“Black Mirror” (Season 7, Episode 1) “Common People“ paints a chilling portrait of a near-future where medical innovation walks hand in hand with corporate exploitation. Mike and Amanda, a couple already buckling under the weight of infertility and a crushing diagnosis, are offered a miracle: a groundbreaking neural cloning procedure that could save Amanda’s life.
But salvation comes at a cost—a ruthless subscription model that slowly drains them, not just financially, but emotionally. As they scramble to keep up with mounting fees and moral compromises, the technology meant to heal them becomes a noose tightening around their lives. In the end, their desperate struggle ends in tragedy—highlighting how, in a world where help is monetized, hope itself can become a weapon.
This article contains spoilers.
Black Mirror (Season 7), Episode 1, “Common People” Recap:
The episode opens with a couple, Mike and Amanda, sleeping together and cuddling. It is their anniversary morning. As usual, Amanda, a teacher, goes to school. In class, Amanda teaches the kids about an artificial bee that does the same job of pollination as normal bees. After class, Eva is sad because her classmate Tisha makes fun of Eva’s shoes. So Amanda cheers Eva. Later, Amanda’s co-worker asks Amanda to join her for drinks, but Mike is already waiting outside as they have to leave for their anniversary weekend. It’s a tradition for Mike and Amanda to visit the Juniper Lodge, where they had gotten married. Keeping up with tradition, the couple listens to a man singing while eating the Juniper burgers.
What technology will Mike use to keep Amanda alive?
At night, Amanda hopes she gets pregnant this time. They have been trying for a long time. As Mike tries to make love to Amanda, Amanda has a terrible headache. At home, Amanda thinks about selling the crib as they jumped the gun, and Amanda is unable to conceive. However, Mike consoles Amanda. In the construction factory where Mike works, he needs to push his co-worker Shane to stop wasting time and get to work. Through Shane, Mike learns about a site called Dum Dummies, where people ask for money, and if the target is reached, they do some disgusting or painful dares. In class, as Amanda is teaching kids, she faints. Immediately, Mike rushes to the hospital.
The doctors tell Mike that Amanda has a brain tumor and there is no way she will gain consciousness. However, a new start-up called Rivermind may help in such cases. Wanting Amanda to live, Mike agrees to meet the people from Rivermind. A while later, a woman named Gaynor from Rivermind visits the hospital to meet with Mike and explain the technology. Rivermind is a neurological technology that can take Amanda’s neural structure and clone it. After taking the backup, they will remove the tumor and surrounding tissues. Later, it will be replaced by the synthetic receiver tissues. However, Mike is concerned about the dangers of the technology. But Gaynor assures him that Amanda will be normal, as Gaynor is living proof of this technology.
What odd behavior has Amanda developed unbeknownst to her?
The surgery is free, and there is a $300 per month subscription fee. Additionally, Amanda will sleep a couple of hours extra each day. To keep Amanda alive, Mike agrees to the procedure. The surgery is successful, and Amanda is back home. However, Mike must take extra shifts to pay for the Rivermind subscription. In addition, Mike also cancels his trip to Ireland to meet his father as they need every penny. With each passing day, Mike gets tired and does not get any rest. Soon, it’s their anniversary again, and they take the trip to Juniper Lodge. On the way to the lodge, Mike and Amanda get into an argument. It seems like Mike is suggesting Amanda is not doing enough. This is probably because Mike is tired from overworking.
Suddenly, Amanda loses consciousness, so Mike drives to the hospital. However, after crossing an area, Amanda is back to her senses. They now meet with Gaynor to understand what is going on. At the office, Gaynor explains that although Rivermind has towers across the country, they are available only to Rivermind Plus users. Hearing this, Mike feels it’s unfair as he was not told before. The subscription is going to cost a total of $800. The next day, Amanda starts to talk about Espresso Grande but does not remember saying anything about it. This continues in school as a boy talks to Amanda about his parents’ separation, and unknowingly, Amanda suggests taking faith-based counseling.
