The anticipated seventh season of Black Mirror continues in the anthology format with every episode presenting a new cautionary tale about society’s reliance on technology, with the exception of the first sequel episode, “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” But keen-eyed viewers may have noticed many Easter Eggs throughout.
All six of the gripping episodes pay homage to the episodes that came before them in one way or another with subtle nods that only die-hard fans will have noticed. It’s a great way to tie the series together, suggesting that the events are all a larger part of a dystopian universe. It’s also a testament to the attention to detail in every episode.
Common People: Episode 1
In this episode, a couple is desperate to conceive, but when wife Amanda (Rashida Jones) passes out and falls into a coma, her husband Mike (Chris O’Dowd) signs her up for an experimental surgery from a company called Rivermind. It will replace the damaged part of her brain with synthetic material and connect her to a subscription-based cloud.
Prior to her tumor being discovered, Amanda delivers a lesson in class where she talks about Autonomous Drone Insects. That’s a clear reference to the Season 3 episode “Hated in the Nation,” where autonomous robot bees were invented to help the declining honeybee population. Except in that episode, it’s revealed that the swarms of robotic bees could be hacked, leading to dire consequences when control was put in the wrong hands.
After Amanda is operated on, she starts to recite advertisements whenever a situation calls for it, part of the basic plan to which they initially subscribed. One is for a cereal called Honey Nugs, and she mentions that it’s made by Ditta. This is the same company Maria (Siena Kelly) works for in “Bête Noire,” the second episode of Season 7.
Also in this episode, fans will notice that the hotel Amanda and Mike visit every year on their anniversary is called The Juniper. That’s paying respect to one of the most revered episodes of the series “San Junipero” from Season 3. On the way there, they drive by a movie theater that is promoting a film called “Hotel Reverie,” which is from Episode 3 of this season.
The song the couple plays at the hotel is called “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)” by Irma Thomas. This tune has appeared throughout the series in many episodes, first heard in “15 Million Merits” in Season 1.
Finally, as Mike becomes increasingly desperate to earn money to pay for the higher tiers of the subscription, he resorts to livestreaming on the website Dum Dummies that a co-worker showed him, where people do awful, often gross and harmful things to themselves for money. One of the people commenting on his videos has a screen name “I_AM_Waldo,” a reference to the cartoon politician in the Season 2 episode “The Waldo Moment.”
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Bête Noire: Episode 2
In this episode, Maria is a talented researcher for a chocolate company who is suspicious when an old classmate named Verity (Rosy McEwen) shows up looking for a job. She remembers her as being awkward and bullied. Soon, strange things happen that cause Maria to question reality, eventually driving her mad. In one scene, she is accused of stealing almond milk made by a brand called Raiman, the name of Madeline Brewer’s character in the Season 3 episode “Men Against Fire.”
In Gabe’s (Ben Bailey Smith) office, the logo of the company Tuckersoft is visible on a building outside the window, which is the company featured in the 2018 interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and that re-appears in the season 7 episode “Plaything.”
One of the first moments when Maria starts questioning reality is when she has a debate with her co-workers about a fast food restaurant that she says is called Bernie’s Chicken, but they swear it’s Barnie’s Chicken. She knows, she claims, because her boyfriend used to work there and still wears a hat with the logo that she sees every single day. This same restaurant is where Kenny (Alex Lawther) worked in Season 3’s “Shut Up and Dance,” and it also appears in other episodes.
Additionally, Verity previously worked at WayHaven Travel, as noted on her LinkedIn profile, which is a hotel chain that appears in the same Season 3 episode.
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Hotel Reverie: Episode 3
The movie industry is in flux, and Judith’s (Harriet Walter) once-revered production company is on the brink of collapse. Kimmy (Awkwafina) from AI company ReDream offers her a lifeline: she can re-create one of her classic films using a new A-list star and some AI technology to bring back old actors. It will cost next to nothing but generate solid income. However, the project goes awry, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.
When Kimmy first meets with Judith in her office, it’s filled with posters of old movies on the wall. One is called Haven Green, which happened to be the code-name for Black Mirror’s seventh season while it was in production. The names of the stars of the movie, Tony Kearns and Giselle Turner, match the names of the editor and camera trainee on other episodes of the season. The most obvious movie poster Easter Egg, however, is for a movie called White Bear with a tagline “justice will be swift.” This was the title of an episode in Season 2.
