Some Black Mirror episodes have clever Easter eggs referencing older episodes, but for the most part the anthology series has stuck to its format. Each episodes end with a horrifying twist, a tragic conclusion, or the lesson learned before we move onto the next technological terror. However, Charlie Brooker recently told Variety that it’s possible the show will revisit older episodes with sequels.
With the amount of detail put into Black Mirror’s different realities, there’s definitely a lot of unexplored territory for storytelling. While I love the anthology format, it would be interesting to see other perspectives of these worlds or to follow up with some characters. It’s tricky, however, considering the huge array of stories. For instance, “The National Anthem” ends with the death of the blackmailer and the only kind of follow-up I can imagine for that would either be damage control for the Prime Minister or a similar plot which would feel redundant. Also, considering the pain and torture Black Mirror so often puts its characters through, a sequel that continues right after is more likely to be to coping and therapy.
Rather than a sequel for curiosity’s sake, a Black Mirror sequel episode would ideally complicate the themes and questions presented in the first episode, whether it’s about bioethics, social media, or privacy. Episodes like Fifteen Million Merits, The Entire History of You, Be Right Back, and San Junipero were very personal, intimate stories around a larger technological premise. It would be interesting, maybe not to necessarily follow-up with these characters (San Junipero is perfect as it is), but to see how very different characters interact with this kind of technology. What would the Be Right Back technology look like for, say, grieving parents? (I know the answer is AI, but still.) What might be some of the other experiences for AR users in Playtest?
What kind of Black Mirror sequels would you want to see?
(via Nerdist, image: Netflix)
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