Episode 2 of Season 7 of "Black Mirror" kicks off with the tragic news of a woman taking her own life by leaping from a towering building. The narrative then shifts to Maria, a baker wrapped in the warmth of a loving relationship with her boyfriend, Kae, who once toiled at Barnies Chicken but has ventured into new paths.
The tale unfolds on a typical Monday. Maria, employed in the Research and Development department of Ditta, a renowned sweets company, grapples with a nut allergy while diligently working on an impending product launch. The atmosphere in the workplace is generally upbeat, with Maria being well-liked by her colleagues.
The scene transitions to a taste test for the new launch, where Maria is astounded to witness Verity Greene, an old classmate, among the sample group. Initial reactions to Maria's novel flavor are lukewarm, but Verity's unexpected endorsement sways the group into agreement. Verity, exuding an overly effusive demeanor upon encountering Maria, utters peculiar remarks, hinting at envy from their school days where Maria was the center of attention while Verity felt overshadowed.
Verity reveals her intention to apply for the research assistant position, much to Maria's bewilderment, as Luisa had recently filled the role. However, upon further inquiry, Maria discovers that a new vacancy has indeed opened up, adding an intriguing twist to the unfolding narrative.
At home, Maria unleashes a torrent of complaints to Kae, insisting that Verity is unqualified for the position because she is a computer genius, not a food researcher. She also finds it peculiar how Verity, who was socially awkward in school, is now effusively cheerful. Furthermore, Natalie Caine, the class's most popular girl, had once circulated a rumor that Verity had sexually harassed their computer teacher merely to ridicule her. On Tuesday, Maria watches in astonishment as Verity's interview with her boss, Gabe, becomes an overnight sensation. Verity is instantly hired and gets along swimmingly with everyone. Maria voices her suspicions to Gabe and later to Kae, but both men dismiss her concerns as unfounded.
On Wednesday, Gabe reassures Maria that he has conducted a thorough background check and found Verity to be impeccable. To foster camaraderie, he assigns Verity to shadow Maria, who is collaborating on a new product with Yudy, the head chef. However, Maria finds herself increasingly distracted by Luisa's incessant complaints about missing milk and Verity's overzealous demeanor. She instructs Verity to incorporate carrageenan, a vegetarian alternative to gelatin, as Mr. Ditta is a vegetarian. But their focus is shattered once again as the team begins discussing chicken. Maria believes they are mispronouncing "Barnies," but everyone insists it's "Bernies." They Google it, and suddenly, "Barnies" is the correct spelling. Maria arrives home to find that her boyfriend's work cap now also reads "Bernies." Kae suggests that Maria is experiencing the Mandela Effect, but Maria reluctantly concedes that Verity's presence must be unsettling her. This only leads to a heated argument, as Kae thinks Maria is threatened by Verity's popularity.
On Thursday, Mr. Ditta expresses his appreciation for Maria's gelatin product. As Maria boasts about using carrageenan, the team panics. It turns out that Yudy used beef instead, as Maria never mentioned carrageenan to them. Suspecting Verity of sabotaging her work, Maria confronts her. They even check Maria's email for the ingredient list, but now, instead of carrageenan, it reads "non-pork gelatin." Maria is convinced that Verity is using her computer skills to meddle with her work, but neither Gabe nor Kae believes her.
She endeavors to reach out to Natalie, only to have her husband, Dan, disclose the heart-wrenching truth: Natalie has passed away, having succumbed to a mental collapse that shattered her grasp on reality. On a fateful Friday, Maria finds herself tardy for a meeting she was utterly unaware of, sensing Verity's manipulative hand behind it yet refusing to take the bait. Frustrated by Maria's lack of the desired reaction, Verity eventually confronts her, unleashing a torrent of accusations about their schooldays bullying. Maria, adopting the stance of an impartial observer, expresses empathy towards Verity, a gesture that inexplicably inflames Verity's wrath, prompting her to consume Luisa's almond milk in a fit of defiance.
As the team enters the room, Maria is rendered speechless when Verity falsely accuses her of stealing Luisa's milk. To clarify her innocence, Maria stresses her severe nut allergy. The decision to review the CCTV footage seems the only viable solution. And to everyone's astonishment, the footage reveals an unexpected twist: it captures Maria inadvertently sipping from the very cup she had insisted was forbidden to her.
When Maria brings up her allergy, Verity dismisses it as a sham, and almost instantaneously, the crowd falls into skeptical accord—even Google seems to concur! Observing Verity fiddling with her necklace, Maria convinces herself that this trinket holds the key to their collective delusion. Driven by paranoia, she lunges at Verity and is summarily dismissed from her job for her aggression.
That very night, Maria trails Verity to her home and breaks in, determined to uncover the truth. Verity, amused by Maria's desperation, captures her intruding form and reveals the secrets of her necklace—a fingerprint-activated remote that tunes their physical reality to an alternate dimension where her words become undeniable truth. As Verity demonstrates its power, Maria ponders why Verity would wield such influence for mere vendetta. Verity confesses her jaunts through countless realities where she achieved greatness yet remained hollow inside, leading her to seek retribution against her tormentors. She reveals that Natalie, another victim of Verity's manipulations, revealed before her untimely death five weeks hence that Maria had been the instigator of their shared bullying.
Maria, filled with regret, snaps when Verity taunts her. A fierce battle ensues, culminating in Verity summoning the police. Just as they arrive to apprehend Maria, she seizes their firearm and fatally shoots Verity. With Verity's fingerprint, Maria claims mastery over the remote, reshaping reality to one where Verity committed suicide. As she continues to tweak her newfound domain, the power surges through her, inflating her ego to imperial proportions. She declares herself Empress of the Universe. By the conclusion of Black Mirror Season 7, Episode 2, Maria is draped in royal garments, as the masses chant her name in adulation.
