If you've watched any season of Black Mirror, you know that there is a lot to look at. This season, Netflix's technology-focused anthology series crafted "USS Callister," an eerily relevant and gorgeously designed Star Trek parody, tied its universe together by connecting multiple episodes in "Black Museum," and even tried its hand at black-and-white horror with the drone warfare-focused "Metalhead." It's tempting to want to analyse every frame of the radically-different episodes, and it seems that the creators of Black Mirror know you're doing just that.
How do we know that? Well, it seems that Black Mirror left fans a note within season 4 episode "Crocodile."
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Black Mirror loves its "Easter eggs," a.k.a. little treats that only the most observant fans will be able to pick up on. "USS Callister" alone features Aaron Paul in voice over and Kirsten Dunst (who is "Callister" star Jesse Plemons' real-life partner) in a walk-on role. Season 4's "Black Museum" boasts plenty of references to previous Black Mirror episodes, from the videogame from season 3 episode "Playtest" to the killer bee from the same season's "Hated In The Nation."
All these tidbits are fun to catch — it's almost like you just outsmarted Black Mirror. (You haven't.) However, it's an Easter egg in "Crocodile" that directly addresses the audience.
"Crocodile" is a memory-focused episode, which shows the pitfalls of a device that can project images of your thoughts like a movie. Per Vulture's Black Mirror Easter egg roundup, there's one moment in the episode where the camera focuses, just for a brief moment, on a magazine article. That magazine article, much like certain Black Mirror episodes, has accurately predicted how human beings will behave.
"'Of course, the real question is why anyone would pause what they're watching just to read a sentence in a printed out newspaper article,' says the voice in your head — before advising you to go and share this finding on Reddit," reads the article, which was uncovered on Reddit (!!!) by Redditor AFellowOfLimitedJest.
How does Black Mirror know its audience better than some of our actual friends, I'll have no idea. Can't wait for the future Black Mirror episode about a sentient Netflix series.