Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Black Mirror episode “USS Callister: Into Infinity.”
Black Mirror star Cristin Milioti discusses the shocking ending of “USS Callister: Into Infinity” and whether it’s a happy ending for her character. First appearing in season 4’s “USS Callister,” Milioti’s Nanette Cole rose against the ego-driven tyranny of Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons), leading herself and the clones of Robert’s coworkers to freedom in Infinity. “USS Callister: Into Infinity” follows this story and ends with the end of Infinity and Nanette transferring her digital copy to her physical one, which was in a coma, only to find that USS Callister crew now lives inside her head.
In a roundtable interview attended by ScreenRant, Milioti discusses the episode and whether she thinks it’s a happy ending for Nanette. She agrees that, while the characters no longer have to fear for their lives, the situation they’re in can be seen as just as twisted as the one they were in before. They still have no agency and are forced to live the life of someone else, someone who started off with such a strong moral compass but has been morally broken down in a way, she adds. Read her full comment below:
What I like about this ending, just in terms of my own taste of what I watch – and I think this is what’s really great about what Charlie makes – is that you could say it’s kind of happy. Technically, they’re out of that situation, but I think they’re in an equally horrifying situation. It’s just the circumstances are so completely different, and I hope that it makes you feel uneasy. Their lives aren’t at risk. But do you want to live like that? Do you want to live trapped in one room, having to see someone go to the bathroom every day?
They still have no agency, and then she now has this thing that could also drive you crazy. She doesn’t seem super motivated to get them out of there anymore, and what does that mean? And also, how does this person who’s now had the trauma of two different people in their body walk through the world? I like that it’s kind of creepy and twisted, for lack of better terms.
We haven’t had any discussions about a third as of now. I really trust [Charlie Brooker’s] brain, and I don’t think I have thought that far ahead about what the scenario would have to be. I’m always interested in what I think he explores in both of these episodes of how power corrupts people. You can’t have power without being corrupted in some way. And what that would mean for someone who has had such a strong moral compass, who then gets a taste of getting to control people. I don’t know. There’s a lot that could go many, many different ways. That would be very interesting, but I don’t have a set thing,
What This Means For USS Callister: Into Infinity
The Ending Is Even More Appropriate For Black Mirror
The ending of Black Mirror’s “USS Callister“ can be argued as a predominantly happy one, with the heroine conquering the villain and riding off into the digital sunset with her new friends. In the series’ first sequel episode, Charlie Brooker and his creative team found a way to revisit the beloved characters from the first episode and give them an ending that better fits Black Mirror’s dark collection of stories while leaving it open for yet another sequel.
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Milioti is right in pointing out that the ending for “USS Callister: Into Infinity” seems happy but, when viewers dive deeper and ask bigger questions, it’s ultimately a twisted ta.e. They’ve bested Captain Bob once again and have saved their lives, but the price they have to pay is heavy. They still don’t have freedom as digital clones, and now Nanette is living with several voices inside her head. Milioti also proposes an interesting idea for a follow-up in which Nanette, who has pushed back, now has the opportunity to practice her own power over the characters in her head.
Our Take On Milioti’s Discussion Of The Ending Of USS Callister: Into Infinity
Should There Be A Third Installment?
While Infinity and the villains who made it are gone, it might be interesting to see how the story of Nanette and the clones now in her head concludes. While the ambiguity is more fitting for Black Mirror, seeing how Nanette handles living with the USS Callister crew in her head could go to befitting dark places. Reactions to “USS Callister: Into Infinity” have been generally positive, but viewers are still clamoring for a sequel episode to San Junipero, so a Black Mirror sequel to that story before another USS Callister episode might be the best approach.
Black Mirror
6/10
- Release Date
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December 4, 2011
- Network
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Channel 4, Netflix
- Showrunner
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Charlie Brooker
- Directors
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Owen Harris, Toby Haynes, James Hawes, David Slade, Carl Tibbetts, Ally Pankiw, Bryn Higgins, Dan Trachtenberg, Euros Lyn, Jodie Foster, Joe Wright, John Hillcoat, Sam Miller, Tim Van Patten, Uta Briesewitz, Colm McCarthy, Jakob Verbruggen, James Watkins, John Crowley, Otto Bathurst, Anne Sewitsky, Brian Welsh
- Writers
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Jesse Armstrong