Black Mirror 7 episode 6 review: What if USS Callister: Into Infinity is a study into the subtle power of quiet greed and self-interest?

The most anticipated episode of Black Mirror Season 7, USS Callister: Into Infinity, picks up the narrative from one of the show's most ambitious and acclaimed episodes. 

When Black Mirror first returned in 2016, it still felt like a speculative, near-future warning. But now the world as once imagined has arrived—often in ways stranger than fiction. So, this new instalment no longer projects the future; instead, it serves as a commentary on the now. With an unflinching focus on AI and inescapable technology, the show acknowledges an uncomfortable truth: tech isn't going anywhere. Whether harmful or helpful, it's embedded in our lives. But the question isn't about escaping it, it is about how we live with it and who we let wield its power. 

USS Callister: Into Infinity continues the legacy of its predecessor by digging deeper into the root of tech-induced horror, not just corporate greed but the human flaws and loneliness that fuel it. Where the first episode focused on Robert Daly, a reclusive genius turned digital tyrant, this chapter expands the universe and offers a richer, more morally complex exploration. Daly, the creator of Infinity, also an incel, had vented his real-world frustrations by imprisoning digital clones of his coworkers in a modded version of the game—an homage to his favorite Star Trek-style show, Space Fleet. But his reign of terror was toppled when new employee Nanette Cole led a rebellion, freeing the crew into a cloud space of the game Infinity. The sequel picks up with Captain Cole and her crew adjusting to their newfound freedom, only to realise that survival outside Daly’s warped control is far from liberating.

Now, marked as No_Tag_Error entities, the clones exist as anomalies in the system. They’re forced to live as digital pirates, scraping by in a universe of microtransactions and a capitalist system of credits. With the gaming community and real-world developers on high alert, the Callister crew becomes a glitch worth hunting. Meanwhile, suspicions around Daly’s use of banned cloning tech attract mainstream media attention, setting the stage for another high-stakes escape plan—this time into the very core of the game: the Heart of Infinity, only to find Daly's clone consciousness stored away in there, alone and busy building the game!

Also Read: Black Mirror 7 episode 5 review: What if AI could help us revisit the past with a new perspective?

Though longer and more action-heavy, Into Infinity is surprisingly conventional in its storytelling. That’s not a flaw, it’s part of the charm. This is a character-driven sci-fi adventure that swaps bleak morality tales for emotional nuance and spectacle. It feels like a space sci-fi meets Black Mirror’s dark side—a surprising, delightful hybrid that works because it’s built on human contradictions rather than just tech-induced doom. While we are dealing with an industrialist's greed that, despite the cost of lives being lost, is only interested in making the game expensive without ever playing it or understanding its purpose, there is something more profound found in this episode. 

The final act reveals that Daly’s digital consciousness lives on in a recreation of his garage: a chilling nod to Silicon Valley's “garage founders.” What began as dreams of a better world from tech bros in basements has too often devolved into world dominance and patriarchal exploitation. Daly’s evolution from misunderstood genius to abusive overlord reflects this trajectory. Nanette’s confrontation with his recreated self—half predator, half pathetic man-child—culminates in poetic justice: a space axe to the forehead. But furthermore, it is the final twist that makes Into Infinity truly provocative.

Though the game is "won," by killing the entire game of Infinity, yet the clones are still trapped—this time within Nanette’s own consciousness. Instead of releasing them, she keeps them as permanent companions, ensuring she’s never alone again. What begins as a mission to save others quietly morphs into a subtle descent into denial. Nanette, once the heroic rebel, chooses comfort over morality. It’s not unlike Daly—just a different flavour of control. Where he forced others into servitude to soothe his loneliness, she invites them in, gaslighting herself and others into believing it’s an act of compassion.

In the end, the episode suggests a sobering truth: human greed doesn’t always wear the face of a villain. Sometimes it looks like a lonely woman who just wanted to be loved. And sometimes that, too, becomes dangerous. The game may be called Infinity, but the real endless loop is the one in our heads—the need for control, validation, and companionship, even at the cost of others’ freedom. USS Callister: Into Infinity doesn’t just continue a story. It expands on the most disturbing truth of all: tech may be our tool but it’s our humanity—messy, needy, and sometimes monstrous—that ultimately determines how dark things can get.

Black Mirror season 7 is currently streaming on Netflix! 

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