Black Mirror returns to connect the future and the present and sometimes blur the line between them.
The series which became a symbol of our fears about technology, holds up a cracked mirror to the place where we already are, reflecting a reality that feels right at the doorstep.
Since it began 14 years ago, it has undergone many changes from two drama seasons in its British version on Channel 4, to an American co production with Netflix which completely changed its style.
The new season of Black Mirror, which premiered Thursday on the streaming giant, not only returns to its roots after a drop in quality in recent seasons, but also deepens the emotional layers that technology carries.
As always, it’s hard to judge the series as a whole, each episode is an independent universe, with episodes that hit perfectly, others less so, and a few that will blow you away.
Among the six episodes, you will also find a sequel to “USS Callister,” one of the favorite episodes from season 4, continuing a relatively new trend in the series returning to familiar concepts.
This might indicate a trend in a world where almost every series deals with technology: Black Mirror is less unique and also returns to the sequel niche. Season seven manages to feel natural, lighter and even surprising.
The first episode of the season, “Striking Vipers,” is a wild mix of futuristic medicine and a questionable streaming service.
Amanda and Mike (Rashida Jones and Chris O’Dowd) are a cute working class couple.
Their lives turn upside down after Amanda collapses in the classroom where she teaches and is diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Her husband must agree to a “novel solution”: a surgery that transfers part of her brain to the cloud, on condition they commit to a fixed monthly payment.
They discover that the package offered is now considered basic and must be upgraded.
If they don’t pay on time, she must sleep more to save energy for the servers, or simply begin involuntarily emitting ads from her mouth.
Its tragic, absurd, disturbing and not as far fetched as it sounds.
This episode illustrates everything Black Mirror does well: it delivers a sharp critique of corporations and a soulless healthcare system, showing that even love is not free from terms of service.
But above all, it holds a mirror to us humans trying to figure out how to manage in a world that, like an app, updates every few hours. In the long episode “Rory Hotel,” Issa Rae plays a movie actress participating in a remake of a classic film, this time using AI technology that places her in a virtual world where she lives the movie alongside her mother, Corinne.
The episode explores how we connect to fictional characters and how technology today is used to bring back actors who are no longer with us (like in Ari Folman’s “The Congress”).
In the episode “Eulogy,” with Paul Giamatti, a man revisits memories of the past through old photographs, but the story is really about regret, longing and things we missed along the way.
The sequel to “USS Callister” also returns to questions of identity in the digital age technology is just the tool, not the story.
Alongside these, there are “Toy” and “Bat Noir,” two episodes with good ideas that fail to fully take off.
But bottom line, Black Mirror returns to itself with a more diverse, sharp and emotional season that isn’t afraid to try new things.
After a few wobbly seasons, Charlie Brooker’s series returns to a creative peak, regaining the sophistication, tension, and social critique that characterized its best days.
Even if not every episode hits perfectly, the season stands out in stylistic variety, excellent performances and the courage to tell new stories not just to replicate past successes.
Brooker may no longer be ahead of his time, but he knows how to pause and reflect and that may be even more important.
Even when the ideas are less surprising, the series still asks the right questions: how do we live with technology, what does it take from us and what remains of us when the screen goes dark.
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