The black mirror is once again held up to us in the seventh season of Black Mirror. The sixth season broke a bit with the usual formula. Will the seventh season continue on that path or not?Black Mirror consists of standalone episodes (although this season deviates from that), which focus on the technological development of humanity and its sometimes disastrous consequences.
In the sixth season, a number of episodes deviated from this formula and episodes were chosen in which horror and supernatural elements predominated. They seem to be backing away from this for the time being, because the episodes of the seventh season fit perfectly into the straitjacket that we know from the first five seasons.
All six new episodes focus on the relationship between humans and technology. The tone for this is set immediately in the first episode of the seventh season. In this episode (Common People), the lives of Mike, played by Chris O’Dowd, and Amanda, played by Rashida Jones, are turned upside down when Amanda ends up in a coma and turns out to have a brain tumor. The company Rivermind Technologies can help her by removing the tumor and linking her brain to a central server. The operation is free, but then they are stuck with a monthly subscription to keep Amanda ‘surgical’. As we are used to from Black Mirror, it gives a wonderfully dark picture of the possible consequences of, in this case, the commercialization and digitalization of healthcare and the dependence on technological aids.
I feel like Black Mirror dared to push the stories a bit further in the earlier seasons. Most episodes seem a bit more moderate.
Unique in the seventh season is the return of previous characters and stories. For example, in the episode Plaything we see Colin Ritman, played by Will Poulter, who we also encountered in Bandersnatch (the interactive Black Mirror episode). Where Plaything is only a supporting role in an otherwise solid episode, the episode USS Callister: Into Infinity is a direct sequel to USS Callister from the sixth season. I enjoyed it and - partly as a tribute to series like Star Trek - I still think it is very successful, but because it is a sequel, it clearly lacks the originality that Black Mirror episodes normally have.
The episode Eulogy should definitely not go unmentioned. A beautiful tear-jerking episode in which Phillip, played by Paul Giamatti, has the opportunity to recall memories of a deceased loved one from his past by 'stepping into photos'. Especially when it comes to emotional depth in an episode, this is - in my opinion - one of the best episodes ever.
All in all, I enjoyed the seventh season of Black Mirror again. It is back-to-basics again, given that the episodes are again about humanity and technology. A formula that has proven itself and is still doing well. Current topics and social phenomena such as gaslighting, technological dependency, the financial consequences of wanting to keep up with technology and the consequences of spreading disinformation are discussed in abundance and are incorporated into the episodes in a way that makes the viewer think.
In my opinion, Black Mirror sometimes dared to let the stories go a bit further in the earlier seasons. Most episodes seem a bit more moderate. But perhaps that also has to do with the fact that we are used to it after seven seasons.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
