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#but the plots not bad!!! Its so engaging and twisty and fun and hits so many of my favorite tropes and has such good characters
alittleemo · 3 years
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ive been thinking abt the illuminae files again folks it may be time to reread these masterpieces
#like i cannot even describe the sheer euphoria and fukcing span of emotions i experienced reading this book for the first time#its honestly a reading experience ive rarely felt paralleled if ever and i mean that with the utmost sincerity#like the layout itself??? Absolutely fucking stunning like this book is such a treat to read in itself that I’d love it even w a bad plot#but the plots not bad!!! Its so engaging and twisty and fun and hits so many of my favorite tropes and has such good characters#like all of it is j such a masterpiece it really is one of the best things ive ever read#in a completely unrelated note im thinking abt making an illuminae files au for the dsmp bc why not#the Majority of my favorite fanfics fall into two genres: band aus or literally taking a book and using it for another fandom#which is so sexy of me my taste is so good /lh#but fr that would be so cool tho to make an illuminae files au like the idea intrigues me greatly#anyways not me pushing the illuminae files agenda on everyone who follows me <3 ifyou haven’t read it go now you wont regret it#the thought of sapnap being mcnulty also occurred to me and god. You can tell how good this book is by how immediately crushed#i felt at even the thought of it. Like god i miss mcnulty and Ezra and kady they’re all such funky characters i adore them <3#i Love making the tags longer than the post <3#lee’s bullshit#the illuminae files#dsmp#(adjacent)#i hope this doesn’t show up in the tag tho#like its space!!! But also hacking and friends to lovers to break up to friends to lovers again like tell me that isnt so good#like imagine the drama of breaking up w your s/o on a pos planet and then having it get invaded the next morning. The comedy!!! The drama!!
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mia-cooper · 4 years
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2019 fanfiction in review
I usually put more effort into pimping my favourite fics of the year, boosting a few new writers in my fandoms, etc. This year, however, I have not, for reasons both within and beyond my control. Which is pretty much my excuse for not Doing Better with writing for the past month or so, but hey. At least there’s this.
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1. Best fic(s) you read all year, and why?
How can I even begin to list all the beautiful, shocking, feel-good, feel-terrible-but-in-a-good-way, envy-inducing, page-turning, soul-destroying, fluffy, hilarious, infuriating and horny fics I’ve read this year? I can’t. So I will instead list three that come immediately to mind.
@curator-on-ao3 – The Dismissed Protocol (rated T, VOY, TNG, Janeway & Crusher)
This fic made me angry. So angry that I left a ranty and incoherent comment, slammed down the lid on my laptop and stormed around the house for a bit. Why was I so pissed, you ask? Because this fic hit a good few of my personal triggers around bodily autonomy and the right to make informed choices, and because although the fic ends triumphantly, it’s somewhat of a pyrrhic victory and it left a really bad taste in my mouth. Which, considering this is fiction, is the mark of some really good writing. When it comes to tackling difficult topics with a fresh and thought-provoking perspective, and without opting for the easy answers, Curator never disappoints. This story is just one of many examples of that in her work.
@love-in-the-time-of-kolinahr​ – it will take place without witnesses (rated E, DSC, Pike/Number One)
Okay so let me start by saying it was the author’s fucking EXCELLENT pun of a pseudonym that made me read this in the first place. Then it was the poem they quoted (Discovery by Wislawa Szymborska, which is like a portentous rocket in the guts). Then it was Una’s scales-off-the-eyes, we-are-true-equals, don’t-bullshit-me-lover candidness in the way she sees, talks to, knows Chris Pike. I adore Pike in his laconic-space-cowboy-with-a-heart Disco incarnation, I like him a lot as the CoolDad in AOS, but this fic? This fic gives me smart, forthright, deeply tender Number One, and Pike as the fractured and very human hero I hope like hell we’ll see more of because they are definitely making a Pike series RIGHT? It is written. Anyway… this fic is beautiful and harsh and deft and real and sexy and poetic and at its core it’s about love, and who doesn’t love love?
