Isn't it just perfect that Black Mirror's home is on Netflix, a service that's irreversibly changed how we watch and talk about television?

Charlie Brooker's anthology series is all about how advancements in technology might change the way human beings interact. Brooker being Brooker though, his changes are a little more damaging than "Netflix and chill" entering the dictionary. According to our grumpy new Nostradamus, pain, death, even the downfall of all civilisation could be on the horizon.

Now we've had time to watch and digest all of the fifth season, we've ranked all 23 episodes of Black Mirror so far – from a bold misfire to a chilling masterpiece.

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'The Waldo Moment' is the only true dud in the Black Mirror back catalogue. A blunt attempt at political satire, it sorely lacks both the chills that are the show's raison d'être and the sarcastic wit that's the trademark of Brooker's Wipe franchise.



BAFTA winner Daniel Rigby does his best to inject some energy into this story of a failed comic who finds an unlikely outlet for his frustrations – voicing a cartoon bear who becomes a key figure in the British political scene.

But while much of Black Mirror seems scarily prophetic, this episode's premise is so – no pun intended – cartoonish that the whole thing lacks any real dramatic punch.

Miley Cyrus gives it her all as Ashley O, but her game performance can't quite save the muddled and overstuffed 'Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too'.

Like Ashley herself, the episode suffers from an identity crisis. It starts out as a intriguing two-pronged tale of a tormented pop idol and a teen girl who's formed an attachment with an Alexa-aping android that's been programmed with Ashley's personality.

But it's when these two strands come together that 'Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too' veers off track, dispensing with its earlier darkness for a frothier tone that feels ill-at-odds with what came before, and with many of the episode's disturbing themes.

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Future soldiers Stripe (Malachi Kirby) and Raiman (Madeline Brewer) must protect frightened villagers from an infestation of vicious feral mutants. Technologically, they have the edge – but will that help them survive?

With a heavy-handed twist you can see coming and a lack of narrative oomph, it's the dullest of the Netflix era of Black Mirror.

Jonathan Prime / Netflix

This portmanteau episode offers us a whole batch of tech-based horror stories. But while the lead performances from Letitia Wright and Douglas Hodge are strong – and there are some fun Easter Eggs within for fans – 'Black Museum' does sometimes stray dangerously close to parody.

Who wrote this, Charlie Brooker or Karl Pilkington?

'Smithereens' is an admirable attempt to strip Black Mirror back to its gritty British roots, with the entire cast, but especially its two leads Andrew Scott and Damson Idris, delivering compelling performances.

But while doing away with the show's standard futuristic tech isn't a bad thing in and of itself, the episode's 'message' – don't use your phone while driving, guys – is so obvious that you're left waiting for a final twist which never arrives.

An open ending also misfires – no pun intended – and just amplifies those feelings of frustration.

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Jodie Foster directs this episode with the feel of a US indie movie, using tech to explore the issue of helicopter parenting and how shielding your kids from all the world's horrors isn't necessarily a good idea.

Strong concept, strong performances, but 'Arkangel' doesn't quite have the courage of its convictions and a flat ending lets it down.

Arnaldur Halidorsson / Netflix

There's much to admire in 'Crocodile', not least the winningly sympathetic performance from Kiran Sonia Sawar as the doomed Shazi, but a final tonal misstep robs it of top plaudits.

It's an almost laughable punchline, that a guinea pig is the crucial witness to a murder, but 'Crocodile' seems like the wrong episode to smile at.

The strongest entry in Black Mirror's uneven fifth season, 'Striking Vipers' has an intriguing idea at its heart, using tech and video games to explore issues relating to sexuality and gender identity, while its central trio – Anthony Mackie, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Nicole Beharie – all impress, as does the episode's bittersweet ending.

There's a feeling, though, that the episode could have gone further, failing to make the most of its premise. It raises some big questions, particularly with regards Abdul-Mateen II's character Karl, but doesn't really dig into the answers.

Laurie Sparham/Netflix

When withdrawn 19-year-old Kenny (Alex Lawther) stumbles headlong into an online trap, he's quickly forced into an uneasy alliance with shifty Hector (Jerome Flynn) – both of them at the mercy of persons unknown.

