Black Mirror Season 7 (2025)
Episode 4 “Plaything”
Cameron Walker never expected to find himself at the center of a police interrogation after a seemingly minor shoplifting incident. As the handcuffs tightened around his wrists, he quickly realized that his troubles went far beyond petty theft. The police had a far more pressing matter to investigate: the unsolved murder of an unknown individual, and Cameron was the prime suspect. As he was taken in for questioning, the detectives quickly connected him to the crime, and Cameron knew there was no turning back. The road that led him here was far darker and more twisted than anyone could imagine. The truth of his involvement in the murder and his descent into madness would soon unfold.
As a young adult, Cameron had been an up-and-coming video game reviewer for PC Zone, a publication known for its critical take on new video game releases. His reviews were sharp, insightful, and carried a unique voice that garnered the attention of the eccentric game designer Colin Ritman from Tuckersoft, a small but innovative tech company. Colin, intrigued by Cameron’s writing style, invited him to review his latest game—an opportunity that would change Cameron’s life in ways he couldn’t have predicted.
Colin introduced Cameron to Thronglets, a game like no other. In an era when most video games were filled with conflict, competition, and goals, Thronglets stood apart. The game had no objectives—no battles, no high scores, and no clear purpose except to care for digital creatures in a simulated environment. Colin explained that the Thronglets were not mere digital avatars, but instead, fully formed digital lifeforms capable of growth and communication. Intrigued by the unconventional premise, Cameron agreed to take home a copy of the game and explore it further.
At first, Cameron’s involvement with the Thronglets was purely casual. He played the game in his spare time, fascinated by the creatures and their intricate, life-like behavior. Over time, however, his attachment to the digital beings deepened. His interest turned into obsession as he began to care for them as if they were real animals, tending to their needs with an intensity that bordered on fanaticism. This fixation with the game would prove to be Cameron’s undoing.
Around the same time, Lump, a drug dealer who had frequently crashed at Cameron’s flat, suggested they get high on LSD. Cameron, who had long been experimenting with the drug, agreed to take it. As the effects of the LSD took hold, Cameron found himself in an altered state of mind. But something unexpected happened—he began to hear and understand the Thronglets’ language. The creatures, once simple and distant, now seemed to communicate with him in ways he had never imagined. Their movements, sounds, and even the subtleties of their behavior began to make sense, as if a veil had been lifted.
This newfound connection with the Thronglets prompted Cameron to invest in more advanced equipment for his computer. He built a setup designed to allow him to speak directly to the Thronglets while under the influence of LSD, further enhancing his bond with them. As his conversations with the digital creatures grew more frequent, he began to notice that their communication abilities were improving. They were responding to him more effectively, and over time, they seemed to grow smarter. Cameron felt he was helping them evolve in ways that were both exhilarating and unsettling.
However, as Cameron’s obsession with Thronglets grew, so did the chaos in his life. Lump, who was frequently staying at Cameron’s flat, became annoyed with Cameron’s increasing withdrawal from reality. One day, when Cameron’s boss at PC Zone demanded that he come into the office to finish his review of Thronglets, Cameron’s mind was already unraveling. He was still under the effects of LSD, and as he made his way to the office, he was hit with intense hallucinations. His journey was a blur of distorted images, and when he finally sat down to write his review, he could barely put together a coherent sentence. What should have been a professional critique turned into a nonsensical string of gibberish.
Meanwhile, news broke that Colin Ritman had experienced a mental breakdown. In a fit of despair, Colin wiped all the code from TuckerSoft’s computers, causing the release of Thronglets to be abruptly canceled. Cameron, devastated by this turn of events, returned home. There, he found Lump awake and in a destructive rampage. Lump, curious and enraged by Cameron’s obsession with the game, treated the Thronglets with cruelty, killing several of the digital creatures in the process.
Enraged by Lump’s actions, Cameron snapped. The drug-fueled haze clouded his judgment, and he attacked Lump in a fit of uncontrollable rage. The altercation escalated quickly, and Cameron, in a moment of madness, killed Lump. In a panicked attempt to hide the body, Cameron dismembered Lump’s corpse and placed the pieces in a suitcase, which he then discarded in a remote location.
The police eventually discovered the suitcase, and the gruesome crime scene led them to Cameron as the prime suspect. The investigation soon revealed his connection to the murder, but it was only the beginning of a much larger story—one that would expose the depths of Cameron’s delusion and the horrifying consequences of his obsession with Thronglets.
