Cristin Milioti in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Photo: Nick Wall/Netflix.
‘Black Mirror’ Season 7 receives 8 out of 10 stars.
Returning to Netflix on April 10th for a seventh season of anthology tales blending techno-terror with emotion, ‘Black Mirror’ proves it still has what it counts as the modern-day equivalent of ‘The Outer Limits’ or ‘The Twilight Zone.’
And this time, with six episodes in play, there is a greater scope for stories to be told compared to some of the more compacted recent seasons. It’s also reassuring that, after some slightly less effective entries, the seventh season finds the show handily back on form.
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Does ‘Black Mirror’ Season 7 reflect well on the series?
Paul Giamatti in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Photo: Nick Wall/Netflix.
‘Black Mirror’ has always been about more than simply darkly shaded warnings about the use (and mis-use of technology); it’s about humans and how we interact, also. Season 7 definitely lives up to that aim, offering some persuasive tales of those whose lives are impacted by innovations in medical science or tech in general.
It’s also welcome to see the series following up on a couple of popular episodes –– while the sequel to ‘USS Callister’ doesn’t have the sting of the original, for example, it expands it in interesting ways and deepens one of the characters in the process.
Script and Direction
Will Poulter in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Photo: Nick Wall/Netflix.
Charlie Brooker, the show’s co-creator, once again leads the writing team here, working alongside the likes of Bisha K. Ali, Ella Road, William Bridges, and Bekka Bowling to put out more gripping tales. A highlight of the writing this time in the first entry, ‘Common People,’ with its spin on ever-changing subscription services this time applied to live-saving medical treatment. It’s emotional and thorough, and heartbreaking when needed.
On a more darkly funny level is ‘Bête Noire,’ with its vengeful story of old resentments curdled into fresh vengeance. We won’t reveal exactly what is going on, but the answer is a fun one.
Directing wise, it’s reassuring to see such filmmakers as David Slade and Toby Hynes brought back to handle the two episodes –– ‘Plaything’ and ‘USS Callister: Into Infinity’ that call back to their previous work.
All in all, though, the direction is superb –– stylish when required, subtle at other times.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Chris O’Dowd and Rashida Jones in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Photo: Nick Wall/Netflix.
As has become commonplace for ‘Black Mirror,’ Season 7 boasts a quality ensemble for its various stories.
Chris O’Dowd and Rashida Jones are at the heart of ‘Common People’ and put in turns that are funny, real and packed full of feeling, but not forgetting Tracee Ellis Ross as their company rep, who keeps pushing new updates with a smile, even when the couple struggle to keep up financially.
‘Hotel Reverie’ blends classic Hollywood with high-tech and features lovely work from Emma Corrin and Issa Rae, with fine support from Awkwafina and Harriet Walter.
Peter Capaldi in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Photo: Nick Wall/Netflix.
‘Plaything’ hinges on the intense energy of Peter Capaldi, who really sells the focus of a man on a mission, but kudos also to Lewis Gribben, who plays the same character 40 years earlier.
‘Eulogy’ boasts excellent work from Paul Giamatti as a man haunted by grief and memory (literally in this case) and grapples with tough truths about his past.
And ‘USS Callister: Into Infinity’ of course re-introduces us to the brave, digi-DNA copies of the crew (and their human counterparts), with Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson and Jesse Plemons all fantastic returning to their roles.
Final Thoughts
Issa Rae in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Photo: Nick Wall/Netflix.
While it has the usual highs and lows as in any ‘Black Mirror’ season, the highs far outweigh the lows, and for every episode that doesn’t shine as brightly (‘Bête Noire’ is a fun concept but doesn’t totally deliver), there is a wonderful show waiting to be injected into your eyes.
Oh, and fans of the series will want to be on the lookout for a recurring motif; let’s just say it starts with the letter “J”…
“The future is bright.”
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7 SeasonsDecember 4th, 2011
What’s the story of ‘Black Mirror’ Season 7?
The six-episode season of ‘Black Mirror’ features the following stories…
‘Common People’: When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, her desperate husband Mike signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive –– but at a cost…
‘Bête Noire’: Confectionary whizz kid Maria is unnerved when her former schoolmate Verity joins the company she works at — because there’s something altogether odd about Verity, something only Maria seems to notice…
‘Hotel Reverie’: A high-tech, unusually immersive remake of a vintage British film sends Hollywood A-list star Brandy Friday into another dimension, where she must stick to the script if she ever wants to make it home.
‘Plaything’: In a near-future London, an eccentric murder suspect is linked to an unusual video game from the 1990s — a game populated by cute, evolving artificial lifeforms.
‘Eulogy’: An isolated man is introduced to a groundbreaking system that allows its users to literally step inside old photographs — stirring powerful emotions in the process.
‘USS Callister: Into Infinity’: Robert Daly is dead, but now the crew of the USS Callister –– led by Captain Nanette Cole –– are stranded in an infinite virtual universe, fighting for survival against 30 million players.
Who stars in ‘Black Mirror’ Season 7?
Awkwafina in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. Photo: Nick Wall/Netflix.
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