This article contains spoilers.

There was a time, nearly half a decade ago, when the future of “Black Mirror” was as opaque as its name.

Amid the constant violence, illness and injustice of 2020 — Charlie Brooker, creator of the series, expressed a disinclination towards more tales exposing the wicked underbelly of the modern human condition. Reality was nightmarish enough.

But even in these arguably bleaker times, “Black Mirror” remains at its best when it’s emotionally scarring. After two seasons of middling quality, the British anthology series seems to finally have regained its color in a deeply emotive seventh season. All six new episodes released April 10 on Netflix.

In keeping with prior installments, there is no shortage of fear injected into these fresh “Black Mirror” episodes. Recurring themes of the show have included the dangers of technological expansion — particularly the over-involvement of technology in human life and interactions — and the new batch of episodes are no different. It’s an easy fear to capture in a world in which computers become more intelligent and essential by the day, and Brooker exploits this fear onscreen superbly.

In a deviation from other seasons, however, this season is lassoed together by the weighty rope of human emotion and intimacy — especially love. The notion that perhaps the show’s nanotech heart beats after all is a revelation, and it makes the best episodes of this season sing.

One such standout episode is “Common People.” Amanda (Rashida Jones) and Mike (Chris O’Dowd) are a lovable, working-class couple struck by tragedy in the form of a brain tumor. Distraught and desperate, Mike is approached by Gaynor (Tracee Ellis Ross), a brand representative who encourages him to purchase Rivermind, a company that can offer Amanda a synthetic brain implant and enable her to live a normal life — on a subscription basis, of course.

The commentary on the exploitative nature of subscription services is a touch heavy-handed, particularly for a show airing on a subscription-based streaming service that has itself been accused of greedy, exploitative tactics. Still, that doesn’t dull the gut punch of watching the couple fall victim to the predatory system they sought for help.
When Mike mercifully kills Amanda before sulking offscreen to his own ambiguous fate, “Black Mirror” does what it does best: It hurts.

In “Common People” as with other episodes, the emphasis on love proves to be the strength of this season. In “Eulogy,” Paul Giamatti stars as a bitter recluse with an external brain chip that enables him to walk through memories of the relationship he attempted to forget — making a beautiful, heart-wrenching meditation on love, regret and loss. Giamatti’s performance is warm and endearing, perfectly complementary to a story that is less punishing than it is poignant.

“Hotel Reverie” completes the trio of love centered episodes. The story stars Issa Rae as Brandy Friday, an actress starring in a tragic love story with Emma Corrin’s Dorothy Chambers in an AI-generated renewal of a classic film. Rae and Corrin are magnetic, and even Awkwafina is bearable as the director of the AI film’s chaotic situation room. Corrin’s transformation into a closeted, fragile, noir film star, is merely a hair’s breadth from Giammati’s as the series’ most emotionally stirring performance.

Of course, not every episode is perfect from beginning to end. “Bête Noire,” in which a woman becomes convinced that her new coworker has reappeared from the past to sabotage her in increasingly insidious ways, is humorous, well-paced and delightfully tongue-in-cheek, but lacks the depth other episodes offer and cheats itself of victory at its third act’s finish line.

“Plaything,” which stars Peter Capaldi acting his heart out, is a visual treat. The scenes in which the eccentric gamer-turned-murderer trips on acid to communicate with a digital lifeform are intoxicatingly vibrant and alive. Tragically, it is in stark contrast to the plot, which feels the stalest and least relevant of the six episodes. The “USS Callister” sequel, “USS Callister: Into Infinity,” is similarly almost too uninspiring to waste words on.

That “Black Mirror” manages to stay relevant fourteen years after its premiere is in itself a feat. It remains impactful and is effective at stirring fear, desire and sadness in the hearts of its viewers, making it doubly impressive.

In another ten years, life may once again be too bleak for another installment of “Black Mirror;” or, one of the show’s nightmarish technology scenarios may finally come true. But in the meantime, “Black Mirror” spooks while staying sincere, reminding viewers why it has stood the test of time.

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