“The National Anthem” opens with British Prime Minister Michael Callow (Rory Kinnear) being told that Princess Susannah of “Bexlebury” has been kidnapped. A viral video on YouTube shows Susannah pleading for her life and reading a demand: Callow must have unsimulated sex with a pig on live national television by 4:00pm that afternoon or the princess will be killed. At first Callow flatly refuses and the government imposes a D-notice to gag the media, but the internet makes this impossible. TV networks in other countries pick up the story, Twitter trends the hashtag #piggate, and public opinion becomes a central concern. Polls initially show most citizens don’t want Callow to comply, but after the kidnappers send Susannah’s severed finger to the media, a new poll indicates 86% of voters now demand Callow meet the ransom demand.

As the deadline approaches, Callow’s inner circle scrambles for solutions. Home Secretary Alex Cairns (Lindsay Duncan) even hires a porn actor to film a fake version of the act, but the ruse fails when the kidnapper – performance artist Carlton Bloom – exposes it. With 86% of polls backing compliance, Cairns quietly threatens Callow’s political career (and personal safety) if he refuses. Humiliated and desperate, Callow finally agrees to comply. He appears on a live broadcast before a disgusted global audience and tries (in agonizing detail) to fulfill the demand. Meanwhile, in a final twist, Susannah is already freed and safely escapes during the broadcast – Bloom’s hostage standoff was a media-centric art stunt to prove people would focus on spectacle over reality. Bloom commits suicide on camera once the act begins, and Cairns quietly tells Callow afterward that the princess is unharmed.

In the fallout, Callow’s public image paradoxically improves: his approval ratings surge, the public hails his “sacrifice,” and the princess is pregnant and recovering. However, Callow’s personal life is ruined – his wife Jane (Anna Wilson-Jones) quietly abandons him, outraged by the humiliation. As one year passes, the show ends with Susannah safe and Callow’s political fate uncertain, underscoring the bizarre cost of the ordeal.

Analysis

• Narrative Structure: The episode unfolds in a real-time, one-day crisis format. After the kidnapping video is seen, the tension escalates with each news update. This linear, “live” unfolding (including in-episode polls and 24-hour news coverage) creates relentless suspense. Charlie Brooker intentionally “plays it completely straight,” treating the absurd premise as serious to make viewers focus on the commentary. Critics note this makes the plot feel both ridiculous and plausible – the more the characters react realistically, the more jarring the premise becomes.

• Character Decisions: Michael Callow is torn between his personal morality and duty. He initially refuses, citing reason and principle, but as media attention swells and his advisors demand action, he crumbles. His aides (notably Alex Cairns) and family apply political and emotional pressure. For example, when polls show he must comply or lose public support, Cairns resorts to veiled threats (implying the government won’t protect him or his family). The episode highlights how each character adapts: Callow’s helplessness grows, his campaign manager obsessively tracks polls, and Cairns reluctantly leads a fake rescue plan. Jane Callow meanwhile reacts with personal indignation, calling her husband’s ordeal a personal betrayal. The episode dramatizes each decision point (e.g. whether to fake the act, how to address the public) as a battle between ethics and pragmatism.

• Media and Sociopolitical Commentary: The story centers on how information flows in the digital age. From the start, the government’s attempt to suppress the video fails because “the cat (or pig) is out of the bag” – once YouTube and Twitter act, no official gag order can hold. This underscores a key point: information is uncontrollable once online. Callow’s team watches helplessly as TV and social media force the crisis into the public arena. As one columnist notes, Brooker uses the farcical set-up to examine “the way we interact on the internet” and how social media amplifies sensational events. The episode also satirizes political image management. Early on, Callow and staff treat the disaster like a PR crisis. Press conferences and spin doctors abound. (Indeed, the Cabinet even attempts a fake video with a stand-in to protect Callow’s image.) Viewers see that politicians in this world live or die by polls: Callow gleefully exclaims when a poll says he won’t be held accountable for the princess’s fate, showing he values re-election over ethics. In short, the narrative lays bare the tension between duty to save a life versus duty to win an election. One critic observes that Callow becomes “more concerned with his reelection potential than Susannah’s life” in these scenes, exemplifying the episode’s dark realism.

• Dark Humor and Realism: Despite the outrageous premise, the tone is sober. The series treats the scenario as if it “could happen now”, using only existing technology and media. This realism was noted by analysts: as one recap explains, Brooker’s imagined world has “nothing here that goes beyond current technology… everything is terribly plausible”. The dark humor – Callow’s profanity-laced reactions, a satirical news panel, or the Queen’s deadpan disbelief – contrasts with graphic detail of the act, heightening the episode’s social satire. In summary, the narrative uses shock to force engagement: as one reviewer wryly noted, much of the nation watches in disgust and horror, yet “they couldn’t look away”. The episode implicates viewers as voyeurs, making its audience complicit in the spectacle.

