Season 4 was a weird time for Charlie Brooker’s brainchild. It landed on Netflix right as the real world started feeling like a parody of itself, and honestly, the shift was palpable. This was the season where the show leaned hard into its "shared universe" theories, gave us some of the most brutal violence in the series, and somehow managed to sneak in one of the most optimistic love stories ever aired on television.
If you’re revisiting these stories in 2026, you've probably noticed they feel less like sci-fi and more like a checklist of stuff we're currently dealing with. Let's get into what actually happened in these six installments and why they remain so polarizing.
The USS Callister Gamble
People usually point to "USS Callister" as the season high point. It starts as a goofy Star Trek parody but pivots into a nightmare about digital slavery. Jesse Plemons plays Robert Daly, a tech genius who’s basically a loser in the real world. To cope, he steals DNA from his coworkers and creates sentient digital clones of them inside a private game server.
It’s dark. Like, "trapped in a spaceship with no exit and no digestive system" dark.
What’s wild is how the episode treats the concept of a "digital soul." Most shows would treat these characters like simple lines of code. Black Mirror doesn't. When Nanette Cole (Cristin Milioti) arrives, the episode shifts into a high-stakes heist. It’s a feminist revenge flick wrapped in a space opera. Most fans don't realize that the "happy ending" where they escape into the open internet is actually terrifying. They’re basically immortal ghosts living in a cloud populated by random gamers—including a voice cameo by Aaron Paul who tells them to get out of his way.
Why Arkangel Still Matters to Parents
Jodie Foster directed "Arkangel," and you can tell. It feels grounded. It’s a story about a mother, Marie, who gets so scared after briefly losing her daughter at a playground that she implants a chip in the kid’s head. This chip lets the mom "filter" out anything stressful.
If the kid sees a mean dog or a drop of blood? It just looks like a blurry pixelated mess.
The technology is called "the Arkangel system," and it's basically the ultimate helicopter parenting tool. Honestly, the scariest part isn't the tech itself; it's the inevitable fallout when the daughter, Sara, hits her teens. Because she’s never been allowed to process negative emotions, she becomes a powder keg. By the time Marie starts using the tablet to spy on Sara’s sex life and drug use, the relationship is already dead. It's a brutal look at how "safety" can become a prison.
The Absolute Bleakness of Crocodile and Metalhead
Then we get to the episodes that most people found "too much."
"Crocodile" is set in a stunning, snowy Iceland, but the vibe is miserable. Mia (played by Andrea Riseborough) covers up a hit-and-run, and then spends the rest of the episode murdering anyone who might have a memory of it. Why? Because in this world, insurance investigators use a device called a "Recaller" that pulls visual memories directly from your brain.
It’s a domino effect of carnage. You've got a woman killing a baby just to cover her tracks, only to find out—major spoiler—that a pet hamster saw the whole thing. It’s almost comical in its nihilism.
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Then there’s "Metalhead." It's filmed entirely in black and white. There’s almost no dialogue. It’s just a woman being hunted by a robotic "dog" (heavily inspired by Boston Dynamics). A lot of viewers hated this one because it felt "empty," but that was the point. It’s a survival horror story. The ending reveal—that they risked their lives just to get a box of teddy bears for a dying child—is the kind of gut-punch only Brooker can deliver.
Hang the DJ: The Rare Win
If "Metalhead" is a punch in the gut, "Hang the DJ" is a warm hug. It’s often compared to "San Junipero" because it’s actually hopeful. We follow Frank and Amy as they navigate "The System," a dating app that dictates exactly how long a relationship will last. Sometimes it’s years. Sometimes it’s 12 hours.
The chemistry between Georgina Campbell and Joe Cole is basically the only reason the episode works. You’re rooting for them to rebel against the timer. When they finally scale the wall to escape, the twist hits: they aren't real people. They are one of 1,000 simulations being run by an app to see if the "real" Frank and Amy are a match.
It’s a 99.8% match, by the way.
Black Museum and the Easter Egg Hunt
The season closes with "Black Museum," an anthology-within-an-anthology. It’s a love letter to the fans, packed with props from previous episodes like the "hang the DJ" tablet and the "USS Callister" DNA scanner.
Rolo Haynes, a sleazy tech pioneer, gives a tour to a young woman named Nish. He tells three stories:
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- A doctor who gets addicted to feeling his patients' pain.
- A man who puts his wife’s consciousness inside his own head (and then a teddy bear).
- A digital hologram of a prisoner who is executed over and over for entertainment.
The "conscious digital copy" (or "Cookie") theme is the backbone of this whole season. By the time Nish reveals she’s the prisoner’s daughter and burns the museum down, you realize Season 4 was never really about the gadgets. It was about the fact that if we could digitize a human soul, we’d probably just find a way to torture it for profit.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Rewatch:
- Watch for the "Grain" connections: Notice how the memory tech in "Crocodile" is a primitive version of the "Grains" seen in Season 1's "The Entire History of You."
- Contextualize the "Dogs": When watching "Metalhead," remember that the episode was written as a response to the increasing militarization of autonomous robotics.
- The "Cookie" Evolution: Track how the digital clones in "USS Callister" have more rights/agency than the ones in "Black Museum," showing a timeline of tech ethics (or the lack thereof).
- Tone Check: If you're feeling overwhelmed by the darkness, watch "Hang the DJ" last. It was strategically placed in the middle of the season, but it works better as a final palate cleanser.