‘Black Mirror’ is a great show, except when it isn’t. These are the 10 worst episodes, ranked
The British anthology Black Mirror will return for season 7 in 2025, so we’re ranking our ten least-favorite episodes of the series so far!
Whether it was revolting content we can never “unsee” or simply a boring premise, these episodes failed to skewer technology, media, and society as brilliantly as the other episodes did.
10. “The Waldo Moment” (season 2, episode 3)
A disjointed plot, boring characters, and an unpleasant ending left viewers cold. Jamie Salter (Daniel Rigby) plays a frustrated comedian who portrays a vulgar blue animated bear called Waldo. After Waldo interviews a right-wing politician (Tobias Menzies), his bosses decide the character should run for office.
The episode aired in 2013, and viewers instantly recognized that Waldo’s character was based on British politician Boris Johnson. Made three years before the rise of Donald Trump, it’s interesting to see what the Black Mirror writers thought might happen if an uncouth buffoon became a politician.
9. “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too” (season 5, episode 3)
We were excited to see Miley Cyrus play a pop icon in the fifth season finale in June 2019, but this episode was disappointing. Cyrus plays singer Ashley O, whose likeness and personality are used in a line of interactive artificially intelligent dolls. Two sisters (Angourie Rice and Madison Davenport) must help stop Ashley O’s management from keeping her permanently sedated and turning her into a holographic virtual performer called Ashley Eternal. Too many ideas, and too little structure.
8. “Arkangel” (season 4, episode 2)
“Arkangel” is about helicopter parenting, child monitoring, and other modern parenting concerns. Worried mom (Rosemarie DeWitt) signs her 3-year-old daughter up for a trial of an implanted technology that lets her spy on her kid. She can see through her daughter’s eyes, filter things she doesn’t want the girl to see, and even sense what she’s feelings.
Jody Foster did a good job directing this episode of Black Mirror. It’s the writing and story that earned the critic’s ire. It just isn’t that good and doesn’t have a lot to say about something we already know is an issue in society.
7. “Mazey Day” (season 6, episode 4)
Plenty of viewers think this is Black Mirror’s worst episode. It stars Zazie Beetz as a paparazzi named Bo who struggles with the moral and ethical implications of her job after some of her photos lead to a star’s suicide. Desperate for rent money, she tracks down missing starlet Mazey Day (Clara Rugaard) to earn a massive bounty a tabloid advertised for photos. Instead, she discovers that Mazey is transitioning into a werewolf.
6. “Metalhead” (season 4, episode 5)
At 41 minutes, this is the second shortest episode of Black Mirror after “Mazey Day.” It’s also shot entirely in black and white, a sparse style choice by guest director David Slade (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse). The action focuses on those scary robotic dogs that actually exist. Maxine Peake plays Bella, a survivor of an unnamed apocalypse, as she flees fiercely intelligent and seemingly unstoppable robotic dogs. That’s it. That’s the whole plot. Yawn.
5. “The National Anthem” (season 1, episode 1)
It’s amazing that an episode this subversive ever aired, much less that it kicked off a popular anthology that’s still in production almost fifteen years later! The first episode of Black Mirror stars Rory Kinnear as British prime minister Michael Callow. When a beloved member of the royal family is kidnapped, the kidnapper demands that Callow have sex with a pig on live television. Yes, really.
It’s an awkward, disgusting scene that is hard to “unsee,” and the worst part is that it proves to be unnecessary. In the end, Callow learns that the royal was released 30 minutes before the broadcast began.
4. “Crocodile” (season 4, episode 3)
Showrunners were going for a “Nordic noir” feeling in this bleak, gray episode, filmed on location in Iceland. Andrea Riseborough plays Mia, a woman who helped a friend cover up a hit-and-run death years earlier. When the crime threatens to destroy her life, she goes on a killing spree, even murdering an innocent baby. The idea of a “recaller” device that allows us to see people’s thoughts is intriguing, but it’s not enough to make up for the dire experience of sitting through this episode.
3. “Men Against Fire” (season 3, episode 5)
Stripe (Malachi Kirby) is a soldier in the not-so-distant future whose job is to hunt and kill humanoid mutants called “roaches.” Unfortunately, the neural implant the government put in his head malfunctions, and he sees that he’s actually killing innocent humans. There are no roaches. This is obviously a heavy-handed look at racism and xenophobia, but it’s seriously no fun to watch.
2. “Smithereens” (season 5, episode 2)
To be clear, Andrew Scott is an amazing actor, and his performance as rideshare driver Chris in this episode earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. BUT … it’s not a great episode. Chris kidnaps an innocent intern (Damson Idris) for a social media company called Smithereen. Chris blames the company for the death of his wife, so he demands a heart-to-heart with the CEO, played by Topher Grace. They talk, Chris dies, and the world doesn’t care.
1. “Joan is Awful” (season 6, episode 1)
This might be a controversial selection for the number one spot, but I stand by it. We were happy to see Annie Murphy of Schitt’s Creek starring as Joan, an average woman whose life becomes the subject of a television series. We learn that she consented to this intrusion in the terms and conditions of a Netflix-like streamer called Streamberry, and she’s currently living in a computer-created alternate reality.
With cameos from Salma Hayek, Michael Cera, Cate Blanchett, and Himesh Patel, we expected more from “Joan is Awful.” Instead, we got Murphy dressed as a cheerleader and pooping buckets in a church. No thank you.
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