If there’s one thing Black Mirror knows how to do, it's make viewers deeply question their morality. Black Mirror Season 4 episode 1, “USS Callister,” is no exception.
The episode begins with Captain Robert Daly on the USS Callister, saving the day. His crew happily takes down the bad guy and they celebrate their brave leader. The world is cheerful, bright and full of color. But then we see the real Robert Daly on his way to work. He gets off the elevator to enter an office decorated in black, white and gray. It’s a cool modern space for a VR company that makes a game called Infinity .
No one really acknowledges Daly, even though he is the creator of the technology behind Infinity . He awkwardly smiles at the receptionist with no response. He asks an intern to make him coffee, who laughs him off before realizing it was a serious request. Walton, the CEO and co-founder, simply ignores him. He comes home to his own version of Infinity, a special bubble where he can escape. We’re back on USS Callister only for that bubble to burst.
As it turns out, Daly is a real asshole in his version of Infinity . He abuses his crew, which is made up of all the employees who’ve mistreated him. Walton has become his personal slave, who he can physically and psychologically torment whenever he wants. It’s dark, but it’s no different than turning on a first-person shooter and taking out enemy soldiers. It’s cruel, but not real. No one is physically hurt. That is, until new employee Nanette comes into the picture.
Daly steals Nanette’s DNA to make a digital copy of her in his special version of Infinity . We later learn that her consciousness lives in Infinity . Daly thought she may’ve been interested in him, but overhears her saying her admiration is purely professional. He gets his revenge on her by bringing her into Infinity , but she rebels, refusing to play her new role onboard the USS Callister. He tortures her by removing her face. She can no longer see or breathe. Daly tells her he can let her suffer for as long as she wants. She is very much alive in the game, but can only die if he wants her to. The game doesn’t allow her to sleep or have any basic human needs, so she’d be suffocating indefinitely. And that’s not even the worst thing Daly does. Eventually, Nanette finds a way to be free of Daly and saves the day. Basically, no one likes Daly in his virtual world either.
The episode lost me when it ended with Daly being trapped in his own virtual reality. Daly is a loner and it’s quite possible he’s not in contact with family or friends. Some might even assume he’s working or playing the game he’s dedicated his life to building. He just wanted to be the hero in his own story for once, and this was the only way he knew how to cope with his unhappiness and frustrations.
Daly just got lost in his world, too. He’s a smart guy, he could've written code that would force the clones of the real people around him to bend to his will. But he didn’t. He wanted the “real” versions of them to respect him. Instead, the clones feared him and hated him for keeping them in a virtual hell.
Daly never brought his cruelty into the real world. He’d been working on Infinity for years and no one really cared. Instead, people he tried to engage with simply dismissed him as “creepy.” They ignored his title and saw Walton as the real boss. Daly was never mean to his coworkers or threatened anyone. Even the clones refused to understand why he’s acting out on them. Is leaving him in the virtual reality hell to possibly die in real life truly a fair punishment?
The connection just isn’t there. While it was great to see Nanette save the crew, real-life Nanette sabotaged Daly without knowing what he did to her. She wasn’t heroic; she was blackmailed into stealing. Daly taking his coworkers’ DNA is just as bad as what Nanette did. She could’ve killed a man in real life to save a fake version of herself that was deleted.
While the episode clearly challenges viewers to think about their actions in video games. Even though what Daly did to the clones was deplorable and sick, technically, “real” people weren’t harmed. It’s kind of like playing The Sims 4 and creating yourself in the game. You create your loved ones and “control” their actions, but it doesn’t affect their lives.
But it’s not a Black Mirror episode if you’re not confused at the end. What did you think of the first episode of Season 4? Let us know in the comments.