Also in this episode, there’s a call-back to season six when Brandy (Issa Rae) is talking with her agent, and he tells her she has a meeting with Pepe from Streamberry. That’s the name of the fictional streaming service at the heart of the episode “Joan is Awful.” Streamberry, which was also mentioned in “Loch Henry” in Season 6, is the streamer that ends up buying the finished product of the remake of Hotel Reverie. There’s a small nod to “San Junipero” when the box Brandy receives with the tech that allows her to talk to Dorothy (Emma Corrin) arrives from an address on Junipero Drive.
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While studying for the part before filming begins, Brandy watches Dorothy’s old audition tape. One of the videos she watches is uploaded by Pia (Myha’la Herrold), the same as the subject in the Season 6 episode “Loch Henry.”
The YouTube videos promoted on the side panel while she watches include ones like “Demon 79: The Real Scary Story of a Cult Classic,” which references the Season 6 episode “Demon 79,” and “What Fans Get WRONG About Classic Space Fleet,” a nod to the fictional series that Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) is obsessed with in “USS Callister” from Season 4 and “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” One of the technicians is also seen wearing a Space Fleet T-shirt, with a book on his desk called “Bandersnatch” and a TCKR sticker on his computer, a reference to Tuckersoft.
Plaything: Episode 4
Cameron Walker (Peter Capaldi) was once a video game journalist (played by Lewis Gribben in flashbacks). In the present day, he is arrested for stealing from a convenience store, and it’s discovered that his DNA was found on a dead body decades prior. As he’s questioned by police, Cameron tells the tale of a groundbreaking video game he became obsessed with that has been sending him messages of how to improve humankind.
During his arrest, there are Hucklebuck bars visible on the shelves, which were featured in the “Bête Noire” episode of the season, made by the company Ditta. There’s also a sign advertising a free 7G SIM card with the purchase of any Ditta product. Another advertisement in the shop window is for a technology called Z-Eyes, the very same technology used in the Season 2 Christmas special “White Christmas.”
In a flashback, when a young Cameron is tripping on acid, trying to navigate the subway to get to work, there’s a poster for a movie called “The Recaller,” which is the technology used in the Season 4 episode “Crocodile.”
The most obvious Easter Egg is the inclusion of characters from Bandersnatch, including Will Poulter’s Colin. There are also posters in the office for games like Striking Vipers II, referencing the Season 5 episode “Striking Vipers,” Space Fleet, Bandersnatch II, and even Metalhead, calling back to the Season 4 episode of the same name. Colin also has framed posters in his office featuring the Waldo character from “The Waldo Moment” with the caption “Vote Me.”
A fun Easter Egg for those who watched all the way to the end credits or want to go back and check it out is that a QR code appears at the end of this episode. Scan it, and it will open up a download for the Thronglets game from Netflix.
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Eulogy: Episode 5
Paul Giamatti is Phillip, a depressed man who gets a phone call about the death of an old flame. While he can’t travel to London to participate in her memorial, a company that handles immersive memorials offers to send him a kit to help him contribute memories remotely. As he looks through old photos, The Guide (Paty Ferran), an AI entity, helps him recall moments that he claims ruined his life. But as he dives into the past, Phillip realizes he may have failed to see beyond his own perspective.
The episode features the same circular device placed over the temple that lights up and somehow dives into your brain and consciousness. In the same manner it occurs in other episodes, the eyes glaze over white as the person enters this virtual world. The technology was first seen in the Season 1 episode “The Entire History of You.”
USS Callister: Into Infinity: Episode 6
Of course, this episode is a continuation of “USS Callister,” is filled with obvious Easter Eggs since the entire story calls back to the original. But there are a few nods to other episodes, too.
At the end, when a news report is on-screen about James Walton’s (Jimmi Simpson) arrest, there’s a news ticker on the bottom rife with references. One discusses the reboot of Hotel Reverie now being on Streamberry. Another suggests a follow-up to the game Thronglets called Thronglets 2, suggesting the game was made after all, and became a hit.
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Another ticker notes that the CEO of Rivermind has stepped down, which could have been in the wake of Amanda and Mike’s deaths. A funnier one references former U.K. prime minister Michael Callow (Rory Kinnear) entering a celebrity vet school, mentioning the character from the show’s very first episode, “The National Anthem.”
Other small ones include an Infinity player listening to an Ashley O song, which is from Season 5’s “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” and Daly having a game made by SaitoGemu in his garage, which is the company featured in the Season 3 episode “Playtest.”