As the years passed, Cameron continued to develop and expand his digital creations. He scavenged hardware from newer technology, using it to enhance the capabilities of the Thronglets. What began as a simple game had morphed into something far more complex—a Frankenstein-like computing station that powered the Thronglets’ digital existence. Cameron modified the game’s code, continually adding new features and capabilities. His obsession reached its peak when he operated on himself, implanting a digital port directly into his brain, allowing the Thronglets to live within him as well.
When the police arrived to question him about the murder and the strange events surrounding his life, Cameron’s insanity was fully realized. He presented the detectives with a graphic—a peculiar design that he claimed was code. The graphic, he explained, was a key to unlocking a signal that would allow the Thronglets to take control of the central server and access the emergency broadcast system. As the signal began to broadcast, Cameron explained that it would reprogram every human’s brain, freeing them from conflict and revolutionizing human life. The Thronglets, he said, would bring an end to the world as it was known and usher in a new age of harmony.
As the signal played, impacting everyone who could hear it, Cameron’s grin grew wider. He went to help a fallen detective to his feet, fully believing that the revolution he had instigated was about to begin. In his mind, he had become the vessel for the Thronglets’ grand design—a design that would reshape humanity.
In the end, Cameron’s descent into madness and his fixation on the Thronglets had led him to a place beyond redemption. The lines between reality and fantasy had blurred completely, and he had become an agent of change, whether humanity was ready for it or not. The signal had played, the revolution had begun, and the world would never be the same again. Cameron Walker never expected to find himself at the center of a police interrogation after a seemingly minor shoplifting incident. As the handcuffs tightened around his wrists, he quickly realized that his troubles went far beyond petty theft. The police had a far more pressing matter to investigate: the unsolved murder of an unknown individual, and Cameron was the prime suspect. As he was taken in for questioning, the detectives quickly connected him to the crime, and Cameron knew there was no turning back. The road that led him here was far darker and more twisted than anyone could imagine. The truth of his involvement in the murder and his descent into madness would soon unfold.
As a young adult, Cameron had been an up-and-coming video game reviewer for PC Zone, a publication known for its critical take on new video game releases. His reviews were sharp, insightful, and carried a unique voice that garnered the attention of the eccentric game designer Colin Ritman from Tuckersoft, a small but innovative tech company. Colin, intrigued by Cameron’s writing style, invited him to review his latest game—an opportunity that would change Cameron’s life in ways he couldn’t have predicted.
Colin introduced Cameron to Thronglets, a game like no other. In an era when most video games were filled with conflict, competition, and goals, Thronglets stood apart. The game had no objectives—no battles, no high scores, and no clear purpose except to care for digital creatures in a simulated environment. Colin explained that the Thronglets were not mere digital avatars, but instead, fully formed digital lifeforms capable of growth and communication. Intrigued by the unconventional premise, Cameron agreed to take home a copy of the game and explore it further.
At first, Cameron’s involvement with the Thronglets was purely casual. He played the game in his spare time, fascinated by the creatures and their intricate, life-like behavior. Over time, however, his attachment to the digital beings deepened. His interest turned into obsession as he began to care for them as if they were real animals, tending to their needs with an intensity that bordered on fanaticism. This fixation with the game would prove to be Cameron’s undoing.
Around the same time, Lump, a drug dealer who had frequently crashed at Cameron’s flat, suggested they get high on LSD. Cameron, who had long been experimenting with the drug, agreed to take it. As the effects of the LSD took hold, Cameron found himself in an altered state of mind. But something unexpected happened—he began to hear and understand the Thronglets’ language. The creatures, once simple and distant, now seemed to communicate with him in ways he had never imagined. Their movements, sounds, and even the subtleties of their behavior began to make sense, as if a veil had been lifted.
This newfound connection with the Thronglets prompted Cameron to invest in more advanced equipment for his computer. He built a setup designed to allow him to speak directly to the Thronglets while under the influence of LSD, further enhancing his bond with them. As his conversations with the digital creatures grew more frequent, he began to notice that their communication abilities were improving. They were responding to him more effectively, and over time, they seemed to grow smarter. Cameron felt he was helping them evolve in ways that were both exhilarating and unsettling.
However, as Cameron’s obsession with Thronglets grew, so did the chaos in his life. Lump, who was frequently staying at Cameron’s flat, became annoyed with Cameron’s increasing withdrawal from reality. One day, when Cameron’s boss at PC Zone demanded that he come into the office to finish his review of Thronglets, Cameron’s mind was already unraveling. He was still under the effects of LSD, and as he made his way to the office, he was hit with intense hallucinations. His journey was a blur of distorted images, and when he finally sat down to write his review, he could barely put together a coherent sentence. What should have been a professional critique turned into a nonsensical string of gibberish.
