Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker has confirmed that all episodes of the show take place within the same universe.
We figure out how.
This article is why some TV showrunners reject Easter eggs.
Brooker created an anthology series in which each episode features different casts, prefs, and presumably universes.
Then because hes a creative and thoughtful artist, Brooker also sprinkled in some Easter Eggs into earlyBlack Mirrorepisodes.
But that doesnt mean that all these episodes occur in the same universe, right?
That would be insane.
Well prior to season twos Christmas special White Christmas, Brooker apparently agreed.
Clearly it was not.
Because theBlack Mirrortimeline, in the now canonized ExtendedBlack MirrorTelevised Universe (TM) is bonkers.
What follows is the ultimate test of TV viewing art meets TV viewing science.
The result is… utterly insane.
And thats why some TV showrunners reject Easter eggs.
But for the purposes of the timeline,Black Mirroris also unique.Bandersnatchcomes before theBlack Mirrortimeline begins.
That makes sense as the show is usually concerned with the present or future.
That little inverted t thing that features prominently in White Bear and a couple other episodes?
Thats been a diverging timeline this whole time.
TheBlack Mirroruniverse begins where theBlack MirrorTV show begins: The National Anthem.
The evidence is clear.
Passing references to British Prime Minister and literal pig-fucker Michael Callow pop up again and again in future eps.
Additionally,The National Anthemclearly takes place during the modern era in a world identical to our own.
Its hard to nail down an actual year that this universe begins.
There is no futuristic technology, just YouTube and cell phones.
So were going to start this timeline in 2013 just so we have a solid number to start with.
The National Anthem is not just the first episode within theBlack Mirrortimeline it jumpstarts the entireBlack Mirroruniverse.
Consider the possibility that theBlack Mirroruniverse is identical to ours all up until one moment.
In The Waldo Moment, the political environment has changed for the worse.
Comedian Jamie Salter has been forced into having his animated creation Waldo run for public office.
Jamie and company should have been able to more accurately predict what comes next.
Waldo performs well and in the process forever changes the face of worldwide politics.
If Carlton Bloom started the fire of political mistrust and change, Waldo throws gasoline on it.
Meanwhile in the countryside, a woman named Martha is dealing with her own shit.
There is nothing political about Be Right Back.
Its just about one woman dealing with unexpected and unimaginable grief.
Victoria Skillanes crimes are certainly horrific but the peoples punishment is even worse.
Shut Up and Dance references Prime Minster Callows divorce, and the latest in Victorias trial.
Lets call this era The Near Future.
Its clear, however, that the stories in this time frame take place before more advanced times.
Though the digital impression of Ashley O extracted inRachel, Jack, and Ashley Toodoes seem rather advanced.
The Near Future of theBlack Mirrortimeline is just like our own near future: absolutely bursting with terrifying possibilities.
Shut Up and Dance also mentions that the show Hot Shots will be debuting soon.
This is logically specious of course but at least theres a believable emotional element for all of this.
The public forced Victoria Skillane into a life of perpetual torment for their entertainment.
It would only make sense that theyre ready to draw more entertainment from human misery.
Shortly after the events of Fifteen Million Merits,White Christmasintroduces an important technological leap into theBlack Mirroruniverse.
This devaluation of human life leads to a devaluation of the human consciousness itself.
Matts company uses those chips for activities as simple as household chores.
Its a last ditch attempt for human beings to feel valued once again and obviously it goes very poorly.
Nosedive occurs in this time period with Playtest and Hated in the Nation coming after in quick succession.
This seems like a direct response to the social media dreams of Nosedive.
One can only imagine what farm animal the President banged to jumpstart that timeline.
Still, not everything is awful.
Technology resembling cookies is now being used to set up nice people on dates (Hang the DJ).
Sadly, this involves the torture of many innocent cookies, this time augmented with actual human DNA.
This includes both angry dogs and archival footage of the soldiers in Men Against Fire.
They retreat into actual memories.
This involves the creation of an almost literal heaven as seen in San Junipero.
The events ofBlack Museumcover roughly the entire timeline of this alternateBlack Mirroruniverse.
Where it ends up is equally bleak and predictable: hell.
Thankfully his daughter eventually releases him.
Still, there is no turning back from the creation of an actual permanent hell for our cookies.
Ragnarok c. Featuring: Metalhead (405)
So it comes to this.
All the various new technologies and political instability in theBlack Mirroruniverse lead to…something.
We dont know what precisely created the black and white post-apocalyptic universe as seen inMetalheadbut it cant be pretty.
Humanity has been devastated.
The few remaining survivors give a shot to avoid murderous little robotic dogs.
Hope, warmth, and happiness are all distant memories.
All because a century or more ago some guy fucked a pig.
