Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 6 Ending Explained: What Happened to Nanette and the Crew
Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 6 includes a sequel to “USS Callister: Into Infinity”, the first chapter of the fourth installment that follows a video game programmer who invents a simulated reality to take revenge on people who don’t treat her badly in real life. “For the first time in the history of ’Black Mirror‘, we have made a sequel. Normally, I remove all characters at the end of an episode, but I kept some alive. I am growing as a human”, creator Charlie Brooker explained to Tudum. So what happened to the crew who survived the persecution of Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons)? After Robert’s death, Nanette (Cristin Milioti) is the captain of the USS Callister: Into Infinity, but what seemed like a new life full of possibilities is a journey that requires fighting to survive. The crew is caught up in the game, but now they can die, and they need to steal credits from other players to stay alive. In the real world, Nanette Cole continues to find out what happened to Robert and what he was hiding.
To get the accesses of the game programming, Nanette tells Walton (Jimmi Simpson) that she has an idea to discover the identity of tagless players who steal credits, and so it comes to the truth. The seventh season of Black Mirror returns with “USS Callister: Into Infinity”, a direct continuation of the iconic episode of the fourth season. This time, the story centers on the struggle of Nanette Cole and her digital crew to survive within Infinity’s vast virtual universe, having freed themselves from Robert Daly’s control. However, they discover a terrifying reality: in this new environment, their deaths would be permanent. Aware of this, Nanette devises a risky plan to access the game’s source code and create a private universe where her team can live in peace, away from the constant threat of real players.
Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 6 Ending Explained: What Happened to Nanette and the Crew
When the protagonist of the last episode of the seventh season of Black Mirror discovers that Robert cloned several coworkers in his video game, he informs Walton about the situation and ensures that the only way to locate the clones is with Robert’s computer. Walton reveals that he is in his possession, and together, they enter the world of Infinity. After surviving an attack and running out of credit, Nanette proposes to go to the Heart of Infinity, where the source code is, to create a private universe just for them. The only way to access it is with one of the creators. Robert is dead, so Walton is the only option. As they search for ways to contact him, they discover that Walton’s clone survived. They manage to locate him, but they also find the real Walton and Nanette, who offer to listen to and help them.
However, Walton has other plans: eliminate them to avoid a lawsuit since creating clones in video games is illegal. After killing one of the crew, he is eliminated. While trying to return to the game, Nanette clone asks the real to return to stop Robert’s partner. Nanette escapes with Robert’s computer and threatens to go to the journalist who was investigating Walton, who tries to bribe her to remain silent. In the middle of the discussion, she is run over and falls into a coma. Which leaves Walton free to eliminate clones and the risk of going to prison.
What Happened to Nanette and the Crew?
In the climax of USS Callister: Into Infinity, Nanette discovers that to achieve her plan, she must access the “Heart of Infinity”, the core of the game that can only be manipulated by its founders: Robert Daly and James Walton. The surprise comes when they rescue James and discover that, years ago, he had digitally cloned Robert to enslave him within the game engine and finish development on time. The virtual Robert, resentful and lonely after years of oblivion, poses a macabre dilemma for Nanette: save her real self or save her digital crew. True to her principles, Nanette chooses her team. During the final confrontation, he throws a sword that breaks Robert’s virtual frontal lobe, inadvertently activating the game’s self-destruct switch. With Robert deleted, Infinity completely collapses, deleting all your files and servers. However, before the total collapse, Nanette manages to transfer her digital consciousness —and that of her crew — to her real body. Although they survive, the crew is trapped inside Nanette’s mind, without a virtual universe to exist in, at least for now.
What Happened to Nanette and Her Clone?
In the sixth episode of the seventh season of Black Mirror, the Walton clone reveals that there is a Robert clone in the game engine, created years ago to develop Infinity faster. Bob’s enslaved conscience continues to develop the video game, so the entire video game is illegal. The company’s source code is an illegal cloning scam. After learning of Nanette’s real-world accident, the virtual Nanette heads to the heart of the game and meets Bob. He tells her everything that happened, and he proposes to place it on the head of the real world, Nanette. Meanwhile, the real Walton returns to the game and invites the stolen players to the ship, putting the crew at risk.
As the crew struggles to survive, Captain Nanette realizes that Bob wants to keep a copy of her in that world. To avoid it, it kills him, resulting in the elimination of the video game. Before that happens, virtual Nanette finishes Bob’s work: wake up in the body of the real Nanette and create a bubble universe for the crew. The problem is that that universe is within it. At the end of “USS Callister: Infinite”, Walton pays for his crimes, while Nanette coexists with the crew on the promise that she will find a way to free them. At the end of the episode, Brooker explained to Tudum that Captain Nanette has not replaced the real-world Nanette but has merged.
Is Robert Daly Still Alive?
Somehow, yes. Although his physical body no longer exists, Robert’s digital clone is still alive within the core of the game to the end. The irony of fate is brutal: the man who enslaved digital clones ends up enslaved himself by a copy of himself, a victim of James Walton’s excessive ambition. But even as a digital entity, Robert could not escape his destructive nature. Despite Nanette’s redemption opportunity, she preferred to try to forcibly retain her, proving that her monstrosity was imprinted on her “digital DNA”.
James Walton Is Arrested
With the fall of Infinity, James Walton attempts to flee but is eventually detained by authorities. It’s not just because of the fall of the game: Nanette, already back in her real body, provides hard evidence linking James to the use of prohibited cloning technology to create Infinity. In addition, he is responsible for the death of Karl Valdack, a member of Nanette’s crew. Thanks to the information Nanette shares with journalist Kris El Masry, James faces a long sentence. His greed and contempt for the digital lives he created condemn him ironically and poetically.
What About the USS Callister Crew?
Although they manage to escape Infinity, the crew is trapped in Nanette’s mind, like living emotions within her, similar to what happens in Inside Out. Nanette plans to build a new digital universe for them with the help of Kabir, the Callister technician, but it is unclear how long it will take them to get it. For now, the former crew are prisoners in Nanette’s conscience, although hope is still alive.
Conclusion of “Black Mirror Season 7”
The seventh season of Black Mirror closes with fierce criticism of the abuse of power and digital dehumanization. Robert Daly, despite being a victim in real life, shows that evil can be perpetuated even in a virtual environment. Nanette, on the other hand, stands as the true heroine, saving her crew at the cost of carrying them in her mind. The closure leaves an open future, with the possibility that Nanette, along with Kabir, creates a new universe for her friends. A grim reminder that even when oppressive systems are destroyed, the aftermath of their actions persists.
