Black Mirror: Ranking Every Episode From Worst To Best
6. The National Anthem
The very first episode of Black Mirror is, arguably, not an episode that really represents what many people expect the show to be. The setting is the present day, there's no sci-fi technology driving the plot, and the narrative itself is relatively straightforward. However, the inaugural outing is stunning in the way it drives home the series' main theme of making an outlandish premise a biting, introspective comment on modern society.
It cuts so deep because, despite the infamous focus of the episode, the central question is less "Would you f*** a pig on national television to save someone's life?" and more "Would you tune in to watch someone else f*** a pig to save someone's life?". Sure, seeing Rory Kinnear's Prime Minister deal with the moral dilemma, both personally and publicly, is harrowing and intoxicating at the same time, it's the images of the stunned faces of everyone who tuned in to watch the act unfold, as comedy turns to horror, revulsion and regret, that really gives the episode its power.
Your own voyeurism reflects the haunted faces of the public watching in the show, and like all good BM episodes, it makes you think about your own shortcomings.
[JB]