When watching Black Mirror, you kind of are agreeing to let Netflix mess with your head.
Whether it be the first episode of the new season leaving viewers in tears, or older classic episodes such as White Bear throwing fans for a loop, Black Mirror is a show where you assume that you’re being f**ked with just a bit.
The new batch of episodes that have dropped on Netflix have been no different, with viewers finding out online that one episode in particular takes things even further.
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Fans, when comparing episodes online, realised that Netflix had actually been ‘gaslighting’ them the whole time.
In the second episode of season seven, titled Bête Noir, the plot centres around a woman whose old schoolmate joins her company.
Reality begins messing with her, as at one point she finds out that the company she has always worked for wasn’t called Bernie’s as she thought, but was actually called Barnie’s.
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For some people who’ve seen the episode you may be confused because, depending on which version Netflix gave you, for some people it’s the other way round and she thought she worked for Barnie’s before realising it was Bernie’s.
One viewer took to X to say: ‘So my friend and I were watching the new Black Mirror episode “Bête Noire” and we noticed that there was a stark difference between our episodes… even the viewers are getting gaslit at 16:40.”
They then showed one side showing Bernie’s and the other showing Barnie’s with fans online realising that the show even gives different dialogue to different viewers.
Taking to Reddit, however, one fan has found an easter egg which solves which is the actual version of it.
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Though it isn't in the new episode... it's instead in an episode from 2016.
Posting on the r/BlackMirror subreddit, one viewer posted: “Rewatching Shut Up and Dance and Saw where Kenny Works.”
For those in need of a quick reminder, Kenny is the protagonist of Shut Up and Dance, in which he is blackmailed by online trolls and... well, you know the rest (if not, spoiler: it's grim).
The poster then showed an image of Kenny working at Barnie’s, one of the possible options for the company from Bête Noir.
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This seemingly confirms that the version where Barnie’s is real is canon (unless Netflix messed with us again, but every version online appears to show Kenny with a Barnie’s hat on).
One fan commented: “I legit did know if this was actually real or an elaborate photoshop joke or a gaslighting attempt by you or Netflix or not. Oh my gosh my mind is destroyed lol.”
Another said: “Whoa, Good catch.”
The newest season of Black Mirror has been the most well reviewed in years, with several of the episodes receiving glowing reviews online.
The first episode of the season, Common People, starring Chris O’Dowd and Rashida Jones, received particular praise, with one viewer tweeting: “Just finished the first episode of the new season of Black Mirror. Definitely gave me OG Black Mirror vibes and was PHENOMENAL. We might be f*cking back.”
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Black Mirror is available to watch on Netflix now.
Topics: Black Mirror, Netflix, TV, TV and Film
Michael Slavin