“It’s bleak.”
That’s the unanimous verdict from fans of Netflix’s Black Mirror after watching the Season 7 premiere: bleak, grim, and, oh, don’t forget, downright depressing.
The episode, titled “Common People,” looks at the world of subscription-based services. If juggling multiple streaming subscriptions feels frustrating now, imagine a day when your payment directly determines whether your wife lives or dies.
That’s the twisted reality faced by Mike (Chris O’Dowd) and Amanda (Rashida Jones), a working-class couple thrown into crisis after Amanda collapses at work and is diagnosed with a brain tumor. After running out of traditional treatment options, Mike seeks out a more experimental one, enrolling Amanda in Rivermind, a futuristic tech company that offers a life-extending treatment, but for a monthly fee.
At first, it works. Amanda recovers. The subscription cost is steep and the couple can barely afford it, but for Mike, it’s worth the price if it means saving Amanda. However, things begin to take a dark turn when Amanda begins to randomly speak in ads, which the company says they can fix, but only if the couple pays to upgrade their service, something that they can’t afford to do.
After viewers watched the episode, their reaction has been nothing short of horrified.
life was much better without that black mirror s7 “common people” episode pic.twitter.com/gAkKFMVbbg
— xef gatdula macasusi (@localoxytocin) April 10, 2025
I said it and it’s pretty much in the first #BlackMirror episode ‘Common People’.Humanity is doomed.Doomed I tell you. pic.twitter.com/KnN7iksEwS
— β❹𝓡ѲⓃ (@AILawless) April 10, 2025
Black Mirror’s ‘Common People’ just emotionally destroyed me 💀. The way Rivermind turns saving your wife into a subscription service is peak late-stage capitalism horror. Not okay. #BlackMirrorS7
— fubara (@I_triple9) April 10, 2025
okay but the first episode of the new season of black mirror tho?!?!?! pic.twitter.com/13iQkxptin
— Ama (@amackieee) April 10, 2025
common people absolutely crushed me and i feel unwell after watching it meaning black mirror is so back!
— k (@dayIightjade) April 10, 2025
“That was depressing. Never need to watch that again,” one Redditor declared.
Another user agreed, adding: “Bro, when she starts dropping the ads, I’ve not felt that enraged for a fictional character in years. F—ing despicable.”
The episode is so depressing that some fans are jokingly posting about wanting to die after watching it.
common people episode from black mirror is so depressing. my god pic.twitter.com/KLYKZD9kNR
— ⋆♡̵⋆ (@realminne) April 10, 2025
The common people black mirror ep is so hilariously devastating like i almost keel myself pic.twitter.com/FkldRRY0Wg
— gracie (@bethecunt) April 10, 2025
And of course, the irony of an episode about the dystopian nature of subscription services airing on Netflix, a streaming platform with subscription-based plans, was not lost on viewers.
that episode ‘common people’ is literally a self-critical for netflix itself #blackmirrorpic.twitter.com/8bBIS1BjZZ
— l̶i̶m̶a̶ ̶☆ harris dickinson’s pr manager (@favdickinson) April 10, 2025
The horror that “Common People” exposes about how greedy companies exploit their customers has struck such a nerve with viewers that some viewers are even rethinking their stance on Luigi Mangione, the man who allegedly assassinated the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
“I suddenly get Luigi now,” one person wrote on Reddit.
“So yeah, free luigi ✌🏻” another person chimed in.
If you decide to give this season of Black Mirror a watch, maybe do yourself a favor and save “Common People” for last—unless you’re eager to be traumatized.
The post The New ‘Black Mirror’ Episode That Is Traumatizing Viewers appeared first on The Daily Beast.
