5 Black Mirror episodes that are a little too realistic for our liking

Black Mirror is back for season 7, and it's once again giving us the creeps because the dystopian storylines hit a little too close to home.

The Netflix series has put out six brand new episodes which include Common People (being hailed as the "creepiest" yet), Bête Noire, and a sequel to USS Callister.

New and returning stars are in the series, including Chris O'Dowd, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Will Poulter.

Plus, once we've wrapped up with those storylines, there's another six seasons to re-watch and get our teeth stuck into.

While Black Mirror is supposed to portray an alternate reality, we have to admit that things are getting a bit too realistic for our liking, with season 7's Eulogy, Hotel Reverie, and USS Callister all featuring the 'Nubbin brain chip' which claims to be able to tap into your dreams and different timelines in your life. Neuralink, anyone?

If this pattern of events is anything to go by, season 8 will see a crazed president become elected and start crashing the world's financial systems. Oh wait...

Ready to be utterly creeped out? Here are five Black Mirror episodes you should watch that are closer to reality than you'd think...

The National Anthem

Channel 4

The first ever episode of Black Mirror and one that set the standard for just how wild this show would become, The National Anthem follows fictional prime minister, Michael Callow, who finds himself blackmailed by a digital hacker - and is forced to have sex with a pig on national TV. This show was never going to be a regular old viewing experience.

For those in the UK, however, things became even weirder when then-prime minister David Cameron faced accusations that he had gotten up-close-and-personal with a pig as part of a university ritual, which went on to become known as #piggate.

“I did genuinely for a moment wonder if reality was a simulation, whether it exists only to trick me. Which isn’t meant to sound narcissistic,” Brooker told The Guardian of #piggate. “It’s just a bit of a worry.”

Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Living out an even-more dystopian version of Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus came into Black Mirror during season five as pop star, Ashley, who was fed-up and desperate to get out of her contract.

But instead of just cutting their losses, her management company decides to force her into a coma, and replace her with a hologram version of herself, so she could continue being a global star against her will.

Holograms have started popping up IRL too, with ABBA having their own nightly concert in London, known as ABBA Voyage, where they perform their biggest hits...except, they're not actually there.

Eulogy

Netflix

While it's popped up in episodes previously, the Nubbin brain chip device that pops up in season 7's Eulogy has caused quite the stir thanks to a Netflix marketing campaign that billed it as a real thing you could buy.

Except, with Elon Musk's Neuralink on the rise, is it really that far-fetched?

The 'memory curating chip' allows you to relive dreams and other moments from your life.

White Christmas

Channel 4

All the way back in December 2014 when VR was merely a distant dream away, Black Mirror's White Christmas debuted on Channel 4, and saw the use of virtual reality in courtrooms to convict potential criminals.

While that's not quite the case globally just yet (although in China, a witness allegedly used VR to recreate a crime scene for a jury), VR has become a huge part of our lives.

It's already used for things like shopping, where you can now see how furniture would look inside actual rooms in your house, or how clothes would look on your body.

So, is the future looking a little like Black Mirror?

The Waldo Moment

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

In arguably one of the most terrifying depictions of reality, The Waldo Moment was released just three years before Donald Trump was elected as US president for the first time.

In the episode, a cartoon character that's highly racist and discriminatory uses his outspoken nature to become a political leader.

The jokes write themselves...

Why not read...

Black Mirror season 7: The biggest Easter Eggs that have everyone talking as new episodes released

What is Nubbin? Terrifying ‘memory curating brain chip’ goes viral - but it’s not what it seems

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