- Season 7 came to Netflix last week
- There are six new episodes
- One episode has subtle differences
One episode of Black Mirror is significantly more meta than it might appear on first watch.
The new season of Charlie Brooker’s sci-fi anthology series landed on Netflix on 10 April, consisting of six new episodes. Fans have started to discover that one episode is slightly different depending on which version you watch.
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That episode is Bête Noire, the second instalment of the new season. It deals heavily with themes of gaslighting and perceptions of the truth, and takes that in one scene to a logical extreme.
What changes in the different versions of Bête Noire?
The episode follows Maria (Siena Kelly), a food researcher who suspects her reality is somehow being altered by Verity, who she knew from school and has recently come back into her life.
Early in the episode, Maria argues with one of her work colleagues over the name of a fried chicken franchise. She knows it was called Bernies as her boyfriend worked there and still wears a cap with the logo on it.
However, her colleagues insist it was called Barnies. On an Internet, they are proven correct – even Maria’s boyfriend’s hat is different.
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! #BlackMirrorS7 pic.twitter.com/G2Ne1SuvJV
— Vastolorde | AKIO 🫡💖🇺🇸 (@actualakio) April 10, 2025
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Later on, it turns out that this alteration was made possible through some technology Verity has designed that lets her transport herself and Maria to other universes.
However, two versions of that scene exist. One of these has Bernies as the initial spelling, and the other has Barnies. It is completely random which episode users see.
Has Netflix addressed these variations?
Not directly, or through any official means. However, Netflix posted the word ‘bernies’ onto their X account, to which Black Mirror’s account replied ‘barnies’.
Is the new season meant to be any good?
The new season has had mixed reviews from critics. Their opinions on which were the best episodes varied, but the consensus was that the season was solid but potentially showing that the series was running out of ideas.
Read more: Black Mirror season 7: what are the critics saying?
For example, The i described season seven as “a lighter, more easily accessible Black Mirror” that’s maybe slightly less dark than previous seasons, but also not of the same quality. Indeed, the review questioned if Brooker was running out of ideas.
“As standalones, the six episodes aren’t bad – but as a collection, they’re a long way away from the Black Mirror that once shocked us into paying attention,” it read.