Themes

• Media Sensationalism and Technology: The episode critiques how news media use shocking content to drive ratings. A fictitious news network (UKN) ignores the emergency censorship notice (D-Notice) as soon as CNN breaks the story, plastering the pig demand all day. Commentators in the episode even suggest the media is guilty of “using shocking stories… to provoke public excitement.” Brooker shows journalists on roundtables speculating wildly for viewers, or a reporter (Malaika) willing to seduce aides for a “scoop,” highlighting sensationalism for its own sake. Real-world parallels were noted by analysts: Brooker remarked that news and social media can make opinions swing “harder and faster” and that public spectacle drives coverage.

• Public Opinion & Social Media: A central theme is the power of collective opinion. The entire storyline hinges on polling and tweets. From street interviews to trending hashtags (#piggate), popular sentiment effectively dictates policy. When a quick poll shows 75% don’t care if the princess dies (aided by Bloom’s false evidence), Callow breathes a sigh of relief. But after the finger appears, 86% demand compliance, shifting the plot radically. This lightning-fast change dramatizes Brooker’s point: in the Twitter age “opinion shifts harder and faster… with Twitter and rolling news”. In essence, the episode shows a democracy driven by fickle mood swings, where leaders must pander to the loudest voices.

• Political Pressure & Authority: Closely related is the strain on political authority. Callow’s power collapses as his officials and the public turn against him. The Home Secretary’s veiled threat that she “cannot guarantee” his safety forces him into submission, illustrating coercion by the state itself. The scenario questions how much choice a leader really has when faced with public demand. As one analysis notes, the UK government – despite intelligence agencies and tech – is completely outmaneuvered by a lone kidnapper on YouTube. This underscores a theme of government impotence in the face of modern media and public fury.

• Voyeurism and Spectacle: The episode is a study in collective voyeurism. Every scene emphasizes how society craves scandalous spectacle. Workplaces and pubs empty as citizens gather to watch Callow’s ordeal. The Princess herself notes later that the nation was “already f*cking a pig in everyone’s heads” long before the act took place. Even the captor’s motive – a conceptual artist’s stunt – is to make people focus on the broadcast rather than real suffering. This theme resonates with the observation that viewers (and characters) are at once repulsed and riveted. As one blogger put it, the public initially thinks the idea is “fun to watch” but during the act looks “disgusted and sick, even though they couldn’t look away”. The narrative thus explores the darkness of our collective fascination with others’ pain.

• Moral Ambiguity and Ethics: At its core, “The National Anthem” is a forced moral dilemma. The audience is left to ponder whether Callow’s compliance is noble sacrifice or a grotesque betrayal of dignity. The lines blur between right and wrong: saving a life by committing a taboo act is a choice so extreme it tests any moral framework. Brooker doesn’t offer easy answers; instead, every character’s response is shaded. Even the captor’s motivation – to show that people ignore the “real world” for media diversion – is presented without outright justification. This ambiguity forces viewers to examine their own values: as one critic noted, the episode makes it clear the audience is just as culpable as the characters in letting the “sickening ordeal… unfold”.

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Reviews

Critics praised the episode’s bold premise and realism. The Ringer’s Victor Luckerson called it “simultaneously the most absurd and the most grounded” Black Mirror story, noting how its far-fetched demand nevertheless feels chillingly plausible. Esquire agreed, describing the plot as a “wild, tense ride through [a] media storm” that exposes “the very worst in collective human instincts”. New York’s Vulture highlighted the satire on crowd psychology, praising it as “an astute depiction of public opinion’s changing tides, and the uncanny speed with which the unthinkable enters the realm of the acceptable”. IGN similarly called it a “vivid reminder of the power of popular opinion and how it can be manipulated by the media”. Metro’s Rachel Tarley summed it up as “funny, full of razor-sharp satire… [yet] one of the scariest things you’re likely to have seen”. Den of Geek echoed the sentiment, calling the episode “brilliant” as an introduction to Black Mirror’s core themes.

Audiences remain divided. Some viewers applaud its daring social commentary; others recoil at the graphic shock value. Blogger Billie Doux, for example, called the episode simultaneously “brilliant and awful,” praising its realistic treatment of the absurd premise but noting its grim implications. She emphasized how Callow is “herded by public opinion toward the only possible choice” and how everyone is “glued to their televisions” despite feeling disgusted. Many fans on forums report being disturbed – admitting they would be just as morbidly curious – while others defend it as sharp satire. In sum, the episode is widely regarded as a powerful, if polarizing, critique of media and politics. Its acclaim (and occasional criticism) underscores that it “remains the story that should be used to indoctrinate viewers into Brooker’s universe” – a provocative piece that few can forget.