The Entire History of You White Christmas Shut Up and Dance San Junipero White Bear Be Right Back Nosedive Fifteen Million Merits Playtest The National Anthem Men Against Fire Hated in the Nation The Waldo Moment Probably my list. Top few and bottom few are easier picks than the mid section.
I think throughout Shut Up and Dance I kept thinking, there has to be more to what's going on that just this, and I was wrong, there was nothing more.
Well there was more. It just sucked. When your big twist is saying to your audience, "Remember that scared little kid you rooted for all episode. Well, fuck you he was a pedophile all along," it's not exactly rewarding storytelling.
Cause even by Black Mirror's horribly cynical standards, it was hopelessly bleak. It was just too much.
1. San Junipero 2. White Christmas 3. Fifteen Million Merits 4. The National Anthem 5. White Bear 6. Be Right Back 7. Hated In The Nation 8. The Entire History of You 9. Nosedive 10. Playtest 11. Men Against Fire 12. Shut Up and Dance 13. The Waldo Moment
For me it wasn't the bleakness, it just felt pointless in an annoying way, the other two had more impact on me
Technology has nothing to do with my feelings on it, I just simply thought the conclusion/reveal/etc wasn't good
Shut Up and Dance was intense, and it held my attention the entire time, but I'm conflicted about the reveal. Something about it just felt a bit sloppy, to say nothing of its bleakness. Like someone in here said, it was just too much. San Junipero, on the other hand, was just magnificent. An incredible feat of hour-long storytelling.
I didn't find the reveal in Shut Up and Dance to be that shocking, me and my girlfriend both guessed why he was going to such great lengths to try and keep the secret. I just felt like it played out very well and I loved how bleak the episode was and how simple the premise was.
I just didn't find anything about Shut Up and Dance to be particularly compelling. I didn't like the characters, you can guess what the endgame is early on and the show drags its heels on the way there, the idea that somebody is capable of orchestrating this whole thing seems a bit silly, and the episode didn't seem to have a point. The payoff didn't make the episode worth it, in my opinion.
The payoff is probably a top 5 moment of the entire series to me and I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable and engaging throughout. I can see why that one's so divisive though. It's pretty one note, predictable and simple compared to most BM episodes.
I'm disappointed I don't see alot of people talking about Hated in the Nation. I thought it was easily the 2nd best episode of the season behind San Junipero and I kind of want it to be it's own show. When it comes to episode protagonists on Black Mirror, I think Parke and Blue are my favorite of the whole series.
I liked HITN a lot but honestly felt like the extended running time hurt it. It was the only episode of the season where I wasn't really engaged the entire time. There were a few parts where it felt like it dragged for me.
I liked Hated In The Nation a lot. I agree it probably didn't need to be 90 minutes but I thought it dragged less than some of the other episodes from this season.