The ‘Black Mirror’ Season 7 episodes ranked, from worst to first
Season 7 of Black Mirror dropped April 10 on Netflix after a two-year break. English showrunner Charlie Brooker wrote or cowrote all of the episodes, as usual. He's a five-time Emmy winner for writing and producing "San Junipero" in 2017, writing and producing "USS Callister" in 2018, and producing "Bandersnatch" in 2019. He received a sixth career Emmy nomination last year for writing "Joan Is Awful," but lost to Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer).
Speaking of "Bandersnatch" and "USS Callister," Season 7 marks the first time Black Mirror has revisited previous storylines in the form of cameo and a sequel, respectively. Will Poulter's computer programmer character Colin Ritman was featured in the interactive "Bandersnatch" and now returns with a small role in "Plaything." Meanwhile, "USS Callister: Into Infinity" is a full-on sequel to the original outer space installment, with Cristin Milioti and Jimmi Simpson reprising their crew members of the titular starship.
As for the other new episodes, "Common People" features Rashida Jones and Chris O'Dowd as a married couple whose lives change forever after a medical emergency leads them to the Rivermind start-up company. "Bête Noire" experiments with the Mandela effect concept, where many people believe an event occurred when it did not. "Hotel Reverie" toys with the idea of remaking old movies using real actors (like Issa Rae's Brandy) and artificial intelligence (like Emma Corrin's Dorothy). And "Eulogy" stars Paul Giamatti as a man who enter into the past with the help of technology.
Fans have been debating the merits of the half-dozen new installments. Here are the rankings of the Black Mirror Season 7 episodes, from worst to first, based on IMDb ratings. Agree or disagree with this listing? Be sure to rank them yourself in our TV forums.
6. "Hotel Reverie"
Rating: 7.3/10
Directed by: Haolu Wang
Written by: Charlie Brooker
Cast : Issa Rae, Awkwafina, Emma Corrin, Harriet Walter, Enzo Cilenti
Plot: A high-tech, unusually immersive remake of a vintage British film sends Hollywood A-list star Brandy Friday into another dimension, where she must stick to the script if she ever wants to make it home.
4. (tie) "Bête Noire"
Rating: 7.4/10
Directed by: Toby Haynes
Written by: Charlie Brooker
Cast : Siena Kelly, Rosy McEwen, Michael Workéyè, Ben Bailey Smith, Amber Grappy, Ravi Aujla, Elena Sanz, Hanna Griffiths
Plot: Confectionary whizz kid Maria is unnerved when her former schoolmate Verity joins the company she works at — because there's something altogether odd about Verity, something only Maria seems to notice.
4. (tie) "Plaything"
Rating: 7.4/10
Directed by: David Slade
Written by: Charlie Brooker
Cast : Peter Capaldi, Lewis Gribben, James Nelson-Joyce, Michele Austin, Asim Chaudhry, Will Poulter
Plot: In a near-future London, an eccentric murder suspect is linked to an unusual video game from the 1990s — a game populated by cute, evolving artificial lifeforms.
2. (tie) "Common People"
Rating: 8.1/10
Directed by: Ally Pankiw
Teleplay by : Charlie Brooker; Story by : Charlie Brooker & Bisha K. Ali
Cast: Rashida Jones, Chris O'Dowd, Tracee Ellis Ross
Plot: When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, her desperate husband Mike signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive.
2. (tie) "Eulogy"
Rating: 8.1/10
Directed by: Chris Barrett & Luke Taylor
Written by: Charlie Brooker & Ella Road
Cast : Paul Giamatti, Patsy Ferran
Plot: An isolated man is introduced to a groundbreaking system that allows its users to literally step inside old photographs — stirring powerful emotions in the process.
1. "USS Callister: Into Infinity"
Rating: 8.5/10
Directed by: Toby Haynes
Written by: Charlie Brooker, Bisha K. Ali, William Bridges & Bekka Bowling
Cast : Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson, Billy Magnussen, Milanka Brooks, Osy Ikhile, Paul G. Raymond
Plot: Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) is dead, but now the crew of the USS Callister — led by Captain Nanette Cole — are stranded in an infinite virtual universe, fighting for survival against 30 million players.
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