Black Mirror: Ranking Every Episode From Worst To Best
8. Nosedive
The first episode launched after the series was picked up by Netflix, Nosedive was a return to form after the disappointing Waldo Moment. Taking aim at social media this time around, the premiere threw viewers into a world where the Uber formula had been pushed to the extreme, and everyone had an online rating which could affect everything from living arrangements to job prospects.
It's the central performance by Bryce Dallas Howard which makes the episode so special, though. With her every move and word being monitored and rated, the expected, forced cheeriness at the start slowly gives way to a manic desperation by the end, with the pressure of living up to the ideal version of herself tapping into anxieties most viewers at home no doubt share (on a smaller scale, admittedly).
It's a real showcase for how great Black Mirror's art design can be as well. When the show isn't in the suitably bleak reality of Britain or America, it indulges in these near-future reflections that manage to say so much through costume, colour and aesthetics alone. Nosedive wasn't exactly a reinvention of the series, but it proved that Brooker could still retain the tightness of the original run while enjoying the fruits of an expanded scope and budget.
[JB]