Black Mirror Season 6 Review: We Grade And Rank All Five Episodes

Black Mirror is back... but it might look a little different than the Black Mirror you remember.

Netflix's creepy sci-fi anthology has returned with new episodes for the first time in four years, and Season 6 breaks free of a lot of the "evil technology" clichés we associate with the series. In fact, most of Season 6's five episodes are set in the past, before smartphones took over our lives, and that storytelling freedom allows series creator Charlie Brooker to expand on the idea of what a Black Mirror episode can be. Season 6 still has the big-name stars and stunning twists we've come to expect — but actually, the two most satisfying episodes are the least star-studded, the most thoroughly British and the least reliant on high-tech shockers.

As always with Black Mirror, Season 6 is a mixed bag, with a couple of duds and a couple of gems on the roster. So which ones should you watch first? And which ones should you steer clear from entirely? Read on to get our take on all five Season 6 episodes, ranked and graded, and then once you've watched, hit our poll below to tell us your favorite episode of the season.

At first, this episode feels like a Space Race throwback in the vein of For All Mankind, with Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett playing 1960s astronauts on a mission in space. But of course, there's a twist: The astronauts have robotic replicas of themselves living their lives on earth while they're in space, and an unspeakable tragedy leads to a thorny ethical dilemma about the true meaning of identity. The period setting gives the tale a vintage vibe with a sci-fi kick, and the production design is impeccable. But with a languorous 80-minute running time (the longest of the season), it's all a bit sleepy and sterile, giving us plenty of time to predict the inevitable plot developments before they happen. Add in a wildly bleak ending that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and we're not sure this mission should've even been attempted. Grade: C    

This punchy installment takes us back to the Us Weekly heyday of 2006, with Atlanta's Zazie Beetz playing a paparazzo stalking celebrities in sunny Hollywood. She doesn't feel great about her line of work, but the promise of a huge payday puts her on a collision course with a troubled starlet who's freshly AWOL from the set of her latest movie. This episode doesn't have anything particularly original to say about seedy tabloid journalism, and the whole thing feels pretty underwhelming — until it takes a bizarre supernatural turn that transforms it into an old-fashioned monster movie. Still, the gory conclusion might leave you feeling slightly queasy... like you just scrolled through TMZ for five straight hours. Grade: C-plus  

First of all: Did Netflix approve this? Black Mirror takes a big old bite out of the hand that hosts it in this wild installment, starring Schitt's Creek alum Annie Murphy as Joan, an ordinary woman who discovers her life has been turned into a prestige TV show on a Netflix-esque streamer called Streamberry. (It even has the "tudum" sound and everything.) The show-within-a-show stars Salma Hayek and exposes Joan's innermost secrets to everyone in her life, ruining her relationships and sending her on a panicked quest to stop the series from airing. It's a clever concept that takes on our current binge-watch culture and the terrifying implications of artificial intelligence, and Murphy is backed up by a flurry of celebrity cameos. But Joan's quest eventually turns into a silly caper that becomes head-spinningly meta, to the point where we can't even be sure what we're seeing is real. It's fun while it lasts, but ultimately a little empty — kind of like a lot of Netflix shows we've binged over the years. Grade: B     

This chilling tale set in a fog-swept Scottish village, with its lack of cellphone service and stacks of VHS tapes, feels downright Luddite for a Black Mirror episode. But it's also one of the show's most gripping episodes in years, with Industry standout Myha'la Herrold and Peaky Blinders alum Samuel Blenkin as a pair of young documentary filmmakers who pay a visit to his remote hometown. When she hears the grisly tale of a local man who killed and tortured multiple victims back in the '90s, she wants to turn the story into true-crime gold, while he is leery of reopening old wounds. There's an unsettling tone here from the start, and it gradually builds and builds until it clobbers us with a jaw-dropping twist that sent genuine shivers down my spine. Fantastically acted and heartbreakingly tragic, this one proves that Black Mirror can work wonders when it ditches the technology and goes the lo-fi route. Grade: A-minus 

Leave it to Black Mirror to put a fun spin on ritual sacrifice. Killing Eve's Anjana Vasan stars as a mild-mannered shoe salesman in 1970s England who is given a simple task by a gleeful demon played by I May Destroy You's Paapa Essiedu: Kill three people in three days, or the world will end. Again, technology isn't a factor here; it's just a down-and-dirty grindhouse horror flick with a surprising sense of humor, with Vasan and Essiedu teaming up to form an unlikely but very charming comedic duo. Both actors are top-notch, and the retro soundtrack and Cold War nuclear panic add up to a strangely entertaining tale that actually had me rooting for horrific acts of violence. If you only watch one Black Mirror episode this season, make it this one. Grade: A    

Alright, now it's your turn: Once you've watched all five Season 6 episodes, vote for your favorite in our poll, and hit the comments to share your own review.

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