The Stars Of Black Mirror’s Common People Have Their Own Theories On What That Bleak Ending Really Means, And I Loved Seeing Them Figure It Out In Real Time

Warning: Spoilers for the Black Mirror Season 7 episode “Common People” are in play.

Every time a new season of Black Mirror arrives, fans are left with an assortment of endings that either get really emotional or extremely cryptic. Upon the most recent episodes debuting amid the 2025 TV schedule, I crowned “Common People” as the bleakest Black Mirror story in Charlie Brooker’s canon to date. However, after watching stars Rashida Jones and Tracee Ellis Ross piece together an even darker interpretation of that tale’s final act, I think I may have previously understated that point.

Amanda’s State Of Mind In “Common People’s” Sad Ending Raises Some Huge Questions

As part of the promotion of Black Mirror Season 7, Netflix invited a group of journalists to take part in a roundtable experience with some of the stars. For “Common People,” both Jones and Ross were on hand, with the discussion eventually prompting a keen question. The query centered around whether Amanda (Rashida Jones) asking her husband Mike (Chris O’Dowd) to end her life was a request made in a sound mental state.

CinemaBlend was on hand to hear Rashida Jones share these thoughts about that aforementioned moment:

It’s kind of interesting, because she does make this decision, but she makes this decision under the influence of Rivermind Lux. I bet it’ll be debated, whether or not she actually had the agency to make that decision, and how much of it was her. But I kind of chose that it was the best version of herself because I push up my serenity button at the end.

Further explaining her views on how this Netflix subscription booster left the matter, the Parks and Recreation vet offered some more details from that scene that built her case of context. The garden setting, with a clear view of the woods, is a setting that Ms. Jones cites as a clear signal of Amanda’s desire to “see [herself] as a part of nature.”

A disheveled looking Rashida Jones looks to the side as she speaks, in Black Mirror S7, E1 -

(Image credit: Netflix)

It’s a literal moment where our character sees the forest for the trees, as her Serenity setting is maxed out through the influence of Rivermind Lux. “Common People” co-star Tracee Ellis Ross later went on to say that she was up for watching the episode again, in order to answer this question a bit clearer.

That’s a decision that I definitely tip my hat toward, as this Black Mirror episode hit pretty close to home for me. After digging deeper into what we think happened to Chris O’Dowd’s Mike in those final moments, that feeling has only grown stronger.

Chris O'Dowd looks dourly at the camera with a box cutter in his hand, in Black Mirror S7, E1 - "Common People."

(Image credit: Netflix)

Rashida Jones And Tracee Ellis Ross’ Discussion Of “Common People’s” Ending Seals Mike’s Fate

Admittedly, this segment of Black Mirror’s “Common People” makes it sound like we’ve seen something as beautifully heart-wrending as “Hotel Reverie’s” ending. Which is why the final moment with Chris O’Dowd closing a door, with a boxcutter in his hand, is so important to the final result.

The one silver lining I can pull from this dour parting shot is the fact that I got to watch Rashida Jones and Tracee Ellis Ross put it all together, in real time. However, before I share that moment, here are some further comments Jones provided to highlight Mike’s mental state after ending his wife’s life:

It’s probably the hardest thing he’s ever done to have to do, at my request. But then to not live without me, to go through what he’s been through, the humiliation and the frustration, the overwhelm of being left with no choice; I think he probably does the same.

While this doesn’t actually solidify the conclusion that Chris O’Dowd’s character takes his own life, this sentiment felt like a key that unlocked the door that allowed both Ms. Jones and Ms. Ross to get to that thought themselves. As a result, that gave us this moment of clarity and levity from the Black Mirror roundtables:

Rashida Jones: “No! That is it! That’s what he does!”
Tracee Ellis Ross: “He livestreams his death.”
Rashida Jones: “He says ‘I’m doing a specialty thing later, ‘which is pretty dark.”
Tracee Ellis Ross: “Pre-tty dark.”

Leave it to Black Mirror to put the devil in the details, just as we’ve seen in this “Common People” discussion. As Mike stands at the door for us to see one last time, his career as a humiliated Internet personality appears to be reaching its grand finale.

That makes me even more thankful that this was the first story in Season 7’s lineup, as I don’t think any of the ones that follow are any bleaker than what we’ve discussed here. Though, in terms of tears shed per moment, critical reactions to the Paul Giamatti episode “Eulogy” would suggest that title as the royal tearjerker.

Of course, that’s up for interpretation – and with all six episodes now streaming on Netflix, you can decide for yourself which is the most upsetting example of Charlie Brooker and his crew making us all feel like we need to step away from technology at once.

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