Black Mirror Series Review (Season 7)

Released: 10th April 2025

Number of Episodes: 6

Certificate: 18

Created by: Charlie Brooker

For more than a decade now, Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror has served up some zany and often disturbing tales of technology gone wrong. For the most part, the latest offering succeeds by going for a more personal focus.

For the past couple of seasons some episodes have fallen flat, relying too heavily on more gimmicky situations. Striking Vipers, Ashley Too and Mazey Day come to mind when thinking about weaker entries. For the seventh outing, only one sticks out in this way. Bête Noire is well acted and the situation is one many of us dread; but it all boils down to a mystery device with no depth or finer detail. The ending feels too outlandish and over-the-top when compared with the other episodes. While not ranking among the series best, Common People and PlayThing succeed in their respective stories. The former feels very grounded and insidious with corporate tech bros worming their way into ownership of a loved one’s life support. It’s very relatable with a couple having to make constant financial cutbacks when all they want is a happy life together. PlayThing has some very loose connections to Bandersnatch, taking the viewer through the nineties and late 2020s with an eccentric hardware enthusiast. The creepy sounds emanating from a retro game really hit home.

The grim tone is still present and accounted for, but two episodes stand out for being meticulous puzzle boxes that gradually reveal the finer details. Hotel Reverie involves the incorporation of AI to resurrect beloved cinematic classics. The actors, lines and scenes all occur in real-time, creating unexpected twists and turns as a passionate romance takes hold. Cutting between the world of the film and the technical operators who desperately try to fix the technical problems, this episode creates a winding narrative while still conveying heavy emotions. Issa Rae and Emma Corrin lead the way, compelling the audience to root for their close bond even as technology threatens to rip it away. It’s ironic that such a heartfelt connection can come from a cynical Hollywood machine that relies so heavily on remakes and re-releases. Eulogy features a remote delivery system for a funeral, but it morphs into a deconstructive tale where an aging man confronts his past choices and relationships. Paul Giamatti does a brilliant job presenting a rising sense of frustration and regret here; with such a small and self-contained story, this episode takes you through all the ups and downs of the protagonist’s youth.

For both episodes, the filming techniques and presentation methods stand out as well. The sense of a three-dimensional space is a key part of Hotel Reverie as the characters gradually learn more about their environment. For Eulogy, photos and memories become a full physical space, fully immersing both the main protagonist and the audience. These creative approaches allow Black Mirror to stand out on a crowded small screen. To close out the season, we have the first sequel episode: USS Callister: Into Infinity. There’s plenty of room for expansion here as the narrative plays around with timelines and the boundaries of gaming and reality. This is a feature-length production with a ton of detail both in and out of the virtual world. The fourth-wall breaks and having the cast play two different versions of themselves continues to work well.

Black Mirror’s seventh volume offers a solid range of stories on a smaller scale. By homing in on more introspective issues, this season crafts some more emotional and poignant moments. One episode feels a bit hollow, but most will be very impressed by the scenarios on offer. There is still no other show like it and the swing between brutal and pleasant outcomes keeps the six episodes humming along.

Rating: 4/5 Stars (Great)