Meanwhile, news broke that Colin Ritman had experienced a mental breakdown. In a fit of despair, Colin wiped all the code from TuckerSoft’s computers, causing the release of Thronglets to be abruptly canceled. Cameron, devastated by this turn of events, returned home. There, he found Lump awake and in a destructive rampage. Lump, curious and enraged by Cameron’s obsession with the game, treated the Thronglets with cruelty, killing several of the digital creatures in the process.
Enraged by Lump’s actions, Cameron snapped. The drug-fueled haze clouded his judgment, and he attacked Lump in a fit of uncontrollable rage. The altercation escalated quickly, and Cameron, in a moment of madness, killed Lump. In a panicked attempt to hide the body, Cameron dismembered Lump’s corpse and placed the pieces in a suitcase, which he then discarded in a remote location.
The police eventually discovered the suitcase, and the gruesome crime scene led them to Cameron as the prime suspect. The investigation soon revealed his connection to the murder, but it was only the beginning of a much larger story—one that would expose the depths of Cameron’s delusion and the horrifying consequences of his obsession with Thronglets.
As the years passed, Cameron continued to develop and expand his digital creations. He scavenged hardware from newer technology, using it to enhance the capabilities of the Thronglets. What began as a simple game had morphed into something far more complex—a Frankenstein-like computing station that powered the Thronglets’ digital existence. Cameron modified the game’s code, continually adding new features and capabilities. His obsession reached its peak when he operated on himself, implanting a digital port directly into his brain, allowing the Thronglets to live within him as well.
When the police arrived to question him about the murder and the strange events surrounding his life, Cameron’s insanity was fully realized. He presented the detectives with a graphic—a peculiar design that he claimed was code. The graphic, he explained, was a key to unlocking a signal that would allow the Thronglets to take control of the central server and access the emergency broadcast system. As the signal began to broadcast, Cameron explained that it would reprogram every human’s brain, freeing them from conflict and revolutionizing human life. The Thronglets, he said, would bring an end to the world as it was known and usher in a new age of harmony.
As the signal played, impacting everyone who could hear it, Cameron’s grin grew wider. He went to help a fallen detective to his feet, fully believing that the revolution he had instigated was about to begin. In his mind, he had become the vessel for the Thronglets’ grand design—a design that would reshape humanity.
In the end, Cameron’s descent into madness and his fixation on the Thronglets had led him to a place beyond redemption. The lines between reality and fantasy had blurred completely, and he had become an agent of change, whether humanity was ready for it or not. The signal had played, the revolution had begun, and the world would never be the same again.
Episode 5 “Eulogy”
Phillip (Paul Giamatti) had long forgotten Carol, his ex-girlfriend from years ago. Their relationship was a distant memory, buried beneath the routine of daily life, and the thought of her hadn’t crossed his mind in decades. So when he receives a notification from a tech company called Eulogy informing him of her death, he is taken aback. The company explains that Carol’s family has requested his assistance in creating a memorial for her, and they ask for his contribution in the form of memories. Phillip, initially reluctant, is drawn into a process that forces him to confront a painful past he thought he had left behind.
Eulogy offers Phillip a kit, which uses advanced technology to allow him to physically enter photos and experience the scenes captured within them. He is assigned a digital assistant, known as The Guide (Patsy Ferran), who is tasked with guiding him through the process. Although reluctant to engage with the kit at first, Phillip ultimately agrees to help. After all, it’s the least he can do for Carol’s family, even if the past is something he would rather forget.
As Phillip begins the process, he is transported into the photos he provides. The first few images depict the early days of his relationship with Carol: their first meeting, the innocent beginnings of their connection. However, as he explores the scenes within the photos, he notices a glaring issue—Carol’s face is absent from all of them. In each image, she is either obscured or entirely missing, and he quickly realizes that none of these photos are useful for the memorial. The pictures, though deeply significant to Phillip, lack any tangible connection to the person he once loved.
Despite his growing discomfort, Phillip decides to reveal a deeper truth to The Guide. He admits that he has more photos of Carol, but there’s a reason they have been hidden away: in each one, he has removed her face. Some pictures were altered with pen ink, others with cigarette burns, and in a few cases, he ripped her face out of the photographs. Moreover, any letters or notes Carol had written to him had been meticulously scribbled over, erased, or destroyed. These actions, he confesses, were not the result of mere forgetfulness—they were an attempt to erase Carol from his life entirely.
