Look, I know the 25th has been and gone but I’ll be damned if I don’t finish out this project. After all, I’m still within the official 12 days and if you’re really *that* done with Christmas, consider the episodes in medal position a recommendation for next year. The setup here for Black Mirror‘s only Christmas special up to this point is deceptively simple. Two men seemingly on a “job” in the middle of a snowy wilderness recall stories from previously in their life with sinister outcomes. There is a real darkness to the events that unfold, as is tradition with Black Mirror, but these earlier seasons really do keep the black comedy at the forefront and still feel topically relevant and fresh.

I have no doubt in my mind that this is a perfect screenplay. Brooker is able to not only make a rewatch even more compelling because of the seeding of the initially unexpected twist. It feels like every line of dialogue carries so much weight and because of that, the episode is absolutely perfectly paced without an ounce of fluff. The first section in particular has some great examples of this, like one of the men in the call Jon Hamm’s character is on saying “I don’t know if I can take another week of this” or Hamm himself casually telling his subject “That’s great buddy, almost word for word”. Through skipping over the part of the story where the training happens, we are only given fleeting details of the operation that are subtly planted through the kind of writing that Brooker almost never deploys in Black Mirror‘s current form – a style of writing that leaves you wanting more, not less. Everything that is here is fascinating and entertaining but I also think it leaves so much up to the imagination between the worldbuilding and the characters backstories themselves. It tells us just enough to grab our attention and send our imaginations running without coming even close to going over the top on one aspect. Charlie Brooker in 2023 could learn a lot from Charlie Brooker in 2014.

As much as this is a great feat in writing, the performances are absolutely what makes this episode stand out as one of my all-time favourites. Jon Hamm gives one of his best ever performances in a career full of hits and at-the-time relative newcomer Rafe Spall holds his own in an equally captivating performance. Every role here is played exceptionally but these two do an amicable job leading the episode to the end. I’m also a big fan of Brooker’s statements on technology here and the “blocking” device has really stuck with me since the first time I watched this episode. He effectively is able to use Black Mirror‘s M.O. to turn a seemingly simple Cabin in the Woods story where seemingly unrelated stories are being told in the style of an anthology film through the lens of dystopian technology to distract from the episode’s hidden framing device. *BIG spoilers ahead*

The reveal that the central conversation taking place is not just two co-workers trying to get to know each other and is in fact an interrogation taking place inside a Virtual Reality “cookie” is quite the twist. Brooker’s ability to connect all three storylines in the episode’s climax comes across as effortless, but undoubtedly will have taken a lot of thinking to make it work. The fact that you could argue between whose fate of the main two characters is more horrific is a perfectly dark bow on it all.

There are plenty of Black Mirror episodes I really like, but I don’t think they were ever able to top this one. It’s stuck with me all throughout the years and is the perfect Christmas watch for any science fiction and/or horror fans. It’s done enough to get the bronze medal on my list, but stay tuned for the top two!