Season 6 of Black Mirror was met with some trepidation, since the show seemed to be headed in a new direction, with episodes like Mazey Day and Demon 79 focused more on horror and the supernatural. This mixed reception is probably why creator Charlie Brooker retreads old ground in this latest season. Season 7 is definitely more classic Black Mirror, and while there’s much to enjoy for those of us who got into Black Mirror for the dystopic themes and commentary, some episodes do feel like echoes of earlier ones. As a result, season 7 doesn’t feel particularly innovative, especially when the older episodes tackled similar ideas more effectively.
The strongest episodes this season are Common People and Eulogy. Common People stars Rashida Jones and Chris O’Dowd, who play couple Amanda and Mike. Mike’s a welder and Amanda’s a teacher, and both are generally satisfied with their lives together despite not being wealthy. Things take a turn when Amanda is discovered to have a brain tumour, and Mike makes a decision to let surgeons remove a part of Amanda’s brain and replace it with a mechanism that allows her to function as long as she’s connected to the network. It’s like filling her brain with phone parts that don’t run unless there’s WIFI. The monthly payment is 300 dollars, but soon the company starts to create a tiered system that forces users to upgrade and if they don’t, they are exempt from certain benefits that play a key part in one’s quality of living. Amanda and Mike make enough to just barely support themselves, so they don’t have spare cash to throw at the problem.
Common People can be perceived as a commentary for various things: the constant upgrades we find ourselves having to do in order to get better outcomes (*coughs* Netflix increasing its membership tiers and pricing arbitrarily every few years), or the financial reality that comes with battling terminal illness. The bills are never-ending and you dig yourself into a financial hole but it’s not even worth it as your loved one ends up dying anyway. While the commentary is a fair bit on the nose and isn’t as nuanced as earlier Black Mirror episodes, Common People is still nonetheless strong and affecting; Jones and O’Dowd are stellar together and allows us to feel pathos for common folk very much like ourselves.
Starting with Common People and then having Eulogy towards the tail-end of the season really helps the season start and end strong. It also helps when you cast Paul Giamatti. Giamatti plays Philip, who’s just found out that the love of his life has passed away. They parted on bad terms, and now her daughter wants to collect memories of her mother for the eulogy using an innovative system that helps the person recollect by using photographs and using technology to help fill in details of memories that have been lost through time. Giamatti is excellent and makes Philip this wonderfully complex character despite his flaws. Black Mirror is usually about how technology can bring out the harmful sides of humanity, so it’s really beautiful to get an episode where technology is used as a cathartic means to deal with loss and overcome the ghosts of the past. The imagery of each memory dive from a static photo is also done so well – reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
The middle episodes are decent but have weak elements that prevent them from becoming truly iconic Black Mirror episodes. Bête Noire is an interesting look at trauma and victimhood, but ends too abruptly. It’s the same result for Plaything, a competent spin-off to Bandersnatch that deals with human’s relationship with A.I. Though I enjoyed Peter Capaldi’s performance, and the reappearance of Will Poulter’s Colin Ritman, the episode reiterates the same talking points about A.I. Hotel Reverie is one of the episodes that had potential, especially when you consider the reality of studios having control over an actors’ face and likeness and using technology to do what they want with it without the actor’s consent. However, the way it plays out comes across as a watered down San Junipero. Emma Corrin is so good and truly feels like they are part of the time period. Issa Rae is decent as the fish out of water character, but their togetherness on screen is lacking in chemistry, so the ending moments don’t hit as hard as they could.
Ending the season on USS Callister: Into Infinity probably felt like a fitting choice given that it was the beginning of season 4 and is one of the more highly-rated episodes of Black Mirror. It was certainly nice to see all the same characters again, and it’s always a treat to have Cristin Milioti’s fiery Nanette Cole on my television screen, however, this sequel just isn’t as good as the first episode. The resolution felt a bit too deux ex machina, though I did enjoy the episode’s commentary on humanity’s obsession with money and power, and the lengths we go in order to keep them. Jesse Plemons is such a chameleon of an actor, so it was great to see him explore another side to a character we had seen previously, with the same hair-standing, creepy result.
I do wish that the season had ended on Eulogy instead of USS Callister: Into Infinity, but I guess that would be too hopeful for Black Mirror. Given the mixed results of this season, I’m not sure how much originality there is left to squeeze from the series. Brooker is ready to make more episodes, but Netflix has yet to commission a season 8. Black Mirror is one of Netflix’s most popular TV shows and an inherent part of its brand, so I can’t see them not greenlighting a new season especially when Brooker isn’t ready to step away yet. What are they waiting for? I hope it’s not to increase membership fees again; we’re all just common folk after all.
REVIEW SCORE: 3.5/5
