The moment fans have all been waiting for is finally here: Black Mirror Season 7 is now on Netflix. Since the season was announced on March 14, fans have patiently been waiting for the Twilight Zone-esque sci-fi series to return with six new episodes and a star-studded cast. And now that they’re here, the new episodes have superfans pointing out the Black Mirror Easter eggs and connections in Season 7.Â
The Easter eggs aren’t all brand new, though. A sequel to “USS Callister” was already confirmed in the teaser trailer, giving fans a slight idea of just how many Easter eggs they could look forward to seeing.Â
Despite every episode of Black Mirror famously having no tie to each other, things seem to be more connected than fans previously thought. From Season 3 callbacks to crossover technology, Season 7 has fans convinced there’s a bigger Black Mirror universe at play. Here are some of the biggest Easter eggs in Black Mirror Season 7. Spoiler Warning: Spoilers for Black Mirror Season 7 follow.
1. The Bees in “Common People”
During the first five minutes of the first episode of Season 7,we see Amanda (Rashida Jones) teaching her class about “autonomous drone insects,” specifically bees. Sound familiar? That’s because Season 3 Episode 6 was all about bees. If you remember, “Hated in the Nation” was about how these drone bees were made to aid in the re-pollonation of the land, except they get hijacked to become assassins. Beyond her teaching her class, Amanda’s classroom is littered with portrayals of bees on the walls — which is interesting, considering how “Hated in the Nation” ended.
2. The Experiencer Disk in “Hotel Reverie,” “Eulogy,” and “USS Callister: Into Infinity”
At first read, “experiencer disk” may not ring a bell. That’s probably because it’s rarely named in the series, but the technology is so heavily prevalent in past seasons. In fact, this disk has proven itself to be a recurring device that characters have used to gain access to virtual experiences in a variety of episodes. In Season 7, episodes 3, 5, and 6 all use the disk for the same purpose but with different goals and outcomes, much like past seasons have.Â
Season 4’s episode “USS Callister” and Season 5’s episode “Striking Vipers” both use it so users are able to enter an immersive game, much like this season’s sixth episode, “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” Similarly, Season 3’s “San Junipero” allows elderly people to upload their consciousness onto the disk, much like we saw Phillip do when recollecting his time with a now-passed ex-girlfriend during his own elderly days in “Eulogy.”Â
Despite the difference in its usage from past episodes, “Hotel Reverie” also utilizes the disk to access an alternate reality in which the “actors” do not know life outside of the pre-existing film. This is familiar to the lack of consciousness seen in the original “USS Callister.”
3. Colin Ritman is Alive in “Plaything”
If you are a true Black Mirror fanatic, chances are you’ve watched Bandersnatch. The Black Mirror film allows watchers to “choose their own adventure” and make choices for the main character in the movie, alternating the film’s ending. Famously, there is a choice to be made with Colin’s character — have him die, or have the character you control, Stefan, die. Viewers learn that Colin never actually dies, but he is pretty absent from the film thereafter, and no one knows his whereabouts. That makes his appearance in “Plaything” much more shocking. It’s interesting to see if he’ll show up again in later seasons, since viewers see him disappear once more by the end of the episode.
4. Saint Junipers Hospital in “USS Callister: Into Infinity”
Hearing the word “Juniper” may sound familiar, and that’s because you’ve most definitely heard it in past episodes. In Bandersnatch, viewers are taken to the St. Junipers Hospital, and in Season 4 Episode 6, “Black Museum,” viewers see the hospital more in depth.Â
It isn’t until the “Black Museum” episode that we know why this hospital is so relevant to the Black Mirror universe. The episode revealed that St. Junipers Hospital was a place of research and experiments done by TCKR (the same manufacturer of the experiencer disk). At the hospital, patients who did not have insurance would willingly sign up to be guinea pigs for experimental medical procedures as a form of payment. We see Nanette end up in St. Junipers when she was in a coma in “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” And an extra Easter egg: the hotel Amanda and Mike stay in yearly in Season 7 Episode 1 is called the Juniper Hotel.
I don’t know about you, but seeing all the Easter eggs and the expansion of the Black Mirror universe in Season 7 solidified it as one of my favorites.