SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains some light spoilers from the Black Mirror Season 7 episode, “Plaything.” If you have not yet seen the installment, just remember there is no turning back after you choose to read on.
Black Mirror Season 7 was one of the most anticipated seasons of the acclaimed horror anthology TV show yet, especially because it includes a sequel to the Emmy-winning Season 4 episode, “USS Callister.” However, it is not the only sequel in the Netflix original series’ latest collection of technophobic tales.
“Plaything” exists in the same universe as the show’s interactive spin-off movie, Bandersnatch (or in one of the choose-your-own-adventure story’s many potential timelines, more accurately), with the return of Will Poulter as video game developer Colin Ritman serving as the connective tissue. The character’s appearance is certainly an intriguing way of introducing the plot, but an ultimately disappointing aspect of the episode for me, if I am being honest. Allow me to explain…
Bringing Back Will Poulter's Bandersnatch Character Is Pointless
The main story of Black Mirror Season 7’s fourth episode, “Plaything” (now available to stream with a Netflix subscription) kicks off when isolated video game reviewer Cameron Walker (played in the ‘90s by Lewis Gribben and as an older man by Peter Capaldi) is invited by Colin Ritman to preview his new creation, Thronglets. It is not actually a game, however, but a platform that houses a race of living, sentient digital creatures that Walker soon becomes dangerously obsessed with preserving.
Save one other mention of Ritman later in the episode, this scene is all we see of the character, which begs the question of why he was involved in the first place. I mean, I do understand why: it is yet another attempt for Charlie Brooker and co. to connect the dots between the best Black Mirror episodes and through a cameo by an actor who has increased in notoriety since his last appearance in the role. However, by the end, the character becomes inconsequential and could have easily been swapped out for any other eccentric game developer.
Colin Ritman Was Far More Interesting In Bandernsatch
Do not get me wrong: I am a fan of Will Poulter and his movies and was genuinely excited to learn that the English actor was coming back as Ritman. I think most would agree that he was one of the most memorable and engaging aspects of Netflix’s interactive film from 2018, but I would not say the same about “Plaything.”
There is, unfortunately, not much about Poulter’s performance in his one scene that stands out in any memorable way, other than the fact that he is a well-known actor playing a familiar character from one of Netflix's most popular TV shows. Of course, I don’t believe that Poulter is at fault here, but that Brooker’s otherwise entertaining and modestly fascinating teleplay offers nothing interesting for him to do with the role like his Bandersnatch screenplay did. I admire the intention behind including Ritman, but not the execution.
There are plenty of other ways to see a great, new Will Poulter performance right now, though, including his scene-stealing turn in Death of Unicorn and his devastating portrayal of a U.S. soldier in another new A24 movie, Warfare. Still, I would say it is worth it to stream Black Mirror on Netflix, as “Plaything,” overall, proves that one of my all-time favorite TV shows is still going strong.
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