@captacorn​ – Stars in a Ruined Sky (rated M, VOY, Paris/Torres)
It took me a while to read this one because CaptAcorn was posting it at the same time I was writing my epic, and I had no brain space to maintain a hold on someone else’s dark and compelling plot. But when I picked this one up, I couldn’t put it down. It is AMAZING. A Timeless AU, set in a universe where Voyager crashed and most of the crew survived, this goes where no other 100k+ epic I’ve read before has dared to tread, and it does so without flinching. The details are what make this unforgettable – there’s no magic reset button, so when something bad happens to the crew, there are actual lasting consequences – but it’s the humanity of the characters (if I can use that word to describe a crew that includes aliens) that makes it unputdownable (fuck off, my nana said that’s a word). This is not an AU I want to think happened, but CaptAcorn makes it one that rings true. And I’ll definitely read this again when I have the emotional fortitude for it.
Wow, there’s no Janeway/Chakotay in my top three. What? So here’s a bonus:
Northernexposure’s trilogy – Soft Light, Aftershocks and Resolution (rated E, VOY, Janeway/Chakotay) – three for the price of one! I mean, when northernexposure posts a new fic I race to read it no matter what, but smut! Beautifully written, true to character, sexy sexy smut from one of my all time favourite authors! How could I turn that down?
2. Best fic(s) you published all year, and why?
Mmmyeah to be honest I kinda feel as though my writing peaked in 2017, but here we go.
Desperate Measures (rated E, VOY, Janeway/Chakotay and other pairings) – because there’s angst and smut and the plot is twisty as fuck and I feel like there’s a pretty satisfying payoff. And it’s really long and relies on the reader engaging with my OCs which people seem to have done, which makes me think that if I ever do want to go write another original novel, maybe I won’t want to burn it as soon as I’m done.
This Is The Moment (rated M, DSC, Pike/Tyler) – because these two have exhausting chemistry and I couldn’t not write this but it was hard to make it come out of my brain the way I wanted it. But I’m really happy with it.
And I have a soft spot for First Officer’s Log (rated T, VOY, Chakotay & Tuvok, implied Janeway/Paris), because I just really love Threshold, okay? And while the episode is wack on so many levels there are really dark and heavy themes to explore there which I feel have gone very unexplored and I hope my fic struck that same balance between moral philosophy and holywhatthefuckery.
3. Favourite opening line(s) in a fic you published in 2019:
From Bad Maquis (rated M, VOY, Janeway/Chakotay):
The only thing more restrictive – and bosomy – than this outfit, Kathryn mused as she stared at her reflection, was her holodeck governess costume.


Still, at least she didn’t have to leave her quarters wearing this getup, and thank goodness for small mercies. Because she was on the verge of backing down from this challenge as it was, and Kathryn Janeway did not chicken out. Ever.
I mean, it sets the scene, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t love Janeway in leather.
4. Favourite closing line(s):
This is maybe cheating a little bit because this fic isn’t finished, but this first chapter can stand alone and I won’t be continuing it for some time (first, I have to finish the two prequels, haha). Anyway, these are the closing lines from Inertia (rated T so far, VOY, Janeway/Paris and others):
When the daze clears and Tom looks up to discover that his hovercar is parked in front of an address he’s never visited but has nonetheless memorised, maybe he should feel a little bit surprised.


He doesn’t. No matter how far he tries to go or how long he stays away from her, turning up at Kathryn Janeway’s door is inevitable.
Why do I like it? Well, I have an everlasting appreciation for Janeway/Paris, for one thing. For another, if you read the rest of the story and understand what Tom has just learned, you’ll want to know what happens next. I hope. I sure want to know.
5. The fic that was best received, and your favourite comment(s) on it:
That would be Desperate Measures again. It’s my longest fic by far and I was absolutely bowled over by the response to it, but one of my favourite comments on it is this one:
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It actually looks like Janeway is saying gimme and it cracks me up.
Honestly though… the depth and kindness of comments on that fic in particular, the time and thought and effort that people have put into their reviews … it made up for every moment I wanted to chuck it in and never look at that fic again, or any other.
6. The fic you wish had gotten more love:
Honestly, I was surprised there was so little response to my @voyagermirrormarch​ fic trilogy, Heaven in the Shape of Hell. I really thought they’d be crowd pleasers, but it shows what I know, lol. I haven’t even finished the third one because the lack of interest made me wonder if they were just really shite, but I’m not so butthurt about it anymore and I will come back to it someday.
7. How many fandoms you wrote for in 2019, and which inspired you most:
Does Star Trek in all its incarnations count as one fandom? If so, I wrote for two (Trek and Marvel). If all the different versions of Trek count separately, I wrote for seven (MCU, AOS (that’s Trek Alternate Original Series, not Agents of SHIELD), Disco, Mirror, Enterprise, DS9 and Voyager).
