'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Black Mirror is an anthology series that explores the deeper effects of technological advancements and how they can be bad for society in various ways. The show isn’t confined to one genre and discusses topics like grief, loss, hardships, dating in the modern world, and several others.
Every episode has a new theme and often deals with certain forms of dystopia. Be it an advanced drug or a consciousness transfer, Black Mirror experiments with a vast range of ideas with unique storytelling.
Bleak and heartbreaking episodes, like Joan Is Awful, Black Museum, and more, are not a rarity in Black Mirror, which more often than not are set in Orwellian worlds.
Disclaimer: This listicle reflects the author’s opinion and is not ranked in any particular order.
Trending
Be Right Back, Fifteen Million Merits, and eight other heartbreaking episodes from Black Mirror
1) Fifteen Million Merits (season 1 episode 2)
Fifteen Million Merits follows the life of Bing (Daniel Kaluuya) in which everyone has to ride stationary bikes to generate electricity. In this world, there is no currency, only merits based on performance.
Life takes a turn for Bing when he buys Abi Khan (Jessica Brown Findlay) a ticket for a singing competition. They both realize that freedom is unattainable in this new age society, and resorting to jobs born of lust becomes their only way to survive. This heartbreaking realization makes this one of the saddest Black Mirror episodes.
2) Joan Is Awful (season 6 episode 1)
Joan Is Awful, starring Salma Hayek, is about misfortunes being made fun of for the entertainment of others. The story follows Joan (Annie Murphy) struggling in life and doing some questionable things.
The next day, her life turns into a reality television show. The episode then focuses on the misfortunes of Joan to entertain people. This makes the episode one of the sadder ones because it holds up a mirror to the reality of the entertainment landscape.
3) Men Against Fire (season 3 episode 5)
Men Against Fire is one of the more somber episodes of the series. The plot focuses on Stripe (Malachi Kirby) killing humanoid roaches as a part of military operations, only to realize that the roaches are actual humans the military is trying to kill when his neural implant malfunctions.
The realization is harrowing as Stripe confronts the fact that he is one of the soldiers unknowingly committing mass genocide. As it is the world of augmented reality, there is no mercy even if the protagonist is filled with guilt, making it one of the saddest Black Mirror episodes.
4) Loch Henry (season 6 episode 2)
Loch Henry follows the life of two film students, Davis (Samuel Blenkin) and Pia (Myha'la), as they visit Davis' house in Scotland. They plan to work on a nature documentary for a film project during their visit.
However, after learning about a serial killer being on a hunt, Pia decides to change the film's subject. Pia ends up dying after getting to know the truth behind the serial killings, leaving Davis alone, whose mother also commits suicide. The unhappy ending makes this one of the most heartbreaking Black Mirror episodes.
5) Smithereens (season 5 episode 2)
Smithereens follows the story of a ride-sharing application driver drowning in his grief. Chris (Andrew Scott) tries to kidnap one of the employees of a popular app named Smithereens. However, he mistakenly kidnaps an intern from the company.
Chris wants to speak to the CEO of the company to explain to him how he lost his dear wife in a car accident when he was checking his Smithereen account. Chris' grief and guilt shine through the episode, making this episode of Black Mirror a heartbreaking one, as viewers can't help but sympathize with him.
6) Beyond the Sea (season 6 episode 3)
Beyond the Sea follows the life of two astronauts, Cliff (Aaron Paul) and David (Josh Hartnett), in an alternate dimension. They live on a spaceship, but their consciousness can be transferred to artificial bodies back on Earth.
The episode starts on a sad note, where we see David losing his family. The horror keeps unfurling as consciousness transfers come into play, leading to tragedy. The episode ends with the two men stranded alone in space in their grief, making this episode heartbreaking.
7) Be Right Back (season 2 episode 1)
Be Right Back revolves around Martha (Hayley Atwell), who has lost her boyfriend, Ash (Domhnall Gleeson), in a car accident. Unable to cope with his death, she joins a program through which she can chat with him and receive an almost-perfect clone of him.
As the episode progresses, Martha realizes that nothing will help her get Ash. She tries to reconcile Ash and his clone in her mind, but eventually gives up as certain emotions cannot be replicated by the clone. This realization makes this one of the saddest Black Mirror episodes.
8) Common People (season 7 episode 1)
Common People follows the life of a married couple, Amanda (Rashida Jones) and Mike (Chris O'Dowd). One day, Amanda suddenly collapses, and Mike, in his desperation to keep her alive, signs her up for a program called Rivermind. The program has a medical procedure that keeps the brain running while the body fails.
However, they realise the program is not as simple as it looks. As the episode progresses, the price of the program gets higher while its quality declines, and Mike scrambles to keep paying for it. The episode ends with Mike suffocating Amanda to spare her the suffering of continuing with the program. Lending hope to viewers before snatching it away, this episode is sad and heartbreaking.
9) Black Museum (season 4 episode 6)
The episode follows a young woman, Nish (Letitia Wright), as she visits the Black Museum in a remote location. The museum is managed by Rolo (Douglas Hodge), who shows her a holographic criminal named Clayton (Babs Olusanmokun), who was originally sentenced to death. Rolo explains how visitors can replay Clayton's death.
Eventually, viewers get to know that the visitors of the museum are sadists, and Nish has a very interesting relationship with the museum. The ending of the episode is jarring and heartbreaking as viewers get to know that Clayton may have been innocent.
10) White Christmas (Christmas special)
Two men, Joe (Rafe Spall) and Matt (Jon Hamm), reveal their stories to each other in a cabin on Christmas Day. As the two men disclose their pasts, Joe talks about how he left the daughter of his ex-fiancée alone after killing his would-be father-in-law upon learning that she was not biologically his, leaving her to succumb to the harsh winter.
The most heartbreaking part of this episode is when viewers learn that the girl was only out in the severe cold to get help for her grandfather after Joe had carelessly left them behind. Unable to survive the harsh conditions, both she and her grandfather died.
Viewers can stream other heartbreaking Black Mirror episodes like San Junipero and The National Anthem on Netflix.
