USS Callister: Into Infinity
Cloned crew seeks survival in a game universe.
The seventh season of Black Mirror concludes with "USS Callister: Into Infinity," the sixth episode and a direct follow-up to the fourth season's "USS Callister." Returning cast members include Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson, Billy Magnussen, Milanka Brooks, Osy Ikhile, and Paul G. Raymond, while Jesse Plemons appears as a digital copy of Robert Daly. Charlie Brooker, Bisha K. Ali, William Bridges, and Bekka Bowling wrote the episode, with Toby Haynes directing. It debuted on Netflix on 10 April 2025 alongside the rest of the season, earning positive reviews.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Black Mirror
- Director
- Toby Haynes
- Writer
- Charlie Brooker
- Bisha K. Ali
- William Bridges
- Bekka Bowling
- Photographer
- Stephan Pehrsson
- Editor
- Tony Kearns
- Airdate
- 10 April 2025
- Length
- 90 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Three months after the events of "USS Callister," the digital clones of real people, with Captain Nanette in charge, are getting by in the Infinity game universe by stealing from other players. Since they have no gamer tags, players mistake them for cheaters or glitches and post complaints on the game's forum. After a close call that almost kills them, Nanette realizes they need to get into the game's source code to move themselves to a private server for safety. To do that, they have to recover Lt. Walton, who died earlier. Back in the real world, a reporter questions Callister Inc. CEO James Walton about the players without tags and Robert Daly's illegal DNA cloning device. Nanette Cole, the real Nanette, eavesdrops on the interview and offers to help Walton look into the rogue players. She figures out they are cloned former coworkers. Both the crew and Nanette find the planet where Lt. Walton is. Nanette and Walton log into the game just as Captain Nanette arrives on the planet. The two groups meet, grab Lt. Walton, and get back on the USS Callister. Captain Nanette explains everything to Nanette and Walton, but Walton shoots the clones, killing clone Karl Plowman. Captain Nanette kills Walton, kicking him out of the game temporarily, and tells Nanette to stop him from coming back. Nanette logs out and tries to block Walton from re-entering. As she runs from the building with Walton chasing her, a car hits her, leaving her in a coma.
Production
The episode is a sequel to "USS Callister", with director Toby Haynes returning. Originally, Brooker and Haynes planned to develop the sequel as a series, which was about to enter development in 2023 when the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike derailed those plans. The ideas were then reworked into a single television film. Jesse Plemons's return as a clone of Robert Daly was kept secret by Brooker. Michaela Coel, another actor from "USS Callister", did not return due to schedule conflicts, and her character was reported as killed during an earlier mission.
Reception
The episode received largely favorable reviews, with Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars. When critics ranked every Black Mirror installment, it landed at 11th according to The Hollywood Reporter, 18th in both GQ and The Daily Telegraph, 20th in Radio Times, 25th in Vulture, and 31st in Entertainment Weekly. IndieWire placed it 16th out of 33 episodes (excluding Bandersnatch). Wired called it the best of series seven’s six episodes. Mashable, sorting by tone, found it the ninth-least pessimistic episode overall.
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