Black Mirror season 7 review
Cast: Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd, Siena Kelly, Issa Rae, Akwafina, Emma Corrin, Peter Capaldi, Lewis Gribben, Paul Giamatti, Patsy Ferran, Cristin Milioti, Jesse Plemons
Creator: Charlie Brooker
Rating: ★★★.5
Black Mirror‘s run on TV and streaming can be neatly divided into two parts. The first is the glory days – when the show aired on UK’s Channel 4 and was known for its groundbreaking storytelling and some unusually macabre tales. The second is the downward slide when it began streaming on Netflix. The production values improved and the scale got bigger, but it lost its fizz and its soul. Season 7 is a respite from that. In parts, it threatens to return to Channel 4 days in terms of edginess and bravado. Yet, the Netflix era rears its head again to pull it back to just about another mediocre offering.
About Black Mirror S7
One of the biggest seasons in its history, season 7 comprises of six individual stories – four originals, one spinoff, and one direct sequel. It is a mixed bag of storytelling, but one that thankfully has more hits than misses. From the devastating Common People (that has people cancelling their Netflix subscriptions) to the haunting Plaything (with a brilliant Peter Capaldi), and Eulogy, which will leave you an emotional wreck, Black Mirror returns to its roots with shows that have technology in the background but are essentially about human nature.
What really sets Black Mirror S7 apart from the previous two disappointing seasons is that the metaphors and parallels are in-your-face, but in a more satitical way. There is no attempt to be clever. There is no effort to be condescending in storytelling. Once again, Black Mirror takes its audience and their intelligence seriously and presents layered stories without much hand-holding.
Another achievement is the final episode – USS Callister: Into Infinity. A sequel to the season 4 episode USS Callister, it not only takes the story forward, but ties several loose ends and yet does well as a standalone episode. There are tons of Easter eggs in other episodes too, with Plaything leaving several references to Bandersnatch, the 2018 interactive film from Black Mirror, apart from the one mandatory ‘Juniper/Junipero’ reference in almost every episode.
When it comes to the performances, Peter Capaldi stands out with his unhinged portrayal of a video game-obsessed junkie with a mission. Emma Corrin also steals the show with a remarkable depiction of an actress from the 40s playing a character in a film. It’s all very Black Mirror. Cristin Miloti continues her fine run of form and impresses in USS Callister: Into Infinity. And despite a limited runtime, Jesse Plemons delivers a memorable performance yet again. However, the two standout performances for me this season were from Rashida Jones and Chris O’Dowd. Their acting makes the first episode – Common People – even more heartbreaking than it ought to be.
The shortcomings
But there are failings too. In Bête Noire, Black Mirror sets up a rather intriguing premise, only to squander it with the most disappointing ending in the show’s history. Yes, the resolution here is even worse than Joan Is Awful. Similarly, Hotel Reverie, a combination of old Hollywood nostalgia and San Junipero-esque escapism, also fails to click with none of the characters – bar the one played by Emma Corrin – really connecting. The two episodes – which stream one after the other – threaten to ruin what is otherwise a solid season.