Anyway, I guess I’ll never stop being inspired by Voyager, so even if Disco season 3 and the Picard show do nothing for me, I’ll always have that.
8. Your favourite pairing(s) to write for:
I mean, Janeway x Chakotay, for sure. But I’m deeply, deeply invested in Janeway x Paris at the moment.
9. What you’re writing now/next:
I’m struggling through the second part of what was supposed to be my contribution to @25daysofvoyager​. I’m actually going to post the first part once I’m done with this quiz in the hope it’ll kick my ass into gear. I’m also on semi-hiatus from Kinetic Friction, but I’ll be going back to it as soon as I’m done with my 25 Days fic. At some point after Kinetic there’ll be the sequel, and then the rest of Inertia. I’m also contemplating something for Threshold Day, possibly throwing something into @voytalentchallenge​ (don’t count on that one), and I have an idea for a pre-Enterprise D, pre-Voyager meeting between Picard and Janeway (with smut, obvs), plus all the other fics I’m definitely going to write …
And of course there’s my meat raffle. Time to pimp that one again. Donate to AO3 and if I draw your name out of the hat of randomness I’ll write you a fic to your specifications (roughly).
10. Writing goals for 2020 (word count? new fandoms/pairings? anything?):
Look, I’d just really like to actually write to some of the prompts I’ve had sitting in my ridiculously complex filing system without getting sidetracked by the newest shiny thing to catch my eye. In terms of fandoms, I hope I’ll write more for Discovery, I’m looking forward to Picard, and I would like to branch out from Trek a bit. More MCU, definitely, and maybe others if I get inspired. The main thing I want out of writing fanfiction at the moment is for it to continue making me happy, though, so I just hope I keep having fun with it.
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arcaneranger · 5 years
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Final Thoughts - Summer 2019
Hey, look who finished the season perfectly on time, even if he did so by dropping a bunch of stuff last minute! (Technically, as of writing, I haven’t finished Re:Stage Dream Days, but you can rest assured that it’s bad.)
I thought I was going to do a first impressions rundown video for the entire season at once, since my impression posts don’t tend to get a lot of engagement anyway, but since I didn’t end up going through with it, I’ll summarize my point - summer started strong, and even here at the end, I can easily say it’s the best season thus far in what’s largely been a letdown year for seasonal anime (and a god damn renaissance for long shows, thanks to My Hero Academia, so if I seem down on a season that had Dororo, or Vinland Saga, or Fruits Basket, remember that I exclude those shows from my considerations until the end of the year).
This season saw several high-profile continuations like A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon II, and Symphogear XV, but also new works by creators like Mari Okada, and anticipated adaptations of Astra: Lost in Space and Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, and in the end, well...a lot of those were mixed bags at best, but the biggest drawback I will remember Summer 2019 for is that it was drowning in bad isekai shows. The aforementioned Arifureta, the basically-counts Danmachi, and also Isekai Cheat Magician, Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks, The Lost Ones, Demon Lord Retry!...it just never ended, and that’s not even counting If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord. 
Speaking of all that stuff, let’s get right into it, yeah?
28 shows were simulcast this season, and of those, I…
Skipped 4:
Yami Shibai 7, Starmyu Season 3, A Certain Scientific Accelerator, and Lord El-Melloi II Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note were all skipped because I have not watched the previous series.
Dropped 15:
Worst of the Season: If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord!
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I dropped this after one episode because I found the aesthetic and tone to be aggressively boring and I found even the cute daugheroo character to be utterly generic in execution...and then later found out oh boy was I right to drop it, based on how many people compared it to the Bunny Drop manga that we don’t talk about. *shudders*
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest
Wins the “biggest tryhard” award for being just the most straightforward an SAO award gets, right up to being grimdark for dumb reasons. The first episode alone had inconsistent animation, and that just did not bode well for the future...and the plot instantly reminded me of Slime, which soured on me over time. I let this one go sour after one shot.
Demon Lord, Retry!
The blandest of beige this season, Demon Lord had neither the story nor the production values to reel me in or convince me it was anything but the Overlord wannabe it so clearly was.
Isekai Cheat Magician
This show was a pretty transparent attempt to have an isekai story with a childhood friend romance plot, and while I’m fine with one and a half of those things, it couldn’t execute them in any decent way by the end of the first episode, and just wound up being largely boring.
