10 Best Hard Sci-Fi Episodes of ‘Black Mirror’

The British anthology series, Black Mirror, has presented a number of sci-fi episodes, from lighthearted stories about human connection to chilling explorations of the dark side of technology. Each episode tells its own standalone story, often commenting on aspects of modern society with a shocking twist at the end, with technology at the center of the plot. The series first premiered in 2011 and later moved to Netflix, starting in its third season in 2016. Black Mirror was created by Charlie Brooker, who has also written many of its episodes across six seasons – with a seventh on its way.

While most episodes of Black Mirror typically fall under the umbrella of soft sci-fi, which focuses on soft sciences such as psychology or political science or focuses on human emotion over science, some do come close to presenting hard sci-fi, which focuses on the science behind the technology and stories. The show’s episodes are often set in the not-too-distant future and present fascinating and useful technological developments, with stories exploring the way those advances can be used for evil rather than good. In Black Mirror’s best hard sci-fi episodes, technology is a crucial element of the plot, and they could not be told without it. There’s always the unnerving sense that what the audience is seeing isn’t all that far from becoming reality.

10 ‘Shut Up and Dance’

Season 3, Episode 3

A teenager was blackmailed in “Shut Up and Dance” after hackers accessed his laptop and obtained a compromising video of him. At first, he was forced to carry out tasks that were random and a little bizarre, but soon escalated to the criminal. He and another victim of the hackers, who had cheated on his wife, joined forces. The episode’s twist ending revealed the teen wasn’t the victim he appeared to be.

While the technology in Black Mirror was typically from the future, whether the distant or not-too-distant, “Shut Up and Dance” very much felt like it could happen now; its plot centered around hacking and computer viruses. The episode was a slow burn, as it took its time building towards the main plot, and out of all the series’ episodes, it felt possible, if not likely, to happen.

9 ‘Fifteen Million Merits’

Season 1, Episode 2

In “Fifteen Million Merits,” most members of society were forced to pedal on stationary exercise bikes which powered their environment to earn currency called “merits.” Bing (Daniel Kaluuya) inherited 12 million merits after his brother’s death, and after hearing a woman, Abi, singing, offered to spend them to get her on singing competition Hot Shots, where winners got to live a life of luxury, making it the only real chance anyone had in this dystopia at escaping their circumstances.

“Fifteen Million Merits” was a commentary on reality TV, as well as capitalism. It’s often considered one of the best episodes of the series, with an impressive 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This being Black Mirror, things didn’t go as planned for Abi, and she didn’t get the cushy lifestyle she was hoping for – but it was still better than the life she’d had. Kaluuya was fantastic as Bing, especially as he delivered Bing’s impassioned speech to the Hot Shots judges and audience about the problems with what they were doing.

8 ‘Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too”

Season 5, Episode 3

Ashley O (Miley Cyrus) was a pop star with an adoring fanbase in “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” including Rachel (Angourie Rice), a lonely teenager mourning the death of her mother. In reality, Ashley’s life was more troubled than it seemed, with her aunt controlling her career. This included drugging Ashley, which ultimately left her in a coma. Meanwhile, Rachel bonded with a new doll made in Ashley’s likeness called Ashley Too, and after Ashley’s coma, Rachel discovered the singer’s consciousness in the doll.

“Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too” isn’t one of the highest-rated episodes of Black Mirror, but it’s still a solid piece of sci-fi dealing with AI and a person’s consciousness, as well as grief and stage parents, or in this case, aunts, managing young stars’ careers for their own gain. It’s also one of the few episodes with a happy ending. One of the best aspects of the episode was the music, as many of Ashley’s songs were pop re-imaginings of Nine Inch Nails songs.

7 ‘Black Museum’

Season 4, Episode 6

In “Black Museum,” a traveler, Nish (Letitia Wright), comes across a roadside museum with interesting and disturbing criminal artifacts, curated by the enthusiastic yet unnerving Rolo Haynes (Douglas Hodge), who also helped invent all the items. Rolo took Nish on a guided tour of the museum, whose artifacts included an implant which made a doctor feel pleasure when his patients felt pain, a device which transferred a dead woman’s consciousness into her husband’s brain and finally, a hologram for museum patrons to torture, who had once been a convict on death row who gave his mind and likeness to Rolo.

Although “Black Museum” is considered one of the weaker episodes of Black Mirror, it still presented a fascinating look at a variety of sci-fi inventions which belonged perfectly in the show’s universe; and, of course, the unintended, horrible effects the featured technology could have. It was also, in the end, a revenge story, with Rolo’s inventions being used against him in the most violent ways possible, leading to his death.

Season 4, Episode 5

The dystopian story “Metalhead” presented a world overrun by dog-like, four-legged robots which search for and kill humans following the collapse of society; they were either created for this purpose or were an experiment gone awry. The episode follows a trio of scavengers searching for supplies in an abandoned warehouse, when they are suddenly attacked by the dogs. This left a woman, Bella (Maxine Pearl), on her own after her companions died, and with a tracking device implanted in her by one of the dogs.

