Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 4 recap: Don't scan the QR code or the thronglets might take over!

The terrifying yet exciting show Black Mirror does not hold back when it comes to its storytelling skills. Season 7 Episode 4, written by Charlie Brooker and directed by David Slade, is similarly intriguing yet terrifying in its tale of the effects of technology in our lives. This sci-fi episode is structured as a 'then' and 'now' crime drama through flashbacks of a game journalist named Cameron Walker.

Cameron Walker is arrested for shoplifting a bottle of alcohol, but as the police arrest him and take his statement, it is revealed that his record is more than just the shoplifting charge. As this tale of mania and murder unfolds in the episode titled 'Plaything', Black Mirror explores deep themes of reality vs simulation, trauma, memory, and digital legacy.

Here's everything that happened in the 46-minute Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 4, titled 'Plaything.'

Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 4 Recap: Reality vs Simulation in 'Plaything'

The Black Mirror episode begins with an old, disheveled Cameron Walker trying to leave the store after shoplifting a bottle of alcohol. He is arrested when the owner calls the police on him, and two cops reach the store. The police take a swab of his DNA and, on checking his history, find out that he was once arrested on suspicion of murder. On finding out his history, the cops decide to arrest him and lock him up.

Two officers, presented as good cop Jen Minter (played by Michele Austin) and bad cop DCI Kano (played by James Nelson Joyce), are chosen to talk to Cameron, and so begins his tale of trauma and memory in Black Mirror. Cameron talks to the officers about his traumatic childhood, how his father abused him, and how he was bullied all his life. He explained that as a result, he started to play games to escape the trauma in his life.

Cameron explains how he grew up to start writing professionally about the games he played and got to meet Colin Ritman, one of the most popular game developers of their time in 1994. Colin Ritman is played by a familiar face, Will Poulter, who also appears in the Black Mirror film titled 'Bandersnatch.' Ritman is the boss of Tuckersoft, a video game company, and is presenting Cameron with his new video game, 'Thronglets.' 'Thronglets' is referred to as a game in Black Mirror, but it is actually cute little sentient creatures who are alive and 'bound together by an expanding and collective mind' known as Throng.

The geeky game journalist Cameron decides to steal the game from Ritman and take it home for himself. Cameron plays the game and quickly finds himself obsessed with the Throng and taking care of the Thronglets. He even takes an LSD tablet and plays the game, causing hallucinations where he imagines and believes that the creatures are communicating with him through their digital language. In his LSD-induced hallucinatory state, he's convinced that Throng in Black Mirror wants to be fed more data, RAM, and power, so he needs to start building a mega-computer system.

Cameron's friend Lump finds his game when Cameron is at work and, thinking it's a simple game, starts killing the thronglets. On finding out about his beloved creatures, Cameron loses all his shit and kills and dismembers Lump, showing just how far he's entrenched in this simulation world to counter his trauma and emotional isolation. Cameron explains that the throng had told him the secret meaning of life,

"beautiful concepts, sometimes a week's worth of thought in a few seconds"

The game in Black Mirror is created as an aesthetic, lush sandbox where the thronglets live, but it seems to be causing extreme violence, forcing the viewer to question their reality. Cameron asks for a pen and paper to draw out a diagram to attempt this 'secret of life' that the throng has told him, but the cops, to avoid sharp objects near him, say no to his request. Cameron tells them that he has implanted a chip in his head, because of which the throng is in his head right now, merged with him.

This is when Cameron makes an even more surprising revelation, if that is at all possible. He says that he got himself arrested on purpose so that he could come into the cell and deliver a special message from the throng. A quiet and uneasy tone carries the entire episode, which is maximized by Cameron's revelation. The police officers, at least the 'good cop,' are intrigued enough about the message to get Cameron a pen and paper in Black Mirror.

Cameron starts drawing out a diagram, and it turns out it is a code that looks like a QR code. The police officer replies that they can't understand the code, to which Cameron says eerily

"No, but the system does"

He then points the QR code towards the CCTV in the room, which is linked to the central government system, through which, according to Cameron, the throng can transmit a signal that will take over every individual's mind. In true Black Mirror fashion, the eeriness and intensity take over as the police officers immediately collapse to the floor after everybody's eyes roll back in their heads. Humankind, according to Cameron, has now merged with an "advanced collective intelligence" because of the singularity event.

By the time the credits of this Black Mirror episode roll out, a QR code appears on the screen. It might look like the one that Cameron drew, daring the viewers. It dares the viewers to scan the code, and maybe the throng will take over their consciousness as well. (Don't worry, the code just takes you to a pet simulator game developed for this episode, much like the ones viral these days.) But beware! You never know when the thronglets might come for you.

Trending

Keep following Soap Central for more such updates!

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback