After a mixed reception to its last two seasons, Black Mirror is back with six new episodes — and this time, it feels like a true return to form. The seventh season re-embraces its sci-fi roots, blending inventive storytelling with the emotional and satirical punch that once defined the series. While not every episode is a knockout, there’s a revived energy and focus that makes this the most consistent batch in years.
This season includes six standalone stories, anchored in tech and speculative fiction. For the first time, the show delivers a direct sequel — USS Callister: Into Infinity — continuing the story from the much-loved 2017 episode. It also spins off ideas from Bandersnatch, the 2018 interactive film.
The good
The standout episodes push the show’s themes in fresh emotional directions. Common People, starring Chris O’Dowd and Rashida Jones, is a gut-punching satire about uploading consciousness to the cloud — but with a costly subscription plan. Hotel Reverie explores the blurred line between reality and simulation as Issa Rae’s character enters an AI recreation of a black-and-white romance. Eulogy, with Paul Giamatti, is a quiet heartbreaker, reflecting on memory and lost love through digitized photographs. The season’s darkest delight is Bête Noire, a sharp thriller about workplace suspicion that builds to a wickedly satisfying payoff. The only real misfire is Plaything, which stars Peter Capaldi as a mysterious gamer-suspect in a high-tech interrogation room. Despite a strong start, it ends abruptly and feels underdeveloped.
Season 7 shines in how it reconnects with what made Black Mirror resonate: smart, grounded sci-fi with real emotional stakes. Creator Charlie Brooker injects both heart and humor into the scripts, giving even the darkest tales a human touch. Episodes like Common People and Eulogy dig into the personal cost of tech while avoiding clichés, and performances across the board are solid, often elevating the material.
The bad
As with any anthology, consistency is a challenge — and Black Mirror Season 7 isn’t immune. As mentioned earlier Plaything is the season’s weakest link. It builds tension effectively and gives Peter Capaldi a compelling role, but the story ends before it really begins. There’s a promising idea at its core, involving the psychological effects of gamified tech, but it’s never explored beyond surface level. It feels like a solid first act stretched to a full runtime with no real payoff.
Then there’s USS Callister: Into Infinity, which had the potential to be the season’s highlight but ends up feeling like a retread. The sequel doesn’t recapture the original’s novelty or emotional impact, and without the surprise element of Season 4’s version, it loses its bite. In a show that thrives on unpredictability, going back to familiar territory feels safe — and slightly underwhelming. Also, some episodes tend to over-explain their concepts, veering into heavy-handedness when subtle storytelling would’ve landed better.
The verdict
Despite its flaws, Season 7 is a welcome return to what Black Mirror does best: twisty, unsettling stories that blend future tech with very human dilemmas. It marks a creative refresh for the series, with stories that feel both timely and emotionally resonant. There’s a balance of heart, horror, and satire that reminds us why this show struck a nerve in the first place.
The season may not reinvent the wheel, but it doesn’t have to. It gets back to the core ideas that once made Black Mirror unmissable — and does so with enough flair, emotion, and relevance to make it one of the stronger entries in recent years. A few stumbles aside, this is Brooker’s best work in a while — and a solid reason to believe there’s still life in this dark mirror.