Without wanting to get into spoiler territory, there are issues with how far we're expected to sympathise along the way, adding up to a general whiff of nastiness as the dust settles.

Laurie Sparham/Netflix

In near-future London, police detective Karin Parke (Kelly McDonald) and her tech-savvy sidekick Blue (Faye Marsay) investigate a string of mysterious deaths with a sinister link to social media.

'Hated in the Nation' is also a feature-length episode, running to 90 minutes. "It's like a movie – and it's about online anger... so it's a feel-good fable!" Brooker said.

Taking big swipes at the lack of consequences involved in online commentary (Twitter and Facebook are very much the targets of the episode), it's an adroit bit of satire but will probably be remembered by most fans simply as "the one with the bees".

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There's no denying it's a technological triumph – a seamless digital journey through a proliferating range of story choices, a televisual 'Choose Your Own Adventure'. On an intellectual level it's highly satisfying, with Brooker sublimating his love of '80s gaming into a meta-story about gaming on one level, and free will on another.

The obsessiveness of game designer Stefan as he repeats his experiences (with only fractional awareness of the bigger picture) reflects that of the viewer looping through repeating story beats, and the episode kicks the meta even higher with some outcomes revealing that Stefan is a character in a Netflix drama, others going full kung-fu bananas, and others breaking the fourth wall entirely to show Stefan as an actor on a movie set.

That said, it's undeniably divisive. Many viewers accused the narrative of being thin – possibly a consequence of the interactive structure – and even boring. Games and non-gamers appear to have different attitudes to the episode. Regular TV viewers want more emotional resonance, gamers want even more control over the "game".

You can't win. (Which is the ultimate moral of the story, right?)

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While it lacks the emotional range of the show's very best episodes, the relentless pace of 'White Bear' makes for compulsive viewing on first watch, and it's an instalment that rewards a repeat viewing.

Carried along by a terrific performance from Lenora Crichlow – tearful, panicked, on an emotional razor's edge throughout – it presents a macabre twist on the sort of stunts Derren Brown has made a living out of for years.

It's not Brooker's most sophisticated work, but has some big, broad and valid points to make about how horror, death, crime and punishment can be perceived as entertainment – Making a Murderer, anyone?

Jonathan Prime / Netflix

'Metalhead' proved that the flexibility of running time afforded by Netflix doesn't have to lead to bumper run-times and self-indulgence. This stripped-back thriller runs to a lean 38 minutes, with director David Slade squeezing every last bit of tension out of a simple premise: a lone survivor (Maxine Peake) is pursued through an apocalyptic landscape by a robot hound.

Tight, taut and terrifying, 'Metalhead' doesn't offer a big message or even much in the way of twists. But taken purely as a horror movie short, it works spectacularly well.

10. The National Anthem

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Brooker made it clear with his first Black Mirror offering that there were no holds barred – it's a tale of pigs and politics that was hilarious, haunting and, as it turns out, eerily prescient.



The real joke, of course, was on us. Though it's what everyone remembers, 'The National Anthem' isn't really about how it's top LOLZ watching a Cameron clone f**k a pig.

Reflecting our own reaction back on us, it's about the unfiltered ferocity of social media, and our own capacity for cruelty. A bold first choice for a series premiere, it's daring, darkly comic, but also deeply cynical.

9. Fifteen Million Merits

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Sure, The X Factor is an easy target, but perhaps no mockery of Simon Cowell's popstar factory has been as searing as the superb 'Fifteen Million Merits', co-written by Brooker's wife (and former Xtra Factor presenter) Konnie Huq.



Andy Warhol's warnings about 15 minutes of fame are writ large in this nightmarish vision of the future, in which human beings are slaves to a system of profit, from which the only escape is a life spent selling yourself for more empty rewards.

What really sets this episode apart is an utterly mesmerising lead performance from Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya as the tragic Bing.

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Black Mirror at its most unblushingly Hollywood, 'USS Callister' wasn't the Star Trek parody that we'd all been expecting. Instead, it's something of a love letter to Trek and the show's principles – co-operation, altruism and betterment of the universe.



