Did you spot all these sneaky easter eggs in Black Mirror season three?
Could all of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian tales be set in the same Universe?
Hated in the Nation
What happens in this episode?
It’s the feature-length season finale – the one with the killer bees and Twitter trolls.
What Easter Eggs are there?
They’re absolutely everywhere during this 90-minute finale.
To The National Anthem (series one)
Alongside “#DEATHTO”, Michael Callow, the Prime Minister in the first ever Black Mirror, is trending.
And presuming Callow is still in power during this episode, it's his chancellor that's targeted by the killer bees in Hated in the Nation.
(This also might explain why part of the plot centres around the chancellor and not the PM, who’d you’d imagine would be at the top of the #DEATHTO list – the show doesn’t want to recycle characters, but wants the anchor all episodes in the same universe).
To The National Anthem (series one) and Hated in the Nation (series two)
The news reports you can see in this episode are broadcast on ‘UKN’, the same news network you can see in The National Anthem and White Christmas.
To White Bear (series two)
- Blue (Faye Marsay’s character) says she leaves police forensics due to the Ian Rannoch child killing case – he’s the man who killed a six-year-old girl with Victoria Skillane, the main character in the episode.
- Plus, a rolling news ticker on UKN says that Victoria Skillane’s case is thrown out of court.
- Besides ‘Michael Callow’ and #DEATHTO, “#FREETHEWHITEBEARONE” is trending on Twitter – White Bear Justice Park is the safari-type facility holding Victoria Skillane. However, not everyone wants her free – one person tweets “#DEATHTO Victoria Skillane” in the episode.
To Playtest (series three)
Another trend on twitter: “Harlech Shadow V”. That’s, of course, one of the games produced by Shou Saito.
Also, you can catch the words "Shou Saito announces immersive new gaming system" featuring on a news ticker during the episode. That’s the gaming system that Cooper tries out during the episode (and perhaps the technology that eventually goes on to feature in San Junipero?).
To "Men Against Fire" (Series three)
During a news item about the Chancellor being targeted by the #DEATHTO hashtage, the words "US military announces MASS project" can be seen on the news ticker. The MASS project is the one Stripe enrolls in that changes his perception of reality.
Shut Up and Dance
Authors
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.