Warning: This article contains mentions of suicide and SPOILERS for Black Mirror season 7, episode 2, “Bête Noire”.
Black Mirror’ssignature form of dark storytelling was back on display in season 7’s second episode, and the conclusion of “Bête Noire” was a thrilling yet sinister way to wrap up Maria and Verity’s story. Despite going to the same high school, the duo were never close, raising instant alarms for Maria when Verity showed up at her workplace. While her arrival is seemingly nothing more than an innocent taste test, Verity soon reveals that she is actually applying for a job vacancy, which is whereBlack Mirrorseason 7 starts to changeBête Noire’s atmosphere into an unsettling mystery.
What starts as Maria simply being cautious around Verity turns into her life unraveling. Despite Maria being confident about things like the name of the chicken shop her boyfriend used to work at and the language she uses in her emails, she is proven wrong over and over. Unfortunately, Maria can’t prove that her former classmate is changing things, with Verity even managing to alter CCTV footage. This leads to an explosive climax and an interesting reveal that helps make the seventh installment one ofBlack Mirror’s best seasonsyet.
Verity Used A Quantum Computer To Alter Reality In Bête Noire
She Used The World’s Infinite Timelines To Create A Reality Where Everything She Says Always Happens
Maria’s suspicions about Verity weren’t without substance, and she is eventually proven right during the conclusion ofBête Noire. Having finally worked out that Verity’s pendant had something to do with her suspicious behavior, Maria follows her colleague home after getting fired, where she walks through a room full of computer systems. While Verity is showering, Maria sneaks into her room and finds the pendant, before Verity catches her hiding under the bed. Here Verity reveals that the pendant is just a remote to the quantum compiler in her house, which is how she is seemingly able to change reality.
The past itself didn’t change, but everyone is just wired to believe that reality is exactly what Verity says it is.
She explains that while it seems like things are changing, this isn’t truly the case, claiming that “Technically it’s not really changing anything. It just retunes our corporal frequency to one of the realities where whatever I’ve said has always been true.” This explains why, despite seeing the chicken hat that reads “Barnies” earlier in the episode, everyone except for Maria just accepts it has always been called “Bernies”, with the hat’s writing even being amended. The past itself didn’t change, but everyone is just wired to believe that reality is exactly what Verity says it is.
She also mentions that there are infinite timelines, with Verity choosing one where Maria is the only person who knows what is really going on. Although the technical aspects can be difficult to understand,Bête Noire’s conclusion is proof that Verity was altering events in Maria’s life to make her look crazy, with her computer expertise allowing her to build the advanced system. The twist means that no matter how much evidence Maria puts together to prove Verity is lying, the latter will always be able to manipulate everyone into believing her so long as she holds onto her pendant.
All six episodes ofBlack Mirrorseason 7 are currently available to stream on Netflix.
While Verity has used this to live out all sorts of hopes and dreams, she eventually decides to target Maria because of their history, but it’s Maria who ends up with the pendant in the end after a chaotic ending. It’s a thrilling and exciting climax that really caps off the story perfectly, and even ifBête Noiredoesn’t go down as one ofBlack Mirror’s best episodes, it certainly had a unique premise that was expertly executed.
How Maria Took Control Of Verity’s Pendant
Maria Shot Verity & Used Her Finger To Gain Control Of The Pendant
Despite Verity’s pendant having a unique design, Maria manages to take control of the system during Bête Noire’s conclusion and uses it to her advantage. Midway through a scuffle, Verity uses the pendant to make the police arrive at her house, with reality now believing Maria has snapped and is trying to kill her. During her arrest,Maria desperately grabs a gun from one of the officers and shoots Verity in the head, killing her instantly as she takes cover behind the bed. While the shootout ensues, Maria manages to scurry over to the pendant and makes Verity relinquish control.
Having revealed earlier that the pendant is just a remote for the system that can only be accessed using touch ID, Maria’s quick thinking sees her use Verity’s finger before shouting “The pendant works for me.” Remarkably, this plan proves effective, as she is able to use the pendant to convince the police officers that Verity shot herself and that they saw it happen. From here, she alters reality to make the police work for her and declares herself the “Empress of the Universe”, beforeBête Noirecloses with her in full control of Verity’s complicated system.
Considering how technically sound Verity was before her death, it seems like a design flaw that Maria was able to take authority over her device so easily, but perhaps she never expected anyone to take such drastic measures. WithBlack Mirrorfinally doing sequel episodes, it doesn’t seem likely thatBête Noirewill get a follow-up. However, with Maria now in control of the pendant, it would be very interesting to see where her story goes next and I’d love to find out whether she became mad with power or simply went back to her regular life.
Why Did Verity Want To Hurt Maria?
Maria Started A Nasty Rumor About Verity That Stuck Throughout High School
Having confessed early in the episode that she was one of several people to poke fun at Verity in high school, Maria leaves out some crucial details about just how active she was in bullying her. While Maria makes out that pretty much everyone teased Verity because she was on the nerdy side and spent a lot of time around computers, this wasn’t completely accurate. A made-up story emerged about Verity supposedly performing sexual acts on her teacher, a rumor that Maria acknowledges while talking to Kae about the situation; however, she omits the fact that she started it.
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During their confrontation during the episode’s close, Verity reveals that the rumor stuck with her throughout high school, seemingly being the single incident that resulted in her feeling so isolated. It’s why she tracks down and targets Natalie initially, who reveals that Maria was actually the one who came up with the story. Although Maria tries to excuse her actions by claiming she simply came up with the allegation to get the popular kids off her back, Verity doesn’t forgive her, suggesting that her reality-altering system is all about revenge.
Maria’s involvement in making Verity’s high school experience so miserable is ultimately why she becomes her main target, with Verity hellbent on destroying her life. The reveal is a clear indication that both characters are extremely flawed and have done wrong in their lives, creating a tragic ending toBête Noirethat concludes better for Maria than her high school friend, Natalie.
Who Is Natalie & Did Verity Kill Her?
Verity Used The Pendant On Natalie Before Maria, Resulting In Natalie’s Death
Natalie’s role inBlack Mirror’sBête Noireis fairly small, but it plays a big part in the overall reveal. While trying to research more about Verity, Maria stumbles on some old high school pictures, resulting in her messaging her old friend Natalie. Despite reading the text right away, a reply doesn’t come through until the next day from Nat’s husband, who reveals she passed away several days ago. After phoning to find out the details, Natalie’s husband reveals that she took her own life, which plays into the bombshell that Verity had been altering reality.
Verity confronted Natalie and changed her life before getting to Maria - hence how she found out about who started the rumor - and according to Verity, Natalie took five weeks to “break” before her death. While it’s possible Verity actually killed her and just made everyone believe she took her own life,Bête Noirenever explicitly makes it clear exactly how Natalie died, but regardless, it’s clear