enlightenment is the episode that is the beginning of black mirror.
what episode is the beginning of black mirror?
enlightenment
while the production does not use linking elements, the series has included allusions and easter eggs from previous episodes into later ones. for example, "hated in the nation" in the third series calls back to the events of both the first series episode "the national anthem" and the second series episode "white bear", while the final episode of the fourth series "black museum" includes references to each prior episode of the series. some of these are for the ease of reusing a name developed in a prior episode; for example, they created the fictional "ukn" broadcast network for handling news reports that drive stories, while the pizza delivery company used in "uss callister" was used again for a company running automated pizza trucks in "crocodile". other easter eggs were added as they knew viewers would be intensely dissecting the episodes and provided these as gags. however, over time the use of easter eggs became more purposeful, as to establish a canon of the "dream universe" that the episodes take place in. brooker noted that when they opted to reuse a cover of irma thomas' "anyone who knows what love is", first introduced in "fifteen million merits", for "white christmas", as "it does sort of nest the whole thing together in some kind of artistic universe". in describing the nature of easter eggs in the standalone film "", brooker alluded to dialogue said by character colin ritman that spoke towards alternate realities, and suggested that their use of easter eggs to previous episodes helps to connect all these stories, but not necessarily within the same reality or timeline. however, brooker asserted that the easter eggs in "black mirror" are only there "as an extra bit of texture for fans of the show", and not meant to fully construct an atlas of "black mirror" episodes that becomes essential for understanding any episode.
black mirror
it is considered to have "one of the most shocking twists on "black mirror"", as jenelle riley of "variety" puts it, some time before the third series started. writing before the third series, margaret lyons of "the new york times" said it is "the most outright disturbing" episode of "black mirror". right after it aired, cocks deemed it "the single darkest episode of "black mirror" so far" and considered its twist to be "nothing short of genius". sims stated that it "is, by a significant margin, the most disturbing episode "black mirror" has produced". although he praised the twist as "a smart one, brilliantly concealed and smartly revealed", he criticised it because "once the point is made, it is made over and over again." lambie praised its "fearsome pace" and highlighted "its subtle approach", with sparse dialogue, that gives "the events and performances greater impact". he concluded: "its horror-infused drama leaves us unsure whom we can trust or what will happen next, and its last act is truly gut-wrenching". monahan wrote that the twist was unpredictable and the episode "was an exciting and efficient piece of narrative rug-pulling".
white bear (black mirror)