Black Mirror season four is a mixed bag of hit-and-miss episodes

Black Mirror’s fourth season has made its way to Netflix, but is it a worthy follow-up to it predecessors?

The best way to experience the weird and wonderful show is to binge-watch – and that’s surprisingly easy to do.

There are only six stories in its latest season, so the feat isn’t too strenuous; especially when the episodes are varied, consistently engaging, and most importantly original.

Sadly, season four doesn’t always deliver on what its former anthologies have, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have moments of brilliance. Half a dozen hour-long instalments (bar an extended finale) offer up a collection of superb to the mundane – yet it’s always compelling to see unfold.

USS Callister – episode 1

Things kick off in adventurous fashion (read more on its nerd culture vibes here) with USS Callister – a Star Trek pastiche that gets the satirical vibe of a Shatner era Trekkie story just right, while using that nostalgic approach to tell a futuristic sci-fi story. As with most BM episodes, things quickly turn out to be anything other than what they seem on the surface.

Black Mirror’s sinister undertones burst through after a particularly jovial introduction. But the gloss and Star Trek throwback all mainly show; constructed with unabashed emphasis on recreating a cultural iconic show of the past. Soon things begin to unravel and turn into a never-ending prison for our character who find themselves trapped in a nightmare scenario. And it’s these garish situations of slipping into an unwakeable dream or being stuck in your own subconscious that’s truly terrifying.

Rating: 8

Arkangel – episode 2

Jodie Foster’s at the helm for an interesting tale of sci-fi drama (read more opinion on its brilliance here) that stems from the worried mind of a parent. After her young daughter, Sara, goes missing, Marie takes drastic steps to protect her from future mishaps. Playing on the insecurities and overbearing worry of parenthood, this bears an engaging if predictable narrative whereby Sara’s implanted with technology that allows her movements to be monitored, visual filters to be applied, and an ability to see through her eyes via a tablet. Sort of an advanced drone – only the drone is inside the head of its patient.

Cut to several years in the future, and Sara is a teen. Her paranoid mum has turned off the monitoring device but, one night, curiosity gets the better of her. Cue an invasive, peeping Tom story that tests the pair’s mother-daughter bond and has some disastrous and shocking results for both parties.

Rating: 7

Crocodile – episode 3

An innocuous night out sees Mia (Andrea Riseborough) and Rob (Andrew Gower) running a cyclist over and dumping his body. Years later and the pair no longer speak, but despite the former forging a successful career as an architect, Rob turns up burdened by the guilt of that night.

What happens next is engulfed by a powerful theme of self preservation; someone that’ll stop at nothing to protect their new life, career, and reputation they’ve built. It’s often shocking and violent as events spiral out of control to an enormous extent. Its end product is hideous, with all the intensity of a thriller throughout.

Rating: 6

Hang the DJ – episode 4

Arguably the season’s best episode (click here for full discussion), there’s a lot to like about this tale of finding love and the monotonous process of dating and engaging in short term relationships. In a time where dating is a life consuming experience that relies on AI determining who pairs up with whom and for how long, each ‘relationship’ is an exercise to gather information in order to eventually find ‘the one’. Or in theory, at least.

Amy (Georgina Campbell) and Frank (Joe Cole) are selected to date. They hit it off, but are only given a few hours together. As each goes their separate way to date other people, something is drawing them back together. Will they or won’t they get together is one of a number of questions thrown our way, while giving us plenty of twists and turns. Totally relatable to anyone who has been or is using dating apps; it’s this year’s San Junipero, for sure.

Rating: 9

Metalhead – episode 5

Possibly season four’s least engaging and, dare it be said, worst episode. Filmed in black and white feels unnecessary and kind of pretentious and a weak story doesn’t do much to save it. Essentially this is a drawn out cat and mouse chase, whereby Bella (Maxine Peake) and two others cautiously enter a warehouse to retrieve something of value. Things naturally go awry, resulting in Bella fleeing for her life.

In the context of Black Mirror, some elements of this work. Set in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Scottish Moors is a nice change of pace, but the lack of incident and development during the impending 50 or so minutes is disappointing. Its climax is also uneventful if not poignant.

Rating: 5

Black Museum – episode 6

Ending on a high note (see some in-depth reasons here) is the season’s longest instalment.

Nish pulls over, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, and up to an old, isolated building. Museum proprietor Rolo Haynes greets her. He’s a former skilled inventor who, after losing his high profile career, now displays his artefacts for paying customers.

Black Museum offers a series of stories that appear to connect all episodes into the BM universe. While the first two featured horror tales are strong – one focuses on a doctor that can tap into patients’ minds to diagnose them quicker; the other centring on a comatose woman whose consciousness is transferred to her boyfriend’s head – it’s the final one that stands out. Clever and twisted (in more ways than one), we end on a fine note and one that’s not all doom and gloom after addressing notions of racism and revenge.

Rating: 8

Seasons 1-4 of Black Mirror are available to stream on Netflix now.

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