"Too hard to stomach" - Fans react strongly to Black Mirror season 7 premiere, calling it one of the most unsettling episodes yet

The long-awaited Black Mirror season 7 released its six episodes on Netflix on April 10, 2025. The first episode, titled Common People, has a runtime of 57 minutes and deals with the toxicity of subscription culture. Ally Pankiw directed the episode, which was written by showrunner Charlie Brooker from a story he co-wrote with Bisha K. Ali.

One viewer was moved by the dystopian ending of the episode and commented on X:

"I cannot binge Black Mirror — it's much too hard to stomach all at once / It's phenomenal all the same, but soul crushing as well / 'Common People' felt like an earlier episode and that is harrowing."

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Others also echoed similar sentiments and commented on the unsettling nature of the story as foreshadowing a bleak future.

"Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 1 - Common People #NW / This was the most creepy and insane thing i've ever seen... The concept of this episode is crazy and a great commentary on subscription culture. If this was real and i was in a coma just keep me there," wrote one user.

"Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 1, "Common People" hit hard for me as a person living with chronic illness and invisible disabilities #BlackMirrorS7," added one X user.

"Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 1 Common People felt way too real — like it could actually happen. / That's what made it so interesting… but also kinda depressing," noted another X user.

Many viewers lauded the premiere episode for nailing the dystopian theme of the series, even calling it the best episode from season 7.

"Black Mirror season 7, episode 1, Common People - wow. Black Mirror is back - this is probably one of the best I've seen so far. I feel like this is the quintessential style of the dystopian message @charltonbrooker," said one fan on X.

"Black Mirror did a great job with the episode 1 of season 7, Common People. It had everything you'd expect from that creative team," commented another.

"Black Mirror season 7 episode 1 "Common People" is a return to the glory days," remarked one user.

What happens in Black Mirror season 7 episode 1?

A still of Rashida Jones and Chris O'Dowd from the Netflix anthology series (Image via Instagram/@Netflix)

In the first episode of Black Mirror season 7, Rashida Jones and Chris O'Dowd play a working-class married couple, Amanda and Mike. Amanda works as a school teacher, while Mike works in construction. Their life drastically changes when Amanda falls into a coma.

To save her life, Mike agrees to an experimental surgery from the medical tech company Rivermind that will replace her damaged brain tissue with synthetic tissue free of cost. Tracee Ellis Ross plays Gaynor, a representative of Rivermind. She tells Mike that he needs to pay a monthly subscription costing $300 to keep Amanda functioning and alive.

Additionally, Amanda is required to stay within the coverage range at all times. Gaynor presents a new tier, Rivermind+, that will give her the freedom to move freely across North America but cost an additional $500 per month. However, it has its downsides, as Amanda breaks into advertising commercials spontaneously and sleeps longer hours, affecting her job performance.

As their lives spiral out of control, Mike earns extra cash by filming humiliating videos on the internet to maintain the subscription. However, Gaynor entices them with the premium tier plan, Rivermind Lux, that offers an enhanced sense of serenity and pleasure. It costs an additional $1000 per month, which the couple cannot afford, so she suggests booster packets as a more affordable option.

By the end of Common People, Mike resorts to pulling his teeth online to pay for the Lux booster cards. Amanda and Mike agree that the only way to end the predatory subscription is for her to die. So, Mike smothers her with a pillow the next time she advertises a commercial.

How to watch Black Mirror season 7?

Chris O'Dowd and Tracee Ellis Ross as seen in season 7 of Black Mirror (Image via Tudum by Netflix)

The latest season of Black Mirror is available exclusively on Netflix. Viewers will need a valid subscription plan to access all six episodes of the sci-fi series. The streaming platform offers three plans - Standard with ads, Standard without ads, and Premium without ads.

The ad-supported Standard plan costs $7.99 per month, the ad-free Standard plan comes at $17.99 per month, and the Premium plan is priced at $24.99 per month.

Moreover, the ad-free plans include the option to add additional members for a small fee. The Standard ad-free plan has one slot, and the Premium plan has two slots for additional members, costing $6.99 each per month with ads and $8.99 each per month without ads.

Stay tuned for the latest news and updates about upcoming shows in 2025.

About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by Ivanna Lalsangzuali