Just when the previous seasons of Black Mirror are gradually becoming an alarm call or even a reality for us, S4 is going to get darker and edgier, and centre of it all, it is all about control. First half of the S4, E1 - E3, runs the darkest stories Black Mirror can ever get. Oh and that season finale too!
S4E1 "USS Callister" is a feature length episode that takes you on a space adventure and beyond, literally. S4E2 "Arkangel" takes helicopter parenting to a whole new level, and the worst outcome takes years to come. S4E3 "Crocodile" surrounds a device similar to the memory recap device back in S1E3 "The Entire History of You", and uses a dual narrative to develop the mystery. The beautiful Icelandic landscape gives a great contrast on the bleakness of the story.
We say the first half is the darkest, but that doesn't mean it gets brighter from there. S4E5 "Metalhead", the first black and white episode with little dialogue, is about a woman on the run with "dogs" on her tail. On the season finale S4E6 "Black Museum", the Black Mirror universe comes together in this episode but not the way you imagined it. Like "White Christmas", there are three stories running here. When one story ends, you would be thinking "when will it all ends?" because the stories are just horrendous and creepy.
On the bright side, S4E4 "Hang the DJ" is a fun episode about a dating app that can predict your ultimate partner for life. OK, we mean fun by Black Mirror standard. Well, at least there is some hope in this episode. Like the kind of hope you can find on S3E4 "San Junipero".
Watching S4 makes you feel that even we are spectators of these characters, we may one day become one of the characters. It also challenges your ethics on the use of technology more than ever.
S4E1 USS Callister - 9.9
S4E2 Arkangel - 9.8
S4E3 Crocodile - 10.0
S4E4 Hang the DJ - 9.8
S4E5 Metalhead - 8.8
S4E6 Black Museum - 9.9