NetflixBlack Mirror Season 7 kicks things off with ‘Common People’, a sinister tale that tackles love, health, and corporate greed, culminating in one of the Netflix show’s darkest endings yet.
Charlie Brooker and his creative team have been skewering technology and the modern world for nearly 15 years now, and though there have been ups and downs, Black Mirror has never lost its edge – or its uncanny ability to predict the digital future.
We’ve had pig-f**king Prime Ministers, Star Trek-obsessed sadists, and digital consciousnesses trapped in teddy bears, with each new season delivering a brand new batch of standalone stories that never fail to shock and entertain.
So, it’s no surprise there’s plenty of hype for Black Mirror Season 7. Episode 1, ‘Common People’, doesn’t hold back, feeling like a return to the grounded, near-future horrors that made the early chapters so chilling. Warning: spoilers ahead and some may find this content distressing.
Common People has darkest ending of Black Mirror Season 7
NetflixAt the end of the premiere episode, Mike (Chris O’Dowd) smothers the love of his life, Amanda (Rashida Jones). After she takes her last breath, Mike heads into another room with a box cutter, seemingly to kill himself.
In the background, his computer appears to be set to live stream, suggesting he’s going to take his own life in front of an audience.
But this wasn’t some sort of true crime plot, and Mike certainly isn’t a ruthless killer. In fact, it was Amanda’s decision. To understand why, you need to know about Rivermind.
What is Rivermind?
NetflixRivermind is a cutting-edge neurotech system that backs up parts of the brain to the cloud and transmits cognitive functions wirelessly, allowing patients to keep living even after losing vital brain tissue. Think of it like iCloud for your mind.
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It’s introduced in Black Mirror’s ‘Common People’ after Amanda, a teacher, collapses at work. Mike rushes to the hospital and is told to expect the worst. Amanda has a brain tumor fused to her parietal lobe, and she may never regain consciousness.
Mike is desperate for a solution, and normally there’d be nothing the doctors could do. However, there’s another option: a new start-up that offers an experimental procedure.
He agrees to meet with Gaynor (Tracee Ellis Ross), a rep from Rivermind who’s had the procedure herself after an accident left her for dead. But now she’s alive and well, and it’s all thanks to the start-up in question.
“Rivermind is a revolution in neurological science. How it works is both high-tech and incredibly simple,” she tells Mike.
“So we take an imprint of the affected part of her neural structure, and we clone it onto our mainframe. So basically we just make a backup of part of her brain onto our computer. And then we remove the tumor and the surrounding tissue.”
Mike interjects to ask if it’s dangerous, but Gaynor reassures him, “Well, normally, yeah. But we made a backup, remember?
“And then we replace what we removed with synthetic receiver tissue. And then the Rivermind System transmits cognitive function from the backup on the cloud-based server, allowing her to live life.”
Rivermind saves Amanda… at first
NetflixWhat’s great about Rivermind is its affordability. Amanda is on a teacher’s wages while Mike works in construction, leaving them apprehensive about the price. However, Gaynor assures Mike that the initial surgery is free, and then it’s a monthly subscription fee of $300.
Not only does Mike want Amanda back, but the pair are trying for a baby. As Gaynor says, this solution will give them time.
There are a few seemingly minor setbacks: Amanda will need to sleep one or two extra hours each night. “It’s one of the ways we help the demand on our servers,” says Gaynor.
Also, she has to stay within the coverage range – a bit like cell service. However, Rivermind is new and the plan is to expand across the US and, eventually, go global.
There’s another issue: Mike and Amanda don’t earn a huge amount of money. An extra $300 a month is going to be tricky, but it’s a small price to pay to get Amanda back.
And so, she gets the procedure. At first, all seems to be going well. Sure, Mike has to pick up some overtime at work, but he’s willing to do whatever it takes.
However, soon enough the cracks start to show.
Common People takes a dig at streaming service price hikes
NetflixWhen Mike and Amanda go away on their annual anniversary trip to the trashy Juniper hotel (a reference to Black Mirror episode ‘San Junipero’) in Palmer County, Amanda passes out.
They go back home and pay a visit to Gaynor, who explains they “passed outside the coverage area.”
“What happened was we are upgrading some of our towers and the ones in Palmer County are on the new bandwidths, which is part of an exciting change to Rivermind’s service,” she says. “From Monday, we’re introducing Rivermind Plus.”