Wasteful Days of High School Girls
Speaking of boring, what if Nichijou wasn’t funny? You’d get something like this.
Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?
So the tone this one ultimately ended up having was pretty much exactly what I expected after the premiere - it leaned too hard on jokes that weren’t as funny as it thought they were, and too hard on the dumb hentai mom trope, and neither of those things interested me in the slightest. Pretty okay with having left this off the watchlist.
The Ones Within
I have stated multiple times in the last few weeks that Symphogear is great because it can convince you that it’s a work of genius. The Ones Within has, unfortunately, convinced itself that it’s deep social commentary of some kind, rather than a bargain-bin Danganronpa with no real thought put into it.
Are You Lost?
I’m amazed that we got another Eromanga Sensei this season and it flew entirely under the radar. For God’s sake, the first episode featured a young teenage girl eating a bug and drinking her own urine. I just didn’t see myself being particularly entertained by the shock value longer than the premiere.
Ensemble Stars (4/10)
I can’t tell if this one is actually over, but Funimation’s site doesn’t list any new episode premieres coming up, so I’m gonna assume it is? I gave this one a shot and hung onto it because it took UtaPri’s premise and gave it the slightly more serious tone I was looking for, but dropped it after the second episode started to drown us in side characters with no hint that the floodgates were closing, rather than giving ample screentime to a select cast so they could actually become at least two-dimensional before throwing in more people we’re supposed to care about.
BEM
BEM suffered from an unfortunate lack of distinct personality, which sucks when it seems to have had a decent story to tell. Nothing else about the show wound up sticking out to me, though, which has me fully convinced that Production I.G.’s name is only on this to boost recognition, and the second-billed LandQ studios did the majority of the work. And their best-known other show is Swordgai. So...
To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts (5/10)
I have gotten absolutely no pushback so far for my decision to tear into this show because it should have been a different show, so I’m gonna take that as a general agreement of my earlier statement. What a waste of a concept.
Cop Craft (5/10)
This one I still think I was not crazy to pick up after the first episode, because it wasn’t until the third that the animation tanked hard and the pacing went absolutely nuts, and apparently stayed that way. Did they write a thirty-nine-episode story that had to be condensed into twelve or something?
Magical Sempai
This one I probably would have kept watching if the majority of its humor wasn’t just the title character embarrassing herself in lewd ways. It was funny, but I didn’t see myself enjoying anything more than one episode of it.
GRANBELM (6/10)
This one I got halfway through before realizing that, during my end-of-season catchup, I had absolutely no desire to return to. The plot didn’t really start moving until the fifth episode, and in that time I had not gotten particularly invested in the characters, especially since the show makes fun of the viewer for thinking that the big mecha dream battles actually had stakes beyond “you don’t get to be The Thing”. At least it looked nice and the mecha designs were very original.
Are you willing to fall in love with a pervert, as long as she’s a cutie?
There were four shows this season with questions for titles. Just saying! This one actually had me hooked right up until the end, revealing that not only is it a fanservice show, but a fetish pandering one. That being said, if I were attracted to women, I could have seen myself getting something out of it, what with the decently moody tone and good production values.
I put 2 On Hold:
Is It Wrong to Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? II
I’ll probably come back to this when the third series comes around, just to give it one more chance to pull me back in, but ditching my favorite character for harem antics and character shilling just did not endear me to this long-awaited sequel.
Re:Stage Dream Days!!
This one’s not actually on hold, but I don’t have any other good place to mention it. This one I’m gonna make it through just on willpower, not because it’s good, but because it starts out as the most shameless rip-off I’ve ever seen in anime, specifically of Love Live!.
And I Finished 7:
Kochoki (5/10)
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I thought I was gonna give this one a 7 at least, for nearly the whole season, for being a decently-told and somewhat new telling of Nobunaga’s early life with great production values for Studio Deen...right up until the structure fell completely apart at the end, almost completely out of nowhere. I’m still in awe of the gall this show had to literally skip over the final battle.
How Heavy Are The Dumbbells You Lift? (8/10)
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This one came right the fuck out of nowhere and totally blew my expectations out of the way from the very first episode. Looking at the summary, I was convinced I was gonna drop this after the premiere...and found myself totally hooked by its cheery visual presentation and excellent sense of meta-comedy, not to mention its genuine educational value.
