Analyzing Black Mirror with AI is very Black Mirror

There’s a huge gap between what people say they feel and what they actually feel. This is especially noticeable in customer reviews, where it’s not uncommon to see someone raving about a place or product — only to leave a 2-out-of-5-star rating. Or the opposite.

But what if we could dig deeper into people’s minds to understand what was really going on when that happened? That’s exactly what we do at AltaVox with our AI-powered sentiment analysis tool. And in true Black Mirror fashion, we decided to test it on the latest season of Black Mirror itself — purely for the meta value.

By now, you’ve probably watched all six episodes of the cult Netflix series and picked your favorite. I’m guessing you liked Eulogy best — or maybe USS Callister: Into Infinity?

Well, Eulogy was my favorite too — though that might be because I recently went through a heartbreak. My guess, however, actually came from Letterboxd, where the episodes are ranked as follows:

1. 3.8 – Eulogy

2. 3.7 – USS Callister: Into Infinity

3. 3.6 – Common People

4. 3.4 – Hotel Reverie

5. 3.3 – Bête Noire

6. 3.1 – Plaything

But what do the reviews actually say about each episode? The analysis turned up some pretty intriguing results…

For Eulogy, people naturally talked about Paul Giamatti’s performance (6%) and the emotional weight of the story (12%). But surprisingly, comments about the technical aspects and visuals dominated — showing up in 20% of the reviews. Not quite what you’d expect for such a heartfelt episode!

What about USS Callister? A sequel to the fan-favorite from season four, it was no surprise to see it highly rated. But what stood out was the discussion around the “nice guy” trope that the episode so cleverly deconstructs. Some viewers loved it and even called for a third chapter, while others questioned whether the second one was necessary at all — with both views making up only 3% of the reviews each.

And then there’s Plaything, the lowest-rated episode. Oddly enough, it had the highest share of positive sentiment overall (48%), and 37% of reviews expressed a desire for a sequel!

So there you have it: the most talked-about aspect of one of the year’s saddest stories was its special effects, and audiences seem to want more of the episode they allegedly liked the least!

I find that beautifully fitting. After using advanced AI to analyze thousands of opinions on a show that’s all about how technology can cast dark shadows over society, we’ve landed on a perfect example of the contradictions that make us perfectly human.

Want to see how our tool can help you uncover what people really think about your brand? Book a demo with us!