The stark warning being issued before people watch Black Mirror’s Common People episode

People are being given a pretty stark warning ahead of watching the episode titled Common People in Black Mirror season seven. The episode is the first of the newest ones released on Netflix.

Common People tells the story of when a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life. Her desperate husband Mike then signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive. But, at what cost? Tied to a subscription model controlled by Rivermind, Amanda’s new lease on life becomes a financial trap. It all gets pretty heartbreaking.

And now, people are giving a huge warning to anyone wanting to watch the episode. Common People has been backed as the bleakest Black Mirror has ever released. Some people are saying it’s so depressing you should give it a skip completely, or at the very least, don’t watch it first. It’s a bit heavy going straight into the new season with this much sadness!

via Netflix

One person on Reddit said: “That was depressing. Never need to watch that again.” Another viewer added: “I haven’t felt this uncomfortable while watching a Black Mirror episode in a loooong time. Wow.”

Giving a more in depth analysis, another person said: “This one hit hard, like Fifteen Million Credits hard. It was too bleak to be a favourite but very well done, I thought. Not just about American healthcare but about the sociopathic nature of the disruption/subscription model.

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“Get someone hooked on the new thing, take away alternatives, degrade the experience and demand more money for what you thought you were signed up for in the first place. The perfect engine for social stratification in late-stage capitalism. I wondered if the ending was going to be making Amanda an automaton rep like Gaynor, a cult-like engine for an AI colonisation of human brains.”

finished the common people episode and wow I had to take 5 mins just to process that. Just sad, disturbing and overall dark omg og black mirror is so back #blackmirror pic.twitter.com/y62hMhJnpK

— aimée 🤍 (@aimeebryanx) April 10, 2025

Mashable has also chimed in on the talk. The publication outright warned: “Do not start with Common People.” Instead, it suggested: “Start with Bête Noire, a deeply Black Mirror premise full of twists and turns, with a doozy of an ending.”

Ok, consider me told!

All Black Mirror season seven episodes are available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.