Could this be the darkest 'Black Mirror' villain of all time? Details explored

Black Mirror often avoids black-and-white morality, and portrays characters that are morally grey. Its 'villains' are usually people affected by trauma or technology. The second episode of Season 7, titled Bête Noire, however, has a truly character-driven antagonist — Verity — played impactfully by Rosy McEwen. In the particular episode of Black Mirror Season 7, we don't follow Verity but Maria as she observes Verity.

In the story, Verity leads Maria to dissonance using extreme levels of gaslighting, so that everybody in the office starts to question Maria's mental health. Maria's viewpoint also creates an emotional distance from Verity, turning her into an unpredictable and unsettling force, rather than someone we empathise with. Verity is so manipulative that it seems like she might be the darkest Black Mirror villain of all time.

How is Verity the darkest Black Mirror villain of all time?

As mentioned, the show follows Maria, a talented culinary researcher, who has started to suspect that something is off. Ever since Verity, her old classmate and former victim of bullying, has joined her company, strange things have been happening — awkward run-ins, deja vu, altered memories.

In one of the scenes, Maria enters a team meeting and finds Verity already there, confidently presenting Maria’s project on decoding a new chocolate-making formula. Maria is surprised as the entire team acknowledges and listens to Verity. Maria finally speaks up to claim it as her work, which was presented last week. However, no one in the team has any memory of her presentation. Verity, who seems poised and calm, also seems the most believable person around. She emerges as one of the darkest villains of the show because she is capable of psychological manipulation and gaslighting, which can lead to derilium.

Verity in Black Mirror draws a parallel to the social anxiety we suffer in a post-truth world

Season 7 Episode 2 of Black Mirror introduces Verity. The official synopsis of the episode, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"Maria is a high-flying development executive at a chocolate company; everything is going well for her until someone she hasn't seen since school — a woman named Verity — shows up for a focus group tasting session."

Charlie Brooker, the creator of Black Mirror, in an interview with EW, states how Verity draws a parallel with the social anxiety we suffer, especially in a post-truth era, where there are more than one realities:

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"It’s a gaslighting parable about what happens when your reality is chipped away at, and that’s an experience for a lot of us at the moment," he says, and adds: "We’re in an era where there are competing versions of reality that we’re effectively being asked to choose between."

Black Mirror reveals Verity's past and how she has been a victim of social cruelty. The show highlights what happens when trauma is left to fester, when power becomes a tool for emotional closure rather than justice.

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