USS Callister: Into Infinity

Just watched Black Mirror "USS Callister: Into Infinity" and honestly, it's one of the best episodes in the series. Everything about it stood out-the story, the acting, the vibe. It had me hooked from the very first moment. It's the kind of episode that stays with you long after it ends. Honestly, it could've been a standalone movie, and if it had, it would've been one of the best. This is a true masterpiece. And Cristin Milioti-wow, her performance was incredible. She truly brought her character to life with such depth and emotion. The writing and dialogues were so on point, capturing every little detail and emotion perfectly. Can't stop thinking about it.

I don't think I've EVER left a review for ANYTHING but HAD to figure it out for this one. Honestly, I was so captivated by season 7 of Black Mirror that by the time I got to this episode, the season 7 finale, my thought was "this season has been SO good, every single episode captivating from start to finish, there's absolutely NO WAY this finale could even compare let alone be best episode yet, climactic finale material"......... Then I watched it. I've never been a big Sci-fi fan at all but the USS Callister episodes of Black Mirror just might be my absolute favorite episodes of television PERIOD of EVERYTHING I've ever watched. The story telling is phenomenal, the acting is unlike anything you've come to expect from a television series. The production is fantastic. This was a GREAT finale, a GREAT season altogether and overall just a GREAT and original series. I cannot wait for the next season and can only HOPE to see the story of USS CALLISTER continue!!!

I've been waiting for continuation of this story for years, USS Callister was the best episode of entire Black Mirror, deserving it's own spin off, I can't believe they did a sequel at least in the end... And it did not disappoint... This is peak TV at the moment. The story included the best ideas of Black Mirror incorporated into a multiplayer space game and a stellar cast... We explore the fight for survival of a crew of USS Callister after they were moved into a mmo game Infinity , that has 30 million players. Believe it or not this gameplay now somewhat exists in Star Citizen.

Anyway, enjoy and I will go back to space piracy...

The crew of USS Callister is stuck inside the universe of an MMPORG. To stay alive they need credits so turn to robbing players in the game. This causes complaints by the gamers which leads the developers to investigate. Nanette Cole is on the case but the truth is bizarre, illegal and involves her.

A continuation of the previous Black Mirror episode involving USS Callister; 'USS Callister' (S4E1). That episode aired in 2017 and I have largely forgotten what happened in it (though I do know I rated it very highly) so I watched this episode in isolation, without knowing much about the background.

Turns out you don't really need to know anything about the backstory as you can pick it up from this episode pretty quickly.

The episode itself is quite clever and complex, reminding me of Christopher Nolans 'Inception" in terms of layers of consciousness and existence. The fact that it is set inside a game universe is very original and makes for an entertaining experience.

This is all helped by an excellent performance by Cristin Milioti as Nanette Cole (well, a few Nanette Coles to be exact).

Not perfect though. It is maybe too clever for its own good and I never understood the motivations and aims of the characters stuck in the game, making engagement less than 100%.

Still, it's a fun, interesting ride, one worthy of the Black Mirror universe.

First of all, I gotta praise the music for this episode, because it's the only episode where the music was so good and well-composed that actually made the episode better.

Secondly, I thought a sequel to USS Callister would be lazy, just to do the same successful thing they did back when Black Mirror was actually good, just to reap the rewards of their past again. But now that I have watched USS Callister: Into Infinity, I think it was absolutely needed, and it is a great addition to this show.

Season 7 has impressed me with its mostly pretty good episodes, compared to the disappointing season 5 and the horribly atrocious season 6. It's not that the season is mindblowing or innovative, it's that it feels like the real Black Mirror we had back in the first 3 or 4 seasons.

This sequel is great in the sense that instead of just nostalgia-baiting and memberberries, it expands upon the original, adds to the lore, and continues the story in a justifiable way.

The idea is good enough you could make an entire show about it, but the two episodes we've had and the way they end this (which I did not expect to go this way) is a satisfying way to wrap up this story, while still having some open-endedness if they want to do a third one, which I hope they don't. Because, like I said, it ends in a very satisfying way and you get a fulfilling conclusion.

Overall, this episode was great and one of the best of this season. Season 7 was adequate enough that it fortunately brought back my interest in this show and enjoyment of it. It ranks up with good season like 3 and 4, and thankfully isn't as horrible as 6 and 5, and I hope they keep doing this and never repeat that 5 and 6, if there ever do another season.