With its twisted tales, Black Mirror has made a mark as a show. It digs into the darker side of technology, and every episode is about a different, mind-bending story. It will urge you to think long after you have finished watching it.
The hidden clues and unexpected plot twists keep viewers on the edge of their seats. It started in 2011 and explored themes like virtual reality and the effects of social media. Some of the episodes of Black Mirror get pretty intense with the strangest stories.
Black Mirror mixes sci-fi with real-world problems, making it even more disturbing because of how relevant it feels. It’s the kind of show that makes you wonder about the future portrayed in the show and if we are heading in that direction. This is exactly what keeps fans coming back for more.
Here are the top 11 most disturbing episodes of Black Mirror.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from various episodes of Black Mirror. Also, it reflects the author’s opinion. Reader discretion is advised.
Top 11 most disturbing Black Mirror episodes, ranked
1) Shut Up And Dance - Season 3 Episode 3
This is your episode if you want something to send chills down your spine. The Shut Up And Dance episode of Black Mirror is disturbing from the beginning until the end, especially because it is about a 19-year-old boy caught in a nightmare scenario.
Kenny starts receiving blackmailing texts that compel him to carry out mysterious tasks. We learn that his laptop gets hacked, and the blackmailers threaten to send a particular video of his to his contacts. Eventually, he realizes that he is not the only one caught in that situation.
We do not get to know until later, when he completes his final task of fighting someone to death, that he was forced to carry out those dangerous tasks because the hackers caught him in a compromising situation and had it recorded. Kenny was watching something illegal, and we learn that he is a pedophile. This is one of the most disturbing Black Mirror episodes because of how intense and dark the plot is.
2) The National Anthem - Season 1 Episode 1
This Black Mirror episode is about what a British prime minister must endure to save someone’s life. The royal family princess is kidnapped, and the minister must carry out one task to save her. The prime minister has to get intimate with a pig on live television.
But what the minister and the viewers do not know is that the princess was released just thirty minutes before the minister carried out the task. Hence, The National Anthem is one of the most disturbing episodes of Black Mirror.
3) White Christmas - Special (2014)
White Christmas is set in a cabin where two men, Joe and Matt, have lived together for five years without really talking to each other. When they finally begin sharing their stories, nothing is the same again.
Matt shares that he was virtually tracking someone and how a murder-suicide got him in the cabin. He also shares about his former job where he was creating “cookies” or people’s digital copies to turn them into personal assistants. These copies or clones were contained in an egg, and years are just a matter of moments for them. Joe shares that he killed his ex-girlfriend’s father and froze her daughter to death.
But what makes this episode creepy? The biggest plot twist is that Joe is a cookie, and Matt is trying to get testimony from Joe regarding the murders.
4) Arkangel - Season 4 Episode 2
This popular episode of Black Mirror is about Marie, the mother of a young girl, Sara. Arkangel is a company selling a certain kind of chip that can track the user, record memories, and censor things that increase their heart rate while maintaining their health data. Marie resorts to this company to keep a watch over her daughter. However, she becomes obsessed with the company, and her daughter’s mental health is affected.
This episode's most messed up part is when Sara tries to kill her mother. She beats her mother, resulting in her becoming unconscious and bloody. Hence, this episode explores the darker side of overprotective parenting and the invasion of a child’s privacy.
5) Joan Is Awful - Season 6, Episode 1
This episode is about a woman who discovers that actual events from her life are being made into a show on a global platform like Netflix called Streamberry. With occasional dark humor, the episode mellows down the surprising blows, but you still cannot anticipate it, and it will creep you off-guard.
The woman’s life is obviously ruined after the incident, as she has no more privacy. Her deepest secrets are being laid out in the open. So, she finds a way to stop the corporation that's ruining everything for her.
This episode reminds us how technology can invade one’s private space and make life a nightmare in an instant, making it one of the most disturbing episodes of Black Mirror.
6) White Bear - Season 2, Episode 2
This episode starts abruptly. Victoria experiences memory loss and only has a few flashbacks. She leaves her house and notices how strangely quiet the town is. Also, everyone is filming her. Suddenly, a disguised man with a shotgun begins chasing after her. Victoria is being hunted, and she has no clue why until she is exposed as someone with a criminal history. She had been an accessory to murder.
This episode challenges the idea of societal justice and explores how society seemingly derives pleasure from punishment. Hence, this episode is another one of the most disturbing episodes of Black Mirror.
7) Nosedive - Season 3, Episode 1
Imagine a world where people can rate each other based on interactions. It sounds like Instagram or Facebook, where you are judged by the number of followers. Well, how about if your socioeconomic status and life were judged based on these ratings? That’s what this episode explores.
It explores how people can stoop to get a good rating and shows how others' judgment can cause people to suffer. It is a nightmarish possibility that will force you to think.
It takes social validation to the next level and highlights the problems such a scenario could create.
8) Black Museum - Season 4, Episode 6
The Black Museum episode is about a museum with futuristic artifacts and criminal ties. The curator of the museum is a man named Rolo. He is visited by a young woman called Nish, who learns about those artifacts. There is a disturbing story behind each of the artifacts, one of which replays the last moments of the life of an innocent man.
As they come to the last one, Nish sees a hologram of her father, who was charged with murder and eventually executed. In a twist of events, Nish electrocutes Rolo just like her father, Clayton.
Black Museum is one of the most disturbing episodes of Black Mirror.
9) Hated In The Nation - Season 3, Episode 6
This disturbing Black Mirror episode is about the pitfalls of online bullying. It features several horrifying deaths of people who are supposedly the most hated. A hacker discovers a way to program robotic insects to finish off people who have used a certain hashtag, "#DeathTo," online.
Later, we learn that the hacker’s real targets are bullies who are spreading mass hatred and instigating online mob culture. So, the technology he programs is a way to stop the spread of hatred.
10) Crocodile - Season 4, Episode 3
Crocodile explores the possibilities of A.I. In the episode, A.I. has a memory. It can not just recall but also store them. As intriguing as it may sound, it has a downside to it. Any memory can be accessed and exposed. In the episode, an insurance investigator uses this technology to examine a person’s memories after a car accident. This leads her to Mia, who has her dark secrets.
However, when exposed, Mia has to kill both the investigator and the family, which includes an innocent newborn. With raw and gritty violence, this episode is one of the most disturbing episodes of Black Mirror.
11) Playtest - Season 3, Episode 2
This video game episode of Black Mirror is about a man who runs out of money and is stuck in London. There’s also a journalist with him. He signs up for a psychological horror game that uses augmented reality to make money. He promises the journalist that he will send him pictures.
Then, he is taken to a place and has to wear a headband. However, things take a dark turn when he realizes that he is trapped in an endless nightmare.
There was no clue when he was back in the real world. The most shocking moment is when his phone rings and he is killed by its interference. We learn that he was supposed to obey the rule of switching his phone off, but he didn’t, and so he faced such a disturbing end. Hence, this is one of the most disturbing episodes of Black Mirror.
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