In order to leave the county they live in, they have to upgrade to the plus subscription tier. Gaynor delivers yet another blow: it’s going to cost them an extra $500 a month, meaning $800 in total.
Clearly, Brooker’s taking a dig at Black Mirror’s own streaming home Netflix, and other streaming services that have consistently hiked their prices in recent years.
The joke continues when Amanda starts inexplicably zoning out and narrating verbal advertisements. Yes, they’re literally running ads through her.
Another trip to Gaynor reveals that the only way to opt out is to upgrade to Rivermind Plus. But they can’t afford it, and so Mike and Amanda go about their lives.
However, when the commercials cost Amanda her teaching job, they’re left with no choice.
In order to make up the extra $800 a month, Mike turns to DumDummies, which is like OnlyFans except content creators live-stream themselves doing everything from pulling out their teeth to drinking their own urine to make a quick buck.
NetflixIt’s horrifying, degrading, and something Mike previously looked at in disgust. But given their circumstances, he has no choice.
Even though the advertisements stop on Rivermind Plus, Amanda finds herself sleeping longer than ever. Once again, a trip to Gaynor reveals yet another update: they’ve extended the sleep time to approximately 12 hours a night.
Things would have been even worse if they were still on the original Rivermind plan (which is now called Rivermind Common) – not only would she still have ads but she’d also need around 16 hours sleep a night.
Gaynor goes on to reveal their “exciting new tier”: Rivermind Lux. With this plan, subscribers have access to an app that allows them to dial up different aspects of their mood, their physical sensations, and they can also source skills from other users.
So, how much does it cost? “Just an additional one thousand dollars a month,” says Gaynor, causing Mike to bang his head on the table. As they leave, Gaynor announces that it’s possible to buy “temporary boosters” for Lux.
It all falls apart
NetflixMike decides to treat Amanda to one of those boosters for their anniversary trip, but in order to afford it, he agrees to take his mask off on DumDummies and perform an explicit act.
The booster itself means Amanda can have her “pleasure” dialled up to the max, but while she certainly enjoys herself, Mike is left feeling like he’s on holiday with a stranger.
When he gets home, he discovers one of his colleagues has plastered a screenshot of his DumDummies show at work. This sparks a fight, one that results in the colleague getting his lower half crushed by a forklift.
Mike gets fired from his job, and so he and Amanda decide to visit Gaynor again, pleading their case for a temporary pause on their charges. After all, they’ve been loyal customers for years, right?… Wrong. It’s a hard no.
Amanda explains that she’ll lose her job too if she doesn’t stay on Plus, but Rivermind isn’t willing to help out.
“Don’t make us use the baby money,” says Mike, leaving Amanda shocked that they have any left. Gaynor interrupts to say “pregnancy costs extra” as it “alters the brain.”
Amanda decides “it’s time”
NetflixThe final sequence of Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 1 jumps forward a year. Mike’s drinking during the day and Amanda’s completely exhausted.
They’ve resorted to selling their belongings – including the baby crib they bought in the hopes of getting pregnant.
We also see two of Mike’s front teeth are missing, as he’s been doing the “teeth stuff” on DumDummies.
Since it’s their anniversary, Mike’s scrambled to buy 30 minutes of Rivermind Lux. Amanda activates the code and he turns her serenity up to the fullest. She stares into the sky with a look of peace on her face, before turning to Mike and announcing, “I think it’s time.”
“Only if you’re sure,” Mike says tearfully. Amanda makes a final request: “Do it when I’m not here.”
She lays on the bed, with a timer going off, indicating that their standard subscription is about to expire. When it does, Amanda blacks out and starts once again mindlessly reeling off advertisements. And this brings us to the very end of ‘Common People’.
Why did Mike live-stream his death?
NetflixIt’s never actually confirmed that Mike kills himself in front of his DumDummies audience, but it’s certainly implied.
If this is the case, his reasoning could be to warn others against the dangers of Rivermind. After all, while it initially saved Amanda’s life, it ended up destroying them both in the process, and replaced any happy memories they had with awful ones.
Or, he simply wanted to shock his viewers one last time, perhaps as a protest to DumDummies as a platform. Maybe, it was a bit of both.
Black Mirror Season 7 is streaming on Netflix now. For more, check out our ranking of all Black Mirror’s episodes, read about how influencers are receiving the show’s Nubbins, and find more great shows to watch on Netflix this month.