This Monday, July 3rd, Black Mirror is hosting a special France 2 evening featuring 6 episodes of Netflix’s flagship anthology series.
First broadcast on Channel 4 between 2011 and 2014, this dystopian fiction offering twists in today’s society and a critique of the relationship between humanity and technology has gained international recognition thanks to its release on Netflix.
The platform has also produced Black Mirror since 2016 and released season 6 a few weeks ago. To surf the event, France 2 offers this Monday from 21:10 the six most emblematic episodes of the series created by Charlie Brooker.
Virtual Hate (Season 3, Episode 6)
A series of bloody murders put people at the center of a “bad buzz” in the British media. The police, tasked with finding the culprit, discover his new weapon, but above all his motives.
Why not miss it?
This visionary episode from Kelly MacDonald, Faye Marsay and Benedict Wong sees a mysterious hacker drone transform bees into weapons to kill people at the center of a bad British media frenzy.
In this episode, Charlie Brooker offers a critique of the “cancellation culture” and draws our attention to the very real death threats that some people can receive because of what they say on social networks, which are now virtual courts for the slightest mistake. Some Internet users may be violently reprimanded.
A topic that particularly concerns the creator and screenwriter of Black Mirror, as he himself had to face a similar problem after the publication of one of his articles in The Guardian in 2004, in which he called for the assassination of George W. Bush. Then he became the number one enemy of the entire nation. A difficult experience for Charlie Brooker, who influenced the script of this episode.
Free Fall (Season 3, Episode 1)
We are a society governed by personal popularity, where each person rates others from 0 to 5, and those with higher ratings have access to better services. Les (Bryce Dallas Howard) lives only to improve his 4.2 rating and is willing to do anything to get his dream apartment.
When his high-status childhood friend asks him to be his best man, Les sees an opportunity to improve his class and achieve his dreams.
Why not miss it?
Set in a near future where people’s socioeconomic status is tied to their ranking, “Chute Libre” follows a young woman who finds her life turned into a living hell after an accident causes her ranking to degrade.
Suggested in 2016, this prophetic episode saw its brief summary, which we thought was purely fictional, when in 2020 China created a social credit system where citizens and companies are rated.
Lowering the note can lead to a ban on train or plane travel or even the purchase of real estate. Charlie Brooker has once again shown his talent for predicting the future.
The Crocodile (Season 4, Episode 3)
As Robbie and Mia drive home after a drunken night out, Robbie crashes into a bicyclist on the road, killing him instantly. He manages to convince Mia to help him dispose of the body in a nearby lake.
Fifteen years later, Mia, who has become a famous architect, happily married and the mother of a child, has gone to a conference. Robbie, sober for several months, visits her at his hotel and shows her a newspaper clipping that mentions a cyclist whose wife is still convinced she will find him alive.
Will Mia be able to hide her terrible secret when Shazia, an insurance investigator, knocks on her door and collects recent memories of a nearby accident?
Why not miss it?
Inspired by the Scandinavian noir genre, “Crocodile” is a psychological thriller often criticized for its violence. This episode, whose title refers to the expression ‘Crocodile Tears’, once again proves the creator’s knack for offering shocking and disturbing endings.
Through this story, Charlie Brooker reminds us once again that people will do anything to hide their darkest secrets. The episode is also often considered one of the most violent in the series.
USS Callister (Season 4, Episode 1)
On the USS Callister, Space Fleet Captain Robert Daly leads the crew of his starship with a firm and fair fist. The captain and his crew hunt their nemesis, the barbarian Waldak, across the galaxy.
In the real world, Robert Dahl is the creator of the online video game Infinity, created by the company he founded, Callister Inc., but is despised by his co-workers. A new employee, Nanette Cole, takes her first steps at Callister, impressed by Delhi’s coding skills.
Why not miss it?
Both a parody of Star Trek and a story of feminist emancipation, USS Callister plays with the codes of science fiction with space opera, hosted by the brilliant Jesse Plemons (Fargo) and with nods to similar classics.
Unlike other episodes of Black Mirror, this incredibly colorful and fun episode offers an unexpected ending where the villain of the story must face the consequences of his actions. A little nugget not to be missed!
San Junipero (Season 3, Episode 4)
York arrives in the seaside town of San Junipero in 1987. A shy young woman befriends Kelly, a party girl and a powerful bond that seems to defy the laws of space and time.
San Junipero is actually a virtual reality system for elderly people who can test (maximum 5 hours per week) before uploading their minds after death.
Why not miss it?
Almost 7 years after its release, “San Junipero” remains one of the most iconic episodes of Black Mirror. Apart from “Hang the DJ”, this is one of the only opus in the series that has a happy ending, technology is not seen here as an enemy of society and people, but as a means of self and emancipation. Live the dream life.
With its heart-wrenching story, this episode deals with themes of death, the afterlife and love like no other TV episode. If he had to pick just one, this would definitely be it.
Hang the DJ (Season 4, Episode 4)
In the near future, at a time when social networks are more important than ever, modes of meeting the ideal partner have evolved. Frank and Amy, in their thirties, participate in a dating system where every relationship has a start and end date.
They interact through an interactive screen that allows them to talk to their virtual coach who guides them. The app estimates and sets the relationship time, which cannot be changed. So Frank and Amy get to know each other and discover they will only be together for 12 hours.
Why not miss it?
Another incredibly vivid episode of Black Mirror, “Hang the Dj” follows two characters played by Georgina Campbell and Joe Cole who rely on artificial intelligence to find love.
If they fall in love immediately, they find that their relationship only has to last 12 hours. After this disappointment, they will live on their side of the arranged relationship while fighting for each other.
Eventually, the two decide to go against the system and escape the virtual world they are trapped in. Upbeat and romantic, this episode ends with the two characters meeting for real.
However, you’ll have to stay up very late to catch Black Mirror episode 6, as the last of the evening airs on Tuesday, July 4 at 3.15pm.
Shame on viewers who wanted to discover this series that continues to be talked about. However, it’s worth noting that all six seasons of Black Mirror are available to stream on Netflix.
Source: Allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
