Season 7 of Black Mirror will mark 14 years of the show being on air, with its Channel 4 debut in the UK happening back in 2011 and its Netflix debut taking over US screens in 2016. Known for its solo episodic reign, Black Mirror has always consisted of different storylines per episode, making each episode unique to itself. However, as seasons have released, more and more fans have caught on to the similar devices or references between episodes and seasons, leading them to think there’s a bigger picture than we may think. One of those devices? The experiencer disk. Spoiler alert: Spoilers for Black Mirror Season 7 follow.
 From the theory that every episode is based on one timeline to technologies reappearing for different purposes, the Black Mirror universe is always revealing more to the audience. Though based in theory, it’s important to note that when it comes to technology, viewers have seen quite a few occurrences of the same white disk placed on users’ temples. What is this disk, you may ask? Let me introduce you to the experiencer disk.
The experiencer disk is said to be a virtual reality device intended to be utilized by users for the sake of immersing their full body and mind into a place or event. Season 7 had three of six episodes featuring this device, and if it looked familiar to you, chances are you’re remembering it from past seasons. Famously, viewers saw this disk appear in Season 3’s “San Junipero,” when Yorkie and Kelly are in the virtual world of San Junipero. For their storyline, it was used to allow them to upload their consciousness into the digital world for purposes before death or after death, so that their consciousness would live on. Similarly, in Season 7, viewers saw in Episode 5, “Eulogy,” that Phillip (Paul Giamatti) utilized the disk to re-track memories through his consciousness for the sake of recounting his past.
Fans also saw it appear in Season 4’s “USS Callister” for anyone playing Infinity — except it took a dark turn and allowed for Robert Daly to go into a world he created with unconscious clones of people he knew from the outside world. We also saw this video game immersion experience with the experiencer disk in Season 5’s “Striking Vipers.” Danny and Karl utilized these disks to immerse themselves as the characters in a virtual game realm, being able to feel everything as their characters — much like those who played Infinity in “USS Callister.”
Despite no direct reference to the link between the experiencer disk in episodes, it is evident that they all have the same purpose, but with different uses. The device leaves it up to the user to completely create their own individualized experience, as we can see with the differences in all these episodes. It makes watching the new experiencer disk episodes all the more exciting this season!