Astra: Lost In Space (8/10)
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One of two adaptations I was really looking forward to this season (along with Fire Force), Astra was pretty much what I expected - a very good translation of a very good manga that ran for the perfect amount of time to be divided into twelve-ish episodes. A fantastic and memorable cast of characters enhanced a surprisingly twisty story, and Lerche made it all look just as good as I’d hoped.
The Demon Girl Next Door (8/10)
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Speaking of defying my expectations, another show I was expecting pretty much nothing from, maybe one I could compare to Gabriel Dropout or something, that was instead an incredibly charming story of a girl trying to save her family by defeating a magical girl...with a very, very loose definition of the word “defeat” in play. I couldn’t have asked for much more from this one, aside from maybe a sequel?
Given (9/10)
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Speaking of “Lerche” and “gorgeous”, this profoundly gripping story of a spacecase and a loner hesitantly making music together blossomed further and further as it went on, and became my new go-to reference point for explicit gay relationships in anime. It went where even Yuri On Ice!!! couldn’t, and left me desperate for a Part Two.
O Maidens In Your Savage Season (9/10)
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My write up for this show was one of my longest in recent memory, and I stand by it - even if Okada had to write a few plot contrivances in to get where she’s going, at least she presented her cast in an incredibly thoughtful way and gave them a satisfying payoff, with the knowledge that they’re teenagers and all of their problems can’t be solved in one semester. The high water mark for discussions of sexuality in this medium.
BEST OF THE SEASON: Symphogear XV (9/10)
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Anime is wonderful, and so am I.
So that wraps up summer! We’ve got a lot to look forward to in fall, even if My Hero Academia and Food Wars’ fourth series will both ultimately end up on a list in the distant future next year. Will Psycho-Pass 3 redeem the series? Will Azur Lane be better than Kantai Collection? Will Beastars beat Aggretsuko as the biggest furry panderer of the year? Only time will tell. And then I’ll tell you all what I think it said.
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that-bi-film-nerd · 5 years
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My Black Mirror Episode Rankings
One of the great things about Black Mirror is how varied your experience with the show will inevitably be compared to others, in terms of which episodes you connected greater with. My opinions are always shifting and changing with rewatches and with time to reflect.
That being said, here’s my spoiler free personal ranking of every episode of Black Mirror so far from least to most favourite (up to “Bandersnatch”):
20. The Waldo Moment
Still better than the majority of television out there with some clever concepts, this installment lacked truly engaging characters and at times felt too satirical to be plausible.
19. Men Against Fire
Similarly to The Waldo Moment, this episode suffered from underwritten leads and felt overly reliant on a twist, which is disappointingly obvious considering how well the show executed twists elsewhere.
18. Arkangel
I love a lot of things about Arkangel (including Rosemarie DeWitt’s underrated and amazing performance) but was slightly let down by the bizarre casting of Brenna Harding as a 15 year-old Sara as she looks at least 25, dulling the impact. It also skims over a potentially interesting debate about censorship during child development and instead goes with a fairly bland ending with a jarring sudden tone shift that feels dark for the sake of it.
17. Black Museum
Letitia Wright is the bright spot in an otherwise frustrating episode. It feels like a poor imitator of White Christmas and copies lots from its predecessor, it’s concepts feeling either recycled from better episodes or not delved deep enough into. That said it’s one of the most darkly funny installments and has lots of fun with its setup.
16. Playtest
Something about the way Playtest wrapped up left me wanting either a more simplified or more knowingly trippy ending. Other than that this is a solid episode with a great sense of atmosphere and dread.
15. The Entire History Of You
An episode that I often hear is amongst people’s favorites, I’ve never been fully thrilled by this early episode. Its central concept is one of the most eerily plausible and there’s a strong ensemble of actors however in my opinion it comes across as paint-by-numbers in comparison to other episodes.
14. The National Anthem
From this point all the episodes are amongst my favourites and ranking them was highly difficult. Iconic 👏🏻 episode 👏🏻. Once you’ve seen it however it does feel a lot less impressive than some of Black Mirror’s later hits, but is still a great starting point for the show and peak satire.
13. Crocodile
With a mixed reception on release, I think Crocodile is a lot better than the response to season 4 would have you believe, working better as a grounded thriller than a parable on technology. Its two central characters were beautifully conceived and played by Andrea Riseborough and Kiran Sonia Sawar (one to watch out for in the future). Recalling shocking moments from Breaking Bad at times, its bleak tone and gradually increasing tension left me severely shaken up and I actually quite enjoyed the controversial final twist.