With a one-hour, 16-minute running time, it's a touch too long but provides just enough plot twists, gags and surprising character moments to keep us hooked. And, in Jesse Plemons' Robert Daly, it also gives us one of the show's most hateable and sadistic monsters: a petulant but seemingly omnipotent man-child.

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Insecure office worker Lacie (Bryce Dallas Howard) lives in a happy, smiley, status-obsessed nightmare world. Her old friend Naomi (Alice Eve) is one of society's elite – and Lacie may have found a way to join her.

Lacie's Instagram-perfect world of social status defined by "likes" is instantly recognisable to anyone who's ever been to school, and like the best Black Mirror episodes, presents us with only a slight adjustment to our own reality.

Jonathan Prime / Netflix

'Hang the DJ' is an entirely different kettle of Brooker. In fact, it's one of the few Black Mirror outings that actually wants to leave you with a big, broad smile.

There's still much to savour in this satisfyingly subverted and deliciously twisted romcom. Not only is it the warmest and most charming episode of the show's fourth season, it's also the funniest, with winning performances from Georgina Campbell and Joe Cole as the central couple, Amy and Frank.

5. White Christmas

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Trust Brooker to serve up what is arguably Black Mirror's bleakest ever offering under the auspices of a festive special – you'll never hear Wizzard's 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday' in the same way again.



A one-off episode starring Jon Hamm and Rafe Spall that breaks away from the show's traditional format to tell three interlinked stories, 'White Christmas' falters a little in its odd second act, starring Oona Chaplin as an artificial intelligence forced into submission.

But it opens strong with a terrifying excursion into what the future might hold for dating apps and wraps with a devastating climax exploring how "blocking" someone might translate from social media to the real world.

The end result? More chilling than being stuck in a snow globe for all eternity.

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California, 1987: San Junipero is a fun-loving beach town synonymous with sun, surf, and sex. And for recent arrivals Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), it's going to be a life-changer.

Working both as a nostalgic blast of '80s music and styling (other eras are available) and as an effective, twisty-turny love story, this Emmy winning-episode is perhaps the most upbeat and positive yet. As positive as a techno-drama about incapacity and death can be.

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Thrill-seeking globetrotter Cooper visits Britain, hooks up with Sonja (Hannah John-Kamen) – and tests a video game so advanced, it's terrifying.

The most overt of Black Mirror's attempts at making a straight horror film, it's also its most successful. A spooky house narrative with a twist and a charismatic turn from Wyatt "son of Kurt" Russell as the likable backpacker Cooper, it plays ruthlessly with the viewers' idea of what they're seeing versus what's actually happening.

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A near-perfect fusion of techno-paranoia and heartfelt drama, 'Be Right Back' explores the lengths we might go to if it meant having a departed loved one back in our lives.



Hayley Atwell and Domhnall Gleeson are terrific as central couple Martha and Ash, Brooker painting a wonderfully authentic picture of modern romance before mercilessly tearing the whole thing down.

Replacing her late boyfriend with a synthetic substitute, Martha is desperate to recreate what she had before – but all the android can offer, all it can be, is a replica.

Romantic yet disturbing, sad and scary, 'Be Right Back' does what all good science fiction should – it makes the bizarre seem believable.

1. The Entire History of You

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Black Mirror's finest hour – and, awkwardly, the only episode not scripted or even co-written by Mr Brooker. Sorry, Charlie.



Jesse Armstrong's 'The Entire History of You' sees the Peep Show co-creator step out of his comedy comfort zone to explore what would happen if wearable tech and surveillance culture had a terrifying love child.

What if our every waking moment was recorded for posterity? What if we could prove what someone had said, how wrong they were, in the midst of a heated argument?

Wouldn't the urge to throw it back in their face be irresistible? Armstrong argues that it would – and so it proves for Toby Kebbell and Jodie Whittaker's doomed couple.

At its core, Black Mirror is about how technology has the power to shape – or wreck – human relationships. Which makes 'The Entire History of You' the purest example of the form, charting the complete disintegration of one man's life in a little under an hour.

It's about our own human idiosyncrasies and flaws rather than about a futuristic gadget – and that's what makes the whole thing so terribly, terribly plausible.

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