Original caricature by Jeff York of Cristin Milioti in the USS CALLISTER: INTO INFINITY episode of the 7th season of BLACK MIRROR.
Rare is the television series that hits a high-water mark in its seventh season, but that may be true for the newest efforts from the British sci-fi series BLACK MIRROR. It just debuted on Netflix this past Thursday, and all six episodes of the new batch have the quality and cleverness we’ve grown to expect from the franchise. One episode is an out-an-out sequel to a previous one, and a few other episodes this season reference past episodes as well. Still, there is one quality that is very unique this go-round and that is the feeling of poignancy searing through most of the episodes. Perhaps the makers of one of television’s darkest shows ever to stream took a glance around at the world and discovered far too much tragedy and corruption and thus realized that they could never trump such awfulness. So, instead of telling stories with a tone the hue of charcoal, most of the episodes this season traffic in, of all things, a generous amount of grace.
Sure, there are sinister themes at play here including selfish characters and ugly truths about our AI age, but a more sympathetic view of mankind and the technical prison we’ve boxed ourselves in is given due diligence here. That decency starts with the first episode entitled COMMON PEOPLE starring Rashida Jones and Chris O’Dowd. They play Amanda and Mike, a good-natured and goofy couple celebrating their anniversary when one of her awful headaches turns into a bona fide life-or-death crisis. The modest-income couple buys into a futuristic healthcare subscription to stave off crippling bills called RiverMind. As explained by company rep (Tracee Ellis Ross), it’s only $300 a month for a form of guaranteed healthcare to meet Amanda’s needs. Of course, the rates go up, and soon, the couple cannot afford the pricey payments. What to do? The answer, explains the rep, lies in Amanda selling parts of her waking consciousness as ad space. It’s a cynical premise, taking potshots at healthcare, subscription services, and inflation, but as played by the couple, it’s also a very moving love story. The duo struggles to make ends meet and possibly prepare for the end due to their calamity and it’s all incredibly emotional. Don’t be surprised if you shed some tears by the end.
Also, incredibly moving is the episode HOTEL REVERIE starring Issa Rae, Emma Corrin, and Aquafina. This time, Hollywood is in the show’s crosshairs, as here, remakes are being done of classic movies albeit with a modern star embedded into the old film. An AI program allows the newbie to interact in real time with the other characters in the film who think their world is actually happening. All that gets mixed up when Rae’s movie star Brandy Friday enters the picture, literally and figuratively, and her ad-libbing off script of a 1940s classic ends up awakening the consciousness of the love interest character opposite her in the movie. That character would be Clara, played in a perfectly pitched 40s style by Corrin. Revelations abound and soon enough, both women are playing two sides of the same coin. Their pseudo-reality becomes laced with genuine feeling, romance, and gravitas. Grab a Kleenex or two for this one.
Better make it a box of Kleenex to get through EULOGY, perhaps the saddest episode ever in the show’s franchise. Paul Giamatti plays Philip, a burned-out, shell of a man who’s called upon by the relatives of the recently deceased Carol to help with her funeral. Carol just happened to be Philip’s college girlfriend 40 years ago, but their breakup was anything but a fond memory for him. Paul only has a few photos and mementos, so an AI guide (Patsy Ferran) is sent to intercede on behalf of the memorial company. She helps Philip “enter” the photos through modern technology and relive the experiences to help jog his memories in a twisted sort of riff on Scrooge’s ghosts helping him revisit his past. There are many twists and turns in this tale. All will devastate…but in a good way. I think this is my favorite of all of this year’s newbies.
I was drawn to USS CALLISTER: INTO INFINITY, the only BLACK MIRROR sequel, picking up where the Emmy-winning episode USS CALLISTER from 2017 finished off. In that exceedingly cheeky parody of both STAR TREK and VR games, Jesse Plemons played a nerdy computer programmer who imagined himself a Captain Kirk-esque hero gallivanting through space to explore strange new worlds with a crew made from the DNA of his fellow workers at his tech company. He lords over them in his heroic role, bending them to his will in a way his wimpy ways in the real world would never allow. It was both a send-up of sci-fi TV and the gamer gen of male incels and in the original, Cristin Milioti played a colleague forced into a form of slavery on that spaceship. Unwilling to accept her space babe role, she helped the other prisoners on the bridge turn the table on their tyrant and take over the ship.
Now, in the sequel, their mission is not to enrich the galaxy but to steal credits from other gamers in their make-believe universe to keep their ship fueled and their characters living. (I love that they’re parodying refueling!) The crew is less humanitarian, and more akin to space pirates here, and while I miss Plemons subtle imitation of William Shatner strutting about, Milioti channels Sigourney Weaver as Ripley from ALIENS, bossing about her weaker colleagues and handling quips and large weaponry with equal aplomb. Special kudos to both Plemons in his return, as well as the comedic standout Jimmi Simpson. There are bad guys here, but even so, they’re sympathetic and the episode doesn’t sneer at them. It sympathizes with them in a way that even the original STAR TREK doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy would happily find quite “human.”
BETE NOIRE comes as close to the snark of previous DARK MIRROR seasons, telling the tale of an R&D researcher Maria (Siena Kelly) who’s on the verge of creating a new candy bar when an old high classmate Verity (Rosy McEwen) starts working at the company and seems to be a bad luck charm for Maria. Suddenly, everything seems to be going wrong for the scientist. but why? Is Verity some sort of evil genius, gaslighting everyone into believing that Maria is a flake or a screw-up? The story here can be very mean and it’s a snarky, savage takedown of executive privilege, the often silly world of test kitchens, and even the erraticness of focus groups. And yet, neither of the two main characters is presented as all good or bad, even in their worst moments. The episode pities them both. Oh, and the ending here is a jaw-dropper, perhaps the most impactful this season.
Finally, there is the episode PLAYTHING which is about getting too attached to video games, amongst other foibles including lying stealing company secrets, and murder. It’s an episode that satirizes everything from Tamagotchi virtual eggs to the Emmy-winning BANDERSNATCH episode of the series from 2018 to interactive video worlds like THE SIMS and POKEMON. Peter Capaldi, in a funny fright wig, plays a loony old man who holds the key, having been arrested for a long-ago murder that he insists has to do with his video game obsession from that period. It’s a little too on-the-nose to slam video games so strongly here as they’ve been vilified far too often in every corner of the globe, but at least the characters exude nuance. Still, this is the one new ep that struck me as just okay.
The good news is that you can bounce around in order as they’re not dependent upon each other here. What connects them all is smart storytelling and its expected editorializing about the dangers of our technological age. Still, there’s a helluva lot more compassion on display this season, more than in any other previous one. In seven seasons of BLACK MIRROR, this one feels more like, well, a GRAY MIRROR.