12. Hated in the Nation
Whilst veering slightly too harshly into implausibility at times, I loved the Luther-esque police drama format and theming of this episode. Kelly MacDonald is a delight and the debate over twitter witchhunts has only become more potent since its release.
11. Hang the DJ
Joe Cole and Georgina Campbell are surely headed for great things, their effortless chemistry making this one of the most satisfying and enjoyable entries, in what feels like Black Mirror’s take on “The Lobster”. Also bonus points for an ending that leaves you unsure how to feel about what you’ve just seen.
10. Shut Up And Dance
Another episode that became an instant classic, Shut Up and Dance (led brilliantly by Alex Lawther) is a throwback to the gritty Channel 4 vibe of the pre-Netflix era. It goes out of its way to be as upsetting as possible, only heightened by the fact that the technology exists for this to occur in this very day and age. It’s final revelation and scene set to “Exit Music (For A Film)” is chilling stuff.
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9. Metalhead
An episode I love that the majority seem to hate, I adore the stripped back quality to this episode, in a season that kept trying to trick me with plot twists. Maxine Peake is wonderful as always, instilling incredible depth to a character that barely speaks and there was a powerful sense of tragedy, my heart breaking for the world we live in and the future that awaits us.
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8. White Bear
Another staple episode, everything is perfectly judged and the writing is amongst the best the show has ever done. Arguably the most memorable episode and one that demands you to discuss it afterward.
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7. Be Right Back
This episode feels truly unique amongst the Black Mirror cannon, an intimate portrait of grief with some unsettling technological twists. Hayley Atwell and Domhnall Gleason give performances at home amongst “awards movies” and the episode is painfully grounded.
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6. Bandersnatch
This interactive episode will inevitably create varied opinions based on each audience member’s experience. Personally, I was profoundly shaken at seeing my choices occur on screen and felt horribly guilty and twisted for what occurred as a result, as the choices became increasingly higher stakes. It also helped that I saw the ending that I believe was most satisfying as a conclusion thematically (the ending with an epilogue in the present day). That said, this episode is also amazing fun to rewatch and discover new strands which vary from hilarious to heart wrenching. Also Fionn Whitehead and Will Poulter are incredible for nailing multiple character arcs at once.
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5. San Junipero
So well-made that it’s incredible to believe it’s part of the same low budget series that premiered on channel 4 less than 10 years ago, San Junipero feels monumental. Smart, funny, moving, nostalgic and troubling all at once, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis have created characters that are instant icons.
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4. Fifteen Million Merits
Whilst the world freaked out over Daniel Kaluuya’s breakout role in Get Out in 2017, those of us who had seen him in this unsettling early episode already knew this was an actor capable of incredible power and emotion. There is something pervadingly disturbing about the shallow world presented in this dystopian episode, where pop-up ads and virtual currency are creepily merged with daily life. Highly upsetting and highly recognizable, in other words, highly Black Mirror.
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3. White Christmas
For a long time the epitome of Black Mirror, White Christmas ticks every box: plausible yet unsettling future technological advancements, empathetic and interesting characters and a tricksy, twisty plot with sudden sharp turns. This episode will always hold a special place in my heart and was my unbeaten favourite until the Netflix era came about...
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2. USS Callister
The teaser clips for this episode made me cringe: Black Mirror doing a retro sci-fi themed episode? What I didn’t expect at all was to be confronted by an excellent deconstruction of the “nerd who deserves the girl” narrative or an equally fun and creepily prescient tale of toxic masculinity, gamer culture and male abuse of power.
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1. Nosedive
I was not ready for this episode. Not only my favourite Black Mirror episode so far, Nosedive is in my opinion one of the greatest modern science-fiction stories ever committed to screen, nailing the harmful social media culture we pretend isn’t there with devastating clarity. It’s interesting to read that Charlie Brooker was intending for Nosedive to be lighter and inspired by sitcoms when I found it to be one of the more excruciating episodes to sit through. The falseness and shallowness of the society presented is one I can see myself wishing for on Instagram, Lacey’s unfair self-criticism something I relate strongly to. This episode calls for a re-evaluation of our values and of our priorities in life and does so with a beautifully shot and scored (shout-out to Max Richter) tragedy of manners with a cathartic ending that struck me in a deep emotional place. I am so glad this episode exists and I could watch it over and over again.
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It’s been an incredible 20 episodes of television and I can’t wait to see what else the creative writers and film makers are coming up with for season 5 later this year.
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