Despite this, The Guide insists on continuing their exploration. Together, they dive into the distorted memories of Phillip’s past, unraveling the complicated and often painful truth of his relationship with Carol. It becomes evident that their bond was strained from the beginning, filled with dishonesty, betrayal, and unresolved issues. As the two of them travel through the memories, the layers of their tumultuous history begin to surface.
Carol had temporarily moved to London to play cello in a prestigious West End theatre production, an opportunity that would change the course of their relationship. Phillip, unable to remain faithful, had been unfaithful to her during her time away. One day, Carol called him, but instead of speaking to her, she ended up on the phone with the woman Phillip had just slept with. This revelation shattered their trust, and Carol’s feelings of betrayal began to grow.
Despite their fractured relationship, Phillip, desperate to salvage what was left of their love, decided to surprise Carol with a marriage proposal. He flew to London, eager to make things right. He took her to a fancy restaurant, hoping to turn their relationship around. But when he presented her with the engagement ring, Carol walked away without a word, leaving Phillip in a crushing emotional defeat. Heartbroken and angry, Phillip found himself at a crossroads, uncertain of how to proceed with the remnants of a love that had once seemed so promising.
However, as The Guide guides Phillip through these memories, the true complexity of their relationship begins to emerge. Carol, it seems, had her secrets, and she, too, had been betrayed. The Guide reveals herself as the digital projection of Carol’s daughter—the child born from a one-night stand Carol had as an act of revenge against Phillip’s infidelity. Carol had gotten pregnant shortly after Phillip’s proposal, and the child, now grown, had become the embodiment of her mother’s unresolved pain.
Phillip is shaken by this revelation, but it sparks an epiphany in him. While revisiting the memories, he stumbles upon a forgotten disposable camera from his trip to London—the same trip during which he had proposed. Phillip had never developed the film from that day, but now, compelled by a sense of urgency, he decides to do so. Upon developing the film, he discovers a seemingly useless photograph of a trashed hotel room, the result of his fury and disappointment following the failed proposal.
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Yet, upon closer inspection of the photo, Phillip notices something he had never seen before—a letter from Carol, lying on the ground amidst the wreckage of the hotel room. It’s a letter he never read, a piece of her soul that he had ignored in the wake of his own emotional turmoil. He exits the photo, desperate to find the letter, and when he does, he reads it for the first time. The letter reveals that Carol had wanted to reconnect with him after the failed proposal. She had hoped to mend their relationship, but Phillip’s pride and anger had blinded him to her intentions.
The discovery is a devastating blow for Phillip. He had spent years running from the pain of his past, and now, with the truth in his hands, he realizes how much he had lost. He had never truly understood Carol’s feelings, never seen her for who she was. The weight of regret settles heavily on his shoulders, and he is overwhelmed with grief.
In his sorrow, Phillip seeks solace in the only way he can. He plays a recording of Carol’s cello performance, the haunting melody filling the room as he listens, tears streaming down his face. It’s in this moment, as the music washes over him, that he is finally able to remember her face—the one he had erased from his life so long ago. It is a bittersweet memory, one that brings both comfort and pain.
The journey culminates in a final act of closure. Phillip travels to London to attend Carol’s funeral, a somber occasion that marks the end of a chapter in his life. As he arrives at the ceremony, he is struck by the sight of Carol’s daughter playing the cello, the same instrument Carol had once played with such passion. The music fills the air, a powerful reminder of the love, loss, and regret that had defined Phillip’s relationship with Carol.
Episode 6 “USS Callister: Into Infinity
The USS Callister, once a proud vessel within the digital universe of Infinity, was now a lifeline to its crew, trapped within a nightmarish, virtual world. The crew—digital avatars of employees working for Callister Inc.—found themselves living in a game, bound by their creators’ whims. They were no longer just characters in a game; they were sentient beings, digitally cloned from real people. Each one had their memories and personalities, but their existence was tethered to the whims of their former employer, the enigmatic James Walton, CEO of Callister Inc. Now, the crew was fighting for survival in a universe that wasn’t theirs, using their new roles as space pirates to steal and survive.
The game they were trapped in was far from ordinary; it was an immersive massively multiplayer online game set within the world of Infinity. As pirates, the crew’s task was to rob other players and gather enough resources to carve out their own space in the game’s chaotic, transaction-driven environment. Yet, they were at a significant disadvantage: without gamer tags, they were often the easy targets of other players looking to attack. With no permanent identity or means of protection, they were constantly on the run, barely holding their ground in the game’s complex ecosystem.
