turns into unhappy. Martha is aware of that Ash is actually gone, and nothing can convey him again.
4
“San Junipero”
Season 3, Episode 4
“San Junipero” explores a world the place expertise may create a digital afterlife the place the consciousnesses of the deceased and aged are uploaded. Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked) are two people of many which are visiting San Junipero.
Though Kelly decides to stay with Yorki eternally, Kelly is initially reluctant. Kelly’s husband determined to skip out on San Junipero as a result of their daughter died younger earlier than San Junipero was created. It’s a tragic trade between Kelly and Yorki, as Yorki clearly loves Kelly and wish to spend the remainder of her life in digital actuality along with her. However Kelly — out of guilt — believes she ought to observe the identical destiny as her husband and daughter, who couldn’t stay out their lives eternally.
3
“Frequent Folks”
Season 7, Episode 1
The Season 7 opener, “Frequent Folks,” is likely one of the sadder episodes in the complete collection, taking one thing that’s commonplace in our actuality and twisting it right into a romantic tragedy of the best order. “Frequent Folks follows a married couple, Amanda (Rashida Jones) and Mike (Chris O’Dowd), the latter of whom collapses in-front in her classroom and is identified with a mind tumor. Determined to maintain her alive, Mike indicators Amanda as much as Rivermind, a breakthrough medical process that retains the thoughts going whereas the physique fails. Nonetheless, because the episode progresses, the couple finds that this “miracle” will not be what it appears.
“Frequent Folks” follows a Shakessperian-like vibe, with an ending that may rip your coronary heart out and break you for days. It’s a typical Black Mirror episode that conjures up hope and rips it away in probably the most miserable and brutal method doable.
2
“Black Museum”
Season 4, Episode 6
“Black Museum” follows Nish (Letitia Wright), a younger lady who visits the Black Museum in a distant location. Underneath the informative steerage of Rolo (Douglas Hodge), Nish learns about a number of museum artifacts with a darkish previous. Then Rolo reveals her a holographic felony, Clayton (Babs Olusanmokun): the unique Clayton was sentenced to dying. Guests can repeat Clayton’s execution with this holograph, although he by no means dies. This holograph captured every thing about Clayton, together with aware reactions.
“Black Museum” is a really darkish episode. The saddest half is when the viewers learns about Clayton. Finally, the one guests to come back by the museum have been sadists who wished to look at Clayton undergo, resulting in Clayton’s hologram dwelling in a vegetative state. This itself is a tragic and depressing expertise, particularly since it’s revealed on this episode that Clayton may need been harmless.
1
“White Christmas”
Season 2, Episode 4
“White Christmas” follows two males — Joe (Rafe Spall) and Matt (Jon Hamm) — who share their tales. When Joe shares his, he reveals that he left his daughter — who was finally not his biologically — alone when he murdered her grandfather, thus leaving her to die as she ventures out into the chilly by herself on Christmas Day.
The saddest half about this episode doesn’t contain Joe or Matt; it entails Joe’s daughter, who was left on their lonesome after her grandfather died. In an try to get assist, she left the house throughout a snowstorm and obtained caught in it, finally freezing to dying. The poor woman — who did nothing flawed — watched her grandfather get murdered, after which she suffered to dying, being left all by herself.
