Another year, another season of Black Mirror. To no one’s surprise, the Netflix original series came out swinging once again with gut-punching, hair-pulling musings on technology, the future, and prospects they may contain. Following suit, this season of Black Mirror imagines a futuristic world filled with the same terrifying trinkets as previous episodes, but with some fresh faces to sample them and contemporary and trademark cynical twists to match.
This season’s terror is not defined by or derived from the previous season’s events but instead forages an equally horrifying reputation through the pieces of reality contained in the episodes. Black Mirror is often praised for the social commentary it makes on technology, social interaction, and even politics. This season takes it a step further and rolls out episodes that ground extraordinary technology within striking realism, making this season chilling for even the most avid fans. Season four of Black Mirror does not spare you the gory details, and I have been grappling with whether it was for better or worse.
While the sensibility of the real world hanging over one’s shoulder gives the newest season a cutting edge, it also has its drawbacks. The realistic aspects of these episodes give the season less of a fantastical feel than previous seasons of the show.
Not only that, but this season reuses some of the concepts and technology from previous seasons, making the premises start off feeling a little weak and watered down, being that we have already seen this technology and we have also already seen the ways it can go awry. “More of the same” appears to be the phrase I’m looking for when describing season 4 of Black Mirror. Nonetheless, the creators still have a few surprises up their sleeves and manage to put fresh spins on past concepts, giving each episode the sinister undertone of anxiety we have come to know, love, and fear.
As with any show, some of the episodes in this season are weaker than others; but overall, there are no bad episodes. Each episode is crafted with so much care and attention to detail that the product simply speaks for itself. The cinematography is exquisite and the perfect backdrop to whatever outrageous story is unfolding before us. The direction in each episode is original, concise, and quickly weaves the twisted tale in an easy-to-follow, hard-to-forget fashion, making this series one of the best in television.
This follow up stands alone as a piece of masterful direction and storytelling, but when put up against its predecessors, seems to fall a bit flat. While that statement speaks more to the quality of previous seasons than it does to that of the newest, it’s still worth stating.
Season 4 is a whirlwind, not for the faint of heart, but that’s nothing new. If you’re debating whether or not to give this new season a shot, it’s most definitely worth its runtime, and then some. All the horror of the previous seasons, in a more gritty and realistic format. Watchers beware, rejoice, cower, and enjoy.
