I would just come out and say that it is the worst one but then I remembered Season 1's first episode bout the Prime Minister getting romantically involved with a pig.... I think that one might still be the worst because it nearly convinced me to never watch another Black Mirror.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Anyway, Season 5 episode 3 which was entitled “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too” is pretty bad for a variety of reasons.
Most Black Mirror episodes have a dark premise where it is kind of a "warning" of sorts about the dangers of technology and the darkness that can be introduced into our lives as a result. This episode seemed to be a "how can we get Miley Cyrus involved?" episode.
Now don't get me totally wrong, I was actually impressed with Miley's acting ability. She is quite good and since I have never seen her in anything else (if she is in anything else) I was quite happy with her performance and would actually like to see her in other stuff. The problem I had with this episode is that it was.... ummmm... kind of dumb
The story centers around a pop sensation named "Ashley-O" (played by Miley Cyrus) who is admired by teens and is actually pretty relatable since there are a variety of acts that have existed throughout recent years that seem to be just like this. Ashley-O appears to be happy with her life in the public eye but is actually not even in charge of her own life or even the creative elements of her songs (Brittney Spears springs to mind if we are looking for a real-life example of this.)
On her own Ashley comes up with some good stuff but it gets changed by her management team who seek to cater to an idiot audience. I have no doubt that this actually does exist in the musical world although I would argue about the music actually coming from the star in question since most of the time the pop stars of today have their music written for them.
Ashley-O's management team releases a doll that sounds like her and is marketed to her fans but in the end the "personality" of these dolls actually is Ashley's entire brain and therefore, her consciousness. This results in a fan unlocking the entire brain and finding out the "truth" from her toy and therefore saving the day where her goth sister actually ends up in a punk rock band with the "real" Ashley-O in the end.
The usual Black Mirror dread that occurs in an episode is completely missing from this one and aside from Cyrus' performance, this episode is totally dead in the water. Why they saved this one for last in the recent season is a mystery to me but probably has a lot to do with the star power of Miley Cyrus.
Black Mirror remains one of my favorite shows of all time and I will still look forward to episodes in the future. The fact that each installment is completely unrelated to other stories is the main reason why I enjoy it so much. This one was a dud by my and most people's standards, so I suppose I should be happy that no future ep's will connect with this one. :)