Black Mirror is back.
Charlie Brooker’s award-winning sci-fi anthology series has returned for its seventh season with six new episodes (including one sequel). The latest installment delivers a compelling mix of tech nightmares and emotionally driven stories that are well worth watching.
While we previously shared IMDb's ranking of all previous 28 episodes, this time, The National has ranked the six new episodes from season seven, from worst to best. Though largely filled with strong episodes, there's not a significant gap between the bottom and top choices.
So for those who have already binged the new season, here are the episodes listed from worst to best:
Note: Spoilers below.
6. Plaything
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Lewis Gribben, James Nelson-Joyce, Will Poulter
Cameron (Capaldi) is a reclusive loner who is investigated by the police, tying him to a 1994 cold case involving a murdered acquaintance. Going between the present and past, younger Cameron (Gribben), who was a video game reviewer, falls into an obsession with a game called Thronglets that has a digital lifeform called the Throng, inspired by a mysterious programme created by Bandersnatch’s “genius programmer” Colin Ritman (Poulter).
Cameron's fascination intensifies under the influence of drugs, leading him to believe he can communicate with the Throng. This obsession culminates in a violent act when he murders his roommate, Lump, who mistreats the digital beings. As present-day Cameron explains his belief that humanity must merge with the Throng to overcome violence, he activates a signal intended to trigger a digital singularity, potentially ushering in a new era of human evolution.
The National’s take: There isn't anything actually wrong with Plaything, it's just that season seven had many other stronger episodes. Including references to Bandersnatch is a nice touch. The ambiguous, eerie ending also leaves the door open for sequels or deeper implications within the Black Mirror universe.
5. Bete Noire
Starring: Siena Kelly, Rosy McEwen, Ben Bailey Smith
A successful food researcher Maria (Kelly) finds her life unravelling when Verity (McEwen), a former classmate she once bullied, joins her company under mysterious circumstances. As Maria's reality distorts – she misremembers the names of places and sends an email in which she swears she wrote one thing, but is proven to have written something else – she suspects Verity is somehow manipulating events.
Her fears are confirmed when she discovers Verity can distort memories and events as she has developed a quantum device that alters reality, seeking revenge for past traumas. In a climactic confrontation, Maria kills Verity and seizes control of the device, ultimately declaring herself "empress of the universe" (which Verity also previously admitted to doing).
The National’s take: The gaslighting in this episode made my anxiety spike, which is probably exactly what Brooker intended. The first half of Bete Noire was brilliant, but the final minutes felt a bit underwhelming. Sure, you could call it a happy ending since Maria ends up with the quantum device, but I couldn’t help wishing she had used her newfound power differently.
4. Hotel Reverie
Starring: Issa Rae, Emma Corrin, Awkwafina
Actor Brandy Friday (Rae) is inserted into a simulated remake of a classic Hollywood film, where she falls in love with Clara Ryce-Lechere (Corrin), a version of the movie’s heroine created by artificial intelligence. As technical glitches expose the artificiality of her world, Clara becomes self-aware and discovers she was modeled after the repressed actor Dorothy Chambers.
Clara chooses to pursue her own happiness with Brandy, but their romance is cut short when the simulation resets and everyone's memories revert to where the film had paused. In a tragic twist, Clara is fatally shot, diverging from the original movie’s ending. After returning to the real world, Brandy receives a device that allows her to speak to a simulation of Dorothy during one of her old screen tests.
The National’s take: It’s a beautiful love story that gives off San Junipero vibes. Corrin is mesmerising as an old Hollywood starlet. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in our daily lives, the story feels less like science fiction and more like a near-future possibility.
3. Common People
Starring: Rashida Jones, Chris O'Dowd, Tracee Ellis Ross
A devoted husband named Mike (O'Dowd) turns to a futuristic subscription service called Rivermind to save his wife Amanda (Jones), a schoolteacher who collapses from a sudden medical emergency. The service promises to keep her brain alive for $300 a month, but what begins as a lifeline, soon spirals into a dystopian nightmare as the couple is forced to navigate escalating costs and manipulative tiered upgrades.
As Amanda is moved through different Rivermind tiers, her behaviour shifts drastically, from confusion and emotional withdrawal to temporary clarity and peace in premium levels, but each upgrade comes at an unbearable financial and psychological cost. With mounting pressure and no clear path forward, Mike faces the impossible decision – keep paying to preserve a fragmented version of Amanda or let her go.
The National’s take: It's a chilling critique of healthcare, capitalism and the tech industry's commodification of survival. There's also some pointed digs at platforms and their constantly expanding tier systems, Netflix included (which makes you wonder how Brooker got away with it).
2. USS Callister: Into Infinity
Starring: Cristin Milioti, Jesse Plemons, Jimmi Simpson
The first sequel in Black Mirror history, the story picks up months after the digital clones of the USS Callister crew escape their tyrannical creator, Robert Daly (Plemons), and enter the expansive virtual universe of the game Infinity. Now operating as space pirates to survive, the crew, led by digital Nanette (Milioti), seeks to carve out a haven within the game. Their plan involves accessing the "Heart of Infinity", a central server that could grant them autonomy.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the original Nanette discovers the existence of these digital clones and collaborates with James Walton (Simpson), chief executive of Callister Inc, to track them down. As events unfold, Nanette becomes brain-dead after a car accident, prompting her digital counterpart to confront a clone of Robert Daly within the Heart of Infinity.
Faced with a moral dilemma, digital Nanette chooses to merge the consciousness of the Callister crew with her own, allowing them to experience the real world through her senses and communicate via her cellphone. The episode ends with Walton's arrest for his involvement in illegal digital cloning, and Nanette and the crew adapting to their new shared existence.
The National’s take: Despite the long gap between episodes, USS Callister: Into Infinity delivers a satisfying conclusion. It’s a strong reminder that if Brooker ever decided to make a full-length Black Mirror film (non-interactive, that is), it would probably be a hit. Given how well this sequel worked, perhaps Black Mirror should consider exploring more follow-ups?
1. Eulogy
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Patsy Ferran
Phillip (Giamatti), a solitary middle-aged man, is approached by a tech company called Eulogy to contribute memories of his late ex-girlfriend Carol for an immersive memorial. Initially hesitant as they had a rocky relationship, he agrees and uses a device to enter old photographs that allow him to revisit moments from their strained relationship. But he finds he can’t picture her face – and discovers he had defaced any remaining images of her out of lingering bitterness.
As he delves deeper, guided by a digital assistant who later reveals herself to be Carol’s daughter Kelly (Ferran), Phillip learns painful truths about their past, including Carol’s pregnancy from a retaliatory affair. A rediscovered letter reveals that despite the pregnancy, Carol had wanted to stay together, but in an angry state, Phillip never saw it – and therefore never read or responded to it. The discovery brings a wave of regret but also clarity – she hadn’t simply walked away. The episode ends with Phillip attending Carol’s funeral, watching Kelly perform a cello piece, and finally being able to remember Carol’s face.
The National’s take: Sweet and poignant, Eulogy avoids the crushing despair the series is known for, instead going for a tender and reflective resolution. While not exactly a happy ending, it's a realistic one about missed opportunities and lost love. Exploring regret, it shows how technology can also help someone process pain rather than deepen it.
