Flickr

Season seven of “Black Mirror” was released on April 10.

Emmy-award winning Netflix show “Black Mirror” is an anthology series that follows a new dystopian plotline with each episode, often using thriller, mystery or romance elements to explore each intriguing world. All six episodes of season seven were released on April 10. After mildly disappointing seasons five and six, this season returns to the high bar of seasons two through four, with no boring or underwhelming episodes.

Every episode feels unique and refreshing. Viewers go from feeling disturbed by episodes like “Common People” and “Plaything” to feeling a sense of charm and intrigue from “Hotel Reverie” and “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” Adding to this unique feeling, nearly every episode has a different director, creating new and interesting visual styles for each episode, making the entire season feel fresher overall.

Despite all of that, there is a problem shared between many of the episodes that holds the season back from being as great as it could be. That problem is its lack of actual horror. A trend between many of the episodes from earlier seasons was having somewhat creepy or unsettling endings, leaving the viewer to wrestle with their own thoughts as the credits rolled in the background. 

While this feeling of uneasiness may have been a turn off for more sensitive viewers of the show, many people, like myself, look back fondly on the sheer horror we felt while staring wide-eyed at our television screens after older episodes like “Shut Up And Dance” or “White Christmas.” 

Season seven, however, rarely provided the same level of thrill or suspense as those earlier seasons. So, while newcomers to “Black Mirror” may appreciate the toned-down horror elements of the show, long-time fans of the show might see this as a drawback, as I did.

Something else that could be perceived as a problem by more casual viewers is the presence of the first sequel episode of “Black Mirror,” “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” While the episode itself is quite entertaining, a major part of the appeal of “Black Mirror” is that viewers don’t need to watch any of the episodes in order because of the anthology style used for the show. Since this episode is a sequel to a pre-existing episode, it makes it a lot less accessible to new viewers of the show.

My favorite episode of the seventh season would have to be the fifth episode, “Eulogy.” This episode follows an isolated, lonely man, played by Paul Giamatti, who, after learning of the death of someone he was once close to, receives a high-tech system that allows him to literally step into old photos and memories, forcing him to confront his past and reconcile with himself.

The episode is extremely heartfelt and showcases an excellent one-man performance from Giamatti that will bring out complex emotions from any viewer. It’s best for viewers to go into this episode not knowing much about it, and I would highly recommend starting with this episode if planning to watch the new season.

The worst episode of the season, in my opinion, was “Common People.” Directed by Ally Pankiw, the episode follows Mike, played by Chris O’Dowd and Amanda, played by Rashida Jones, a married couple living fairly normal day-to-day lives, Mike working as a welder while Amanda is a teacher. When Amanda is discovered to have a deadly tumor in her head, Mike must pay a gradually rising subscription fee in order to fund Amanda’s expensive life-saving treatment.

While a compelling concept, the episode is painfully unsubtle in its messaging and struggles to keep a consistent tone throughout the episode, as some parts are incredibly disturbing while other parts come off as somewhat goofy. If anyone is a fan of season one of “Black Mirror,” this episode’s exaggerated dark themes will definitely be appealing. But, sadly, this episode just didn’t work for me.

Overall, the seventh season of “Black Mirror” succeeds in having variety throughout, while still maintaining consistent quality and compelling plots for a majority of the episodes. New viewers of the show will have no problem finding an episode to find entertaining, while veterans of the show will enjoy even more quality “Black Mirror” content. I highly recommend this season.