Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Entertainment, Netflix, TV
Sarah Halle Corey
After six seasons of Black Mirror and all its dystopian plots, plus a real life news cycle that oftentimes feels like it could be straight out of a sci-fi TV show, you’d might wonder if there are even any stories left for Black Mirror to tell. Well, it turns out there are, and Black Mirror season 7 is tackling them.
That’s right, Black Mirror is back on Netflix for a 6-episode season that creator Charlie Brooker calls “a little bit OG Black Mirror.” I guess that means you won’t be seeing any interactive, choose-your-own-adventure kind of episodes à la Bandersnatch. Although, Will Poulter’s character from Bandersnatch is in the fourth episode this season. Actually, there are a bunch of easter eggs and allusions to previous seasons in Black Mirror season 7, including an entire episode that serves as the sequel to the “USS Callister” episode from season 4. It’s like a Black Mirror family reunion this this season!
“It’s back to basics in many ways,” Charlie Brooker told the Netflix blog Tudum. “They’re all sci-fi stories — there’s definitely some horrifying things that occur, but maybe not in an overt horror-movie way. There’s definitely some disturbing content in it.”
Whether you’re an OG Black Mirror fan or just jumping into its sci-fi world now, there’s a little something for everyone this season. Let’s dive in with a ranking of all six episodes of Black Mirror season 7.
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Black Mirror is at its best when the technology on the show seems just out of reach for our reality. Like, the tech doesn’t exist, but you totally believe that it could, and the fact that it could happen makes the story even creepier. In “Bête Noire,” the reality-bending technology is so outlandish that it feels almost more like fantasy than sci-fi. That said, this episode has a super cool concept and it’s still worth a watch.
“Plaything” is a video game-centered episode that kind of feels like your typical Black Mirror episode where the technology gets out of hand. But the thing that sets this episode apart is you can actually play the game from the episode in real life while you watch. Too scary, or kind of cool? I’ll let you decide.
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If you’re a fan of season 3’s “San Junipero,” then this one is for you. “Hotel Reverie” is a romance about a modern-day actress (played by Issa Rae) who works for an AI-producer (played by Awkwafina) and gets inserted into an old movie starring a closeted actress (played by Emma Corrin). Honestly, the story gets a little muddled, but it’s worth a watch for the beautiful love story between Issa and Emma’s characters.
To me, this episode is exactly the “OG Black Mirror” Charlie Brooker is talking about. But just a warning: it’s bleak. Rashida Jones plays a woman who gets a part of her brain backed up to a subscription service-based cloud, and Chris O’Dowd plays her husband who has to work hard to keep her brain running. It ends about as happily as you might expect; in other words, prepare yourself to be depressed after this one.
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Paul Giamatii stars in this beautiful episode about a man transported to his old memories through photos. It’s heartfelt and way more sentimental that other Black Mirror episodes, which is kinda refreshing.
The USS: Callister story continues with this second installment as the digital clones stuck in a video game once again fight to survive. It’s a fun adventure, and there might even be a third part in the future, so it’s definitely worth checking out this episode now.