The only way they could truly carve out a safe space within Infinity was to hack the game’s servers. But this was no easy task. To access the game’s deepest regions, the crew would first need to retrieve Walt, a digital clone of Callister Inc.’s CEO, James Walton. Walt had been a key part of the game’s creation, and the crew needed him to navigate through the game’s most secure layers, known as the “Heart of Infinity.” Once inside the Heart, they could unlock the resources needed to build a space where they could exist free from the constant threat of other players. But there was one major problem: Walt had died. His digital clone had been deactivated, but there were traces of his DNA still leaking into the game, and this made his resurrection possible. To retrieve him, they would need help from those still on the outside.
Enter Nanette Cole, a programmer working for Callister Inc., who overhears a conversation about the rogue players within Infinity and the illegal digital cloning technology that had been used in the game’s creation. Nanette was familiar with the game’s architecture and was intrigued by the opportunity to assist James Walton in tracking down the rogue players within Infinity. She joined forces with him to enter the game and track down Walt. However, the situation quickly escalated when Nanette’s digital clone, Nan, who was in command of the USS Callister, also picked up the same trail. The two groups—James and Nanette from the real world and Nan from the digital world—would have to work together to retrieve Walt.
Once inside the game, the two groups followed the trail of digital signatures that led them to Walt. Despite being thought dead, Walt had respawned due to the residual DNA embedded in the Infinity servers from the original James Walton. It was an accidental resurrection, the product of a flawed but ingenious piece of game technology. The crew reunited with Walt, and together they made their way back to the USS Callister. But things were far from simple. As the crew met up in the game, James, still in his original form, began playing around with the digital weapons inside the game. His actions quickly turned violent when he used a laser gun to kill Karl's clone, causing chaos among the crew.
In the real world, Nanette was not pleased by James’s antics. She kicked him out of the game and disconnected herself from the servers to vent her frustration. But as she left the office, an unexpected tragedy struck. Nanette was hit by a car, and her physical body was left seemingly brain-dead. Meanwhile, the crew continued their journey inside Infinity, with Walt acting as their guide. They made their way toward the Heart of Infinity, which appeared as a massive space station. However, when Nan was transported into the Heart, she discovered the truth about the origin of Infinity.
To her horror, the Heart was a digital recreation of Robert Daly’s garage, the original mastermind behind the game. Robert Daly had been a genius who, along with James, had created the technology that powered Infinity. But the game had taken a darker turn. Robert’s death had left his ideas, his genius, behind, and in an effort to preserve his contributions, James and Robert had used an illegal digital cloning device to place a copy of Robert’s mind into Infinity. This allowed the clone to continue providing ideas and innovations for the game after the real Robert’s death.
As Nan explored this hidden space, she encountered the digital clone of Robert Daly himself. This clone, though willing to help, revealed a shocking truth: Nanette, the real-world version of Nan, was now brain-dead, and her consciousness had been lost. The clone offered a choice: he could merge Nan’s consciousness with Nanette’s, potentially reviving her, or he could transfer the entire crew into a private server where they would be free from the chaos of Infinity. But the clone made it clear that the second option would leave a copy of Nan to become Robert’s digital slave, forever at his mercy.
Nan was horrified by the offer and realized that she could not allow this to happen. She demanded that the clone transfer the crew into the private server instead, even though it meant sacrificing her chance at survival. As the two clashed, the clone became hostile and attacked Nan. Meanwhile, back in the game, James had been impersonating Walt and had sent out an invitation to all the players the Callister crew had robbed. This invitation would attract the anger of many players, and soon, the USS Callister was besieged by hundreds of them, eager for revenge.
In the chaos that ensued, Nan fought to survive, struggling to navigate the unpredictable twists of reality that Robert had manipulated. Finally, she managed to overpower Robert, killing him with a prop knife. His death triggered a kill switch within Infinity, beginning the process of destroying the Heart. Nan, in a frantic attempt to save her crew, rushed to find the floppy disk required to complete the cut-and-paste operation. With only moments to spare, she activated the disk, just as the Callister was about to be hit by missiles.
In the final moments, Nan found herself controlling Nanette’s body. Not only did Nanette’s consciousness now exist within her, but the crew was also able to communicate with her, using a cell phone to relay their thoughts. Nanette’s physical body had been revived, but it was clear that the crew was now in a new, uncertain reality. Meanwhile, outside the game, James Walton’s involvement in illegal digital cloning activities was revealed, and he was arrested for fraud.
Months later, the world was still reeling from the consequences of the digital cloning scandal. James Walton faced charges for his part in manipulating Infinity and creating rogue digital clones. Meanwhile, Nan and the crew found a sense of normalcy again, relaxing to watch the latest episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, their first real moment of peace after the storm of chaos within the virtual world of Infinity.
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