“Metalhead” was a classic survival story, and while the episode never explained how societal collapse came about, one can easily presume the robot dogs were involved. They seemed to be almost impossible to outrun or outsmart, capable of everything from driving a car to deriving power from sunlight. The episode was also notable for the stylistic choice to present it in black and white, adding to the bleak, post-apocalyptic feel and palpable sense of danger.

5 ‘The Entire History of You’

Season 1, Episode 3

In “The Entire History of You,” people were able to get an implant which recorded everything they did, essentially preserving all of their memories and ensuring nothing is ever truly forgotten. After married couple Liam and Ffion host a dinner party, Liam becomes suspicious that Ffion is having an affair with her ex-boyfriend ,Jonas. This was ultimately revealed to be true, at which point he forced Jonas to delete his memories of Ffion.

Like many other episodes of Black Mirror, it was easy to see the downsides to the technology presented in “The Entire History of You.” While such an implant has some clear advantages, it wasn’t surprising to see the ways in which it became a problem. Although one could easily revisit their memories to win in an argument, for example, Liam’s jealousy and paranoia led to him over-analyzing his, looking for even the tiniest bit of proof of Ffion’s alleged affair.

4 ‘White Christmas’

Season 2, Episode 4

“White Christmas” presented three interconnected stories. Two men, Matt (Jon Hamm) and Joe (Rafe Spall), had Christmas dinner together at a remote outpost and shared why they chose to accept jobs at the location. In the first story, a man used technology to get advice from Matt on how to approach a woman at a party, and after she invited him back to her house, she poisoned and killed them both. In the second, Matt revealed his job was to create and train assistants who were digital replicas of people but believed they were real. Matt’s honesty led Joe to share his own story, in which he and his girlfriend disagreed over whether she should have an abortion.

“White Christmas” became increasingly bleak with each story and revelation, making it one of Black Mirror’s most disturbing episodes. Its most interesting piece of technology, and the one with the biggest implications, was blocking. Just as people can block each other on social media, technology allows them to do the same in real life, creating a silent gray blob in the place of a blocked person. But most importantly, although it seemed like Matt was opening up to Joe, the information he shared was a crucial part of the episode’s final twist.

3 ‘Beyond the Sea’

Season 6, Episode 3

“Beyond the Sea” was set in an alternate retro-futuristic version of 1969 and followed two astronauts, Cliff (Aaron Paul) and David (Josh Hartnett), who were able to inhabit lifelike replicas of their bodies at home back on Earth due to the length of their mission. In a violent attack on his home, David’s family was killed while his replica was forced to watch, and because it was impossible to make a new one while he was in space, he and Cliff took turns in Cliff’s replica, leading to disastrous consequences.

“Beyond the Sea” was a fantastic episode, with great performances from its cast, including a brief but memorable appearance from Rory Culkin as the cult leader responsible for the attack on David’s home. Hartnett delivered as the traumatized, grief-stricken David, but Paul was especially impressive, as he essentially played two different characters depending on which man was inhabiting his replica’s body. The bleak, violent ending was divisive, but the episode still stands as a compelling piece of sci-fi.

2 ‘Arkangel’

Season 4, Episode 2

A concerned single mother, Marie (Rosemarie DeWitt), opted to have a tracking implant placed in her daughter, Sara, in “Arkangel.” The implant was controlled via an app, which was capable of showing a child’s location and notifying police in the event the child went missing, as well as monitoring a child’s nutrition and showing what a child saw at any moment, with parental controls to prevent them from seeing anything troubling. The episode was directed by Jodie Foster.

“Arkangel” took helicopter parenting to an extreme, as it addressed parents’ concerns for their children’s safety and their willingness to do anything to protect them – and to what degree parents can go too far and shelter their children too much. It was easy to understand Marie’s initial motivations to use the implant, but the downsides quickly became apparent, as Sara began to act out and wasn’t equipped to deal with what she might encounter in the world.

1 ‘San Junipero’

Season 3, Episode 4

In “San Junipero,” young women Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) meet in the idyllic beach town of the same name and strike up a romance, despite the shy Yorkie’s initial hesitation. Although the episode appeared to take place in the 1980s at first, it was ultimately revealed that San Junipero was part of a simulated reality inhabited by the elderly, who had the option to remain there after death. One day, when Yorkie couldn’t find Kelly, she traveled through the simulation’s various times and places to find her.

Although “San Junipero” told a very human story about love, it was made possible by the episode’s technology; without it, the two women never would’ve met or carried on a relationship. This was made clear for multiple reasons, as Kelly seeks out Yorkie in the real world. It was also a rare Black Mirror episode that has a happy, uplifting story as opposed to a dim, tragic one, although in the real world, Yorkie and Kelly both experienced tragedy.

Watch on Netflix

NEXT: The 20 Best ‘Black Mirror’ Episodes, Ranked According to IMDb