This season's episode of Black Mirror focuses in part on revealing how technology and capital have an impact on people's lives. Overall, this "divine drama" is gradually returning to the high level of the first three seasons.

"Black Mirror" is back.

From the Douban score of 4.0 in the first season to the decline in word-of-mouth and ratings in the fifth and sixth seasons, the performance of "Black Mirror" once made people wonder whether this drama, which once analyzed the essence of science and technology and sounded the alarm bell, has come to an end.

And the appearance of the seventh season of "Black Mirror" directly gave a negative answer to this question.

After watching the first episode,

Find yourself in the middle of it

This season's Black Mirror focuses in part on revealing how technology and capital are impacting people's lives, such as the sixth episode of the "Infinite" universe in which players complain about the high prices in the game, but even better is the first episode at the beginning.

The first episode tells the story of a pair of ordinary people, and even the title is called "Ordinary People".

(Photo/"Black Mirror" Season 7 Episode 1)

Amanda and Mike are an ordinary couple, Amanda works as a teacher in an elementary school and Mike works as a blue-collar worker in a factory. The two are not rich, but they love each other very much. The crib bought in advance reveals the couple's yearning for a new life.

However, the wife's sudden detection of a tumor disease shattered the peaceful life of the two.

Faced with his wife in a coma hospital bed, Mike was at a loss. At this time, Rivermind salesman Gaina recommended Mike the company's new technology, which was to back up a part of Amanda's brain to the host, wait until the pathological part was removed, and then replace the removed part with a synthetic recipient tissue. She told Mike that Amanda would live her life as before, with no difference except sleeping an extra hour or two a day and not being able to leave the coverage area. The cost doesn't sound like much, $300 a month, and Mike agreed to the plan without much thought.

(Photo/"Black Mirror" Season 7 Episode 1)

After accepting the proposal from the medical company, the trajectories of the two people began to change.

At first, their lives were nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't until during a drive that Mike inadvertently drove the vehicle out of range that Amanda immediately fell into a coma. In response, sales responded that they were traveling to destinations that were using the company's new bandwidth, and that they needed to purchase the company's new enhanced service to enjoy wider coverage, otherwise they would only be able to move in a small area, and that the price would need to be increased by $800 on top of the existing package, or $0 per month.

(Photo/"Black Mirror" Season 7 Episode 1)

The two temporarily refused to escalate. But it didn't take long for Amanda to discover that she was triggering certain advertising slogans in certain scenes without realizing it. For example, when her husband makes coffee in the morning, she automatically says the advertising slogan "big shot espresso"; When students confide in her about family conflicts, she gives a recommendation for Christian family counseling. Over time, Amanda received more and more complaints about her work.

The couple came to Rivers again to ask for an explanation, only to find out that if they wanted to remove the ads, they would have to subscribe to the $800 per month enhanced version, otherwise Amanda would have to continue to live as a "humanoid billboard". At the same time, HeSilicon has also launched a new version, and members of the "Premium Edition" can independently adjust their various sensory sensitivities, calmness, etc., to get a better experience.

(Photo/"Black Mirror" Season 7 Episode 1)

After the upgrade, even though Mike worked overtime, the overtime pay still could not cover his wife's membership fees and household expenses. In desperation, Mike started broadcasting live on a website, earning viewers tips through his quirky moves. At first, he put the trap on his tongue, but it gradually evolved into a more curious and cruel act of self-harm.

It is worth noting that the couple's fatigue is matched by the continuous improvement of sales and their working environment. At the beginning of the door-to-door sales, Gina wore dirty braids, her pink suit was crumpled, and her inquiring words seemed caring and polite. By the time of her second appearance, Galla was already sitting in her office, but in a relatively rudimentary environment. And with each subsequent appearance, Gaina became more and more dressed in the office, with designer bags behind her, and her makeup and clothing became more textured.

(Photo/"Black Mirror" Season 7 Episode 1)

The capital side seems to give people the right to choose, but in fact leaves no room for choice. It puts the consumer in an uncomfortable environment in advance, and then gives a paid option to improve. If you refuse to consume further, you are presupposedly having to endure this discomfort and distraction.

The creepiest thing about this episode is that after watching it, I found that people's lives in real life are actually no different from this story: slow loading times of video software, small space capacity, frequent screen openings and pop-up ads, and the only way to solve it is to pay for it, upgrade, and enjoy better service.

Each increase is layered up, making the burden that falls on ordinary people heavier and heavier. People's life experience has also become a paid node with the price gradient set by large companies. And what ordinary people want is never to take back their lives.

When artificial intelligence has the ability to love people

If the first episode vividly reflects the encroachment of capital on the lives of ordinary people, then the third episode pours out the rare warmth in "Black Mirror". This warmth comes not only from humans themselves, but also from artificial intelligence. The representative is the "Dream Hotel", which is well received by the audience.

Contemporary star Brandi was invited to participate in a remake of the classic film "Hotel Dreams", reenacting the original male lead. And actor Dorothy once played the heroine of the movie, Clara, but died early amid gossip.

Brandi needs to enter a virtual dimension like a movie set, act out the whole story, and say the last line before he can return to reality. In this virtual world, everyone except Brandi is a computer-generated NPC, but everyone will think that this world is real.

(Photo/"Black Mirror" Season 7, Episode 3)

However, a small shooting accident starts to deflect the story off script. Brandi panics due to the sudden disconnection from the outside world, and in her desperation, she tells Clara that everyone present is a virtual consciousness, and even Clara herself is just a character created and played by an actress.

At this point, according to the past tone of "Black Mirror", the audience is likely to imagine a story of artificial intelligence consciousness stealing human consciousness and thus occupying the initiative of the body. However, the director gives a warmer and more proactive story direction.

(Photo/"Black Mirror" Season 7, Episode 3)

When Clara realizes that she is first being played by an actor and then a virtual role recreated by a computer, her agency is established. After a brief shock, she did not hesitate to choose to find a way out of this world. In the meantime, she slowly remembered her life outside the play, and she saw Dorothy's vague and unspeakable feelings in that era, as well as the depression of being riddled with rumors.

Just like Barbie in "Barbie" when she first opens her senses, she feels the touch of her fingertips and feels the breeze on her skin. Dorothy's life was also clearly seen and felt by Clara.

(Photo/"Black Mirror" Season 7, Episode 3)

Clara and Brandi fall in love in the metaverse. In the final scene of the story, Brandi tries to save Clara, who was murdered by her fiancé, but is in danger herself. Clara shoots and hits her fiancé.

"I was born in a cage and should be in a cage", Clara said to Brandi in the face of the fact that she was about to be arrested, and "remember me" became Clara's wish to Brandi before she died.

(Photo/"Black Mirror" Season 7, Episode 3)

Whether it's ending her life off-screen or dying in the play to protect a loved one, Dorothy or Clara acts on their own will. Even the virtual consciousness that has been created has gained the ability and courage to love others in the process of interacting and contacting people.

Overall, the seventh season of "Black Mirror" has gradually returned to the high level of the previous three seasons: the first episode shows the essence of exploitation through brutal realism that capital and technology are under the banner of "a good life"; The second episode allows the audience to see the truth that is gradually buried under the "Mandela effect"; The fourth episode uses a virtual game to make people reflect: when you have power, how do you use it?

And how long the revival of "Black Mirror" can last this season, and whether the quality can be rejuvenated in the next season, still needs to wait for time and the audience's verification.