What can you do with a Rivermind Lux subscription?
While making love to Mike, Amanda starts to advertise lubes in a way that annoys Mike. The school is unhappy with Amanda’s suggestions (which are unknown to her). Amanda knows she’ll get fired if this does not stop. When they visit Gaynor, she casually says they are contextual advertisements and if that needs to stop, they can upgrade to Rivermind Plus. With the threat of Amanda losing her job, they upgrade the plan. To make an extra buck, Mike goes on Dum Dummies. To hide his identity, Mike morphs his voice and wears a mask. Besides the ads stopping and the ability to travel anywhere in the country, Rivermind Plus does not offer much, as Amanda has to sleep for 12 hours now.
Once again, Mike and Amanda find themselves in Gaynor’s office, where she says they have extended the duration of sleep as a part of a recent firmware update. Moreover, Amanda is probably in the test group. Even though Amanda is sleeping for long hours, she remains tired. This is because the technology uses Amanda’s brain to power the servers. Gaynor suggests they use Rivermind Lux, a premium upgrade. With this upgrade, there are fewer sleeping hours, one can set their moods to different levels, and the person has heightened senses and can learn different skills from other Rivermind users. When the couple says they can’t afford an additional $1000, Gaynor suggests using booster packs for special occasions.
Black Mirror (Season 7), Episode 1, “Common People” Ending Explained:
At home, Mike gets on Dum Dummies. This time, Mike reveals his face as people offer to pay a lot. It’s their anniversary again, so Mike takes Amanda to Juniper. Additionally, Mike buys a booster pack for 12 hours so Amanda can enjoy herself. Unfortunately, this backfires. Mike feels Amanda’s heightened senses as exaggerated. Once Mike returns to work, his co-workers don’t want to be anywhere near him. The reason is that Shane has pinned a picture of Mike from Dum Dummies. Infuriated, Mike fights with Shane. Accidentally, a crane runs over Shane. Soon, Mike is fired. If they cannot pay for Rivermind Plus, then Amanda will lose her job. So the duo visits Gaynor to reason with her, but Gaynor says her hands are tied.
As the couple discuss using baby money, Gaynor interrupts them, saying if they try to get pregnant, then it will cost an additional $90 as pregnancy changes the brain. For the first time, Mike leaves the office in a fury. A year later, Mike sells the crib. Now, Amanda looks so much older and more tired. As it is their anniversary, Mike gets Amanda a booster pack, but it is only for 30 minutes this time. Before the time is up, Amanda asks Mike to do something when she is out of her senses. As soon as the time runs out, Amanda starts blurting out ads one after the other. So, Mike chokes Amanda with a pillow. After killing Amanda, Mike takes a cutter and enters his room.
In the end, Mike takes both Amanda’s life and his own—convinced there’s no other escape from the nightmare they’ve been trapped in. What makes “Common People” so unsettling is how close it feels to reality. Subscription-based services have infiltrated every aspect of modern life—from OTT platforms to cellular networks—turning once-optional conveniences into dependencies. Service providers design systems to make you rely on them so completely that you can’t imagine functioning without them, whether you can afford to or not.
The most disturbing moment comes when Amanda begins speaking about tailored ads with eerie precision—at any given moment. The technology behind it is sophisticated, operating in real time, delivering hyper-personalized data. And it doesn’t feel like science fiction anymore. The idea that our devices are constantly listening has become a punchline, a meme—but what if it’s just the beginning?
Even in healthcare, the idea of cloning is no longer confined to the realm of imagination. This episode explores what happens when life itself becomes inseparable from technology—when survival depends on a system that can fail as easily as a downed cell tower. A simple malfunction can plunge you into darkness. Ultimately, “Common People” leaves a chilling question lingering: Is this the future of warfare? Not just humans versus machines, but a select few wielding technology so powerful, they can destroy lives—or even the world—with a single click. It’s not just dystopian; it’s disturbingly plausible.
