One of the things that attracted Black Mirror fans to the show is the fact that it is an anthology series. This means that each episode is a standalone episode and does not require watching each episode in a particular order.
Because of this, many fans of the dystopian series are able to watch the series in bits and pieces. Not to mention, each episode only consists of a few episodes, which make them easy to digest for the avid viewers.
Now that Black Mirror is on its sixth season, we can't help but wonder are Black Mirror episodes connected at all? Here's what we know.
Are Black Mirror Episodes Connected?
Although none of the episodes are directly connected to each other, there are some episodes with easter egg references to past and future seasons.
To date, there are already six seasons (with a total of 27 episodes) and one interactive film under the Black Mirror franchise. This makes it possible for hundreds of connections to occur between these episodes.
And if you've been an avid fan of the show, you may have noticed that the show runner, Charlie Brooker, loves to include a reference in each episode.
While there are some easter eggs that can easily be spotted, there are others that are trickier to find. And these references are usually the episodes are connected to one another.
In this list, we'll go over the connections in different Black Mirror episodes.
Hot Shot Fictional TV Show
The first season of Black Mirror gave its viewers the shock of their lives, especially those who were coming into the show blindly.
Even though there were only three episodes in the first season, they were some of the most thought-provoking and interesting episodes in the whole franchise.
The second episode, Fifteen Million Merits, gave viewers a look into a twisted version of reality TV talent search. And even though this episode was released in 2011, there are still a few references to it in the later seasons.
In Season 2's White Christmas episode, a character can be seen watching TV, which feature characters from Fifteen Million Merits' fictional reality talent show, Hot Shot.
In the same episode, Bethany can be seen singing the song from Fifteen Million Merits, entitled Anyone Who Knows What Love Is.
On that note, the same song can be heard in Season 6 Episode 1: Joan is Awful when Joan meets up with her ex, Mac, in a bar.
The other episodes were this song has been played in include Season 3 Episode 5: Men Against Fire, Season 4 Episode 3: Crocodile, and Season 5 Episode 3: Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too.
Streamberry: The Faux Netflix Platform in Black Mirror's Universe
Another connection to Fifteen Million Merits can be found in Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 1: Joan is Awful.
When Joan browses through Streamberry for a potential film or show to watch, the previous Black Mirror episode titles are tiled on the screen, such as Junipero Rising (Season 3 Episode 4: San Junipero), Loch Henry: Truth Will Out (Season 6 Episode 2: Loch Henry), Finding Ritman (from Bandersnatch), and several others.
The White Bear Symbol
If you recently watched Season 6 Episode 2: Loch Henry, you may have spotted an easter egg on David's laptop: the White Bear symbol.
This symbol first came up in Season 2 Episode 2: White Bear. It has also been spotted in other episodes, including Season 2 Episode 3: The Waldo Moment, Season 3 Episode 2: Playtest, Season 4 Episode 2: Arkangel, and two times in Season 6 Episode 5: Demon 79.
In the original episode where the symbol first popped up on, it referred to government control and losing one's choice. As seen in the White Bear episode, the symbol was for prisoners of the White Bear Justice Park.
Prisoners get psychologically tortured every single day for their heinous crimes. The prisoners are stripped of their free will, including their own memories.
The same symbol is presented in Playtest where Cooper loses his ability to choose and dies. The symbol also made its way to the Black Mirror feature film, wherein viewers are given a false illusion that they have control over the interactive film.
So whenever this symbol appears, it usually means control, surveillance, and loss-- in no particular order.
Black Mirror Technologies
The show has always centered itself on the idea of technology and how it can destroy (or improve lives). And while similar technologies have rarely appeared on the show, there have been some instances of shared technology between episodes.
Take for example the simulation technology used in Season 3 Episode 4: San Junipero and Season 4 Episode 6: Black Museum.
In the latter episode, Haynes explains that he is working on a technology for human-consciousness transplants that will give the terminally ill a chance to live on.
Lo and behold, the hospital he was working at was called Saint Juniper's Hospital, which is almost the same as San Junipero. This episode also centers on this topic, which suggests they could be part of the same universe.
The technology used in San Junipero was assisted by TCKR, which was referenced to as Tuckersoft Gaming in Bandersnatch. The company also develops video games that referred to other episodes like:
- Pig In A Poke (Season 1 Episode 1: National Anthem)
- Rolling Road (Fifteen Million Merits)
- Nohzdyve (Season 3, Episode 1: Nosedive)
- White Bear (White Bear)
- METL HEDD (Season 4 Episode 5: Metalhead)
- Terror On Rannoch B (Season 3 Episode 5: Men Against Fire)
Another technology in Black Mirror that seems to be connected to other episodes is the one developed by SaitoGemu in Season 3 Episode 2: Playtest. At that time, however, it was simply a prototype.
By Season 4 Episode 1: USS Callister, it looks like this technology has rolled out to commercial use. It is also the same technology used in the video game in Season 5 Episode 1: Striking Vipers.
There are plenty of other references and easter eggs that you can find in the different Black Mirror episodes. These are just a few of the easter eggs that you may easily spotted while watching the show.
We'll update this post once more easter eggs are released.
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