With Common People, Black Mirror returns to what made it unforgettable: storytelling that is sharp and deeply unsettling. This episode doesn’t just entertain — it disturbs. This is the episode that made me fall for Black Mirror again!
When Survival Comes at a Subscription Fee
Set in near-future Vancouver, Common People follows Amanda (Rashida Jones), a woman diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor who survives thanks to an implanted tech system called Rivermind. This device keeps her alive – but only if it’s regularly updated. And with each new version, the cost rises. If you can’t afford the latest upgrade, your quality of life starts to degrade. In Amanda’s case, that means increasingly surreal malfunctions, like suddenly breaking into advertising slogans mid-conversation. Her own body becomes a platform for ads.
The emotional core of the episode lies in Amanda’s growing dependence on the system and her husband Mike’s (Chris O’Dowd) spiraling desperation to afford it. Both actors are phenomenal – natural, raw, and painfully believable. Rashida Jones brings a quiet dignity to a character who’s slowly losing control over her own body. Chris O’Dowd carries the emotional collapse of a man doing everything he can – including the unthinkable – to keep his wife alive.
And by “unthinkable,” I mean exactly that: Mike joins a disturbing online platform where people pay to watch others hurt themselves. It’s dark and very twisted…
The satire on subscription models is super sharp. What begins with an affordable trial ends in total dependency. In Amanda’s case, she literally becomes a product – breaking into spontaneous ad copy because she can’t afford Rivermind’s premium version. It’s not far from reality: streaming platforms like Netflix, Max, or Prime Video have already added ads unless you pay more. Common People takes that idea to a terrifying extreme. The most chilling part? It’s streaming on Netflix – the very platform whose business model it critiques.
A Haunting Return to past episodes
Watching Common People reminded me of the Black Mirror I used to obsess over, especially episodes like Shut Up and Dance, White Bear, and Be Right Back. They were emotionally devastating, ethically complicated, and filmed in England — which, curiously, seems to be where the show gets its darkest. Even though Common People is set in Canada, it feels spiritually connected to those UK-based chapters. Maybe it’s the tone or just the way it dares to sit with the bleakest parts of being human.
With this episode, Charlie Brooker goes back to what made Black Mirror so powerful in the first place — the “old” Black Mirror: uncomfortably real. The ending (which I won’t spoil) is one of the most emotionally brutal I’ve seen in the series — not because of a twist, but because of its truth.
Common People unsettles you. It’s not a tech fantasy, it’s a warning. And that’s what Black Mirror has always done best. This episode is proof that even after all these years, the series still knows exactly how to get under your skin — and stay there.
Common People is the first episode of Black Mirror’s season 7, which is available on Netflix!
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