“Black Mirror” is a British science-fiction anthology TV show available on Netflix. The special thing about “Black Mirror” is that it’s a weird, futuristic show where every episode is different. The episodes do not connect, unlike most TV shows.
I had never really watched a series where episodes did not piggyback off the others. I am your typical “Grey’s Anatomy,” “This is Us,” “Riverdale” TV viewer. Drama is what keeps my attention, and I need closure from TV shows. I watched every episode of “Black Mirror” in order, even though I did not have to. I felt like I was breaking some sort of rule if I didn’t watch the episodes in order. When I went to watch the first episode, I told myself not to get attached to the characters because they probably wouldn’t be featured again.
This type of series has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the greatest advantages is that you do not need any prior knowledge before watching it. You can start with any season or any episode, and there are no consequences on watching it out of order.
Another advantage is that you get to meet a new cast every episode. This series also doesn’t have never-ending plot lines. Every episode comes with one plot that the creators have to explain within the set time frame. So unlike Grey’s Anatomy, where there always seems to be a problem, Black Mirror keeps their episodes straight to the point. Since there is a limited amount of episodes and they are all different from each other, it is easier to binge watch.

Photo by Molly Cox

On the other hand, there are disadvantages with this series. One of the main disadvantages is that once an episode ends, it’s over. Personally, I do not like the way “Black Mirror” ends episodes. I feel like I don’t get the closure or the answers I need in order to move on to the next.
That said, another disadvantage was that my head felt like it was going to explode from all the information it took in after watching several episodes in a row. The episode would start, and I would be confused on what was happening. Then, I would start to understand the episode a little better, but there would be some strange unpredictable experience.
Unlike typical TV shows, the plot twists were at the end. For example, one of the episodes starts off with a mom and little girl who go to the park, but the mom loses the daughter. After finding her, the mom has a chip placed in her head so she can see exactly what the daughter sees, including her location and her vitals. She also put a parental block on things that cause stress via an iPad.
The now-teenage daughter lies to her mom about going to a friend’s house but instead, goes to a lake with a boy. After calling all over town for her daughter, the mom uses the iPad and sees her daughter engaging in sexual activities with the boy.
The next day the mom sees her daughter doing drugs with the same boy. The mom finds the boy and tells him to stay away from her child. Later, she gets an alert that the daughter is pregnant, so she buys her an emergency contraceptive. The mom puts the pill in the daughter’s smoothie, and she gets sick at school. The nurse explains to her that she had taken the pill, and she races home to confront her mother.
The daughter finds the iPad and starts beating the mom with it. The iPad breaks. The daughter runs away. The End.
These unpredictable experiences would make me upset and question everything that I had just watched. But in the end, I would move on to another episode to start that same vicious cycle all over again.
Black Mirror is a very interesting and weird show that gives an example of problems that we could face in the future. However, no one needs the mental abuse that comes with stand-alone episodes in their life. Every show should legally have to give you closure and all the answers to your questions. I would rather watch my story series, where I have to watch multiple seasons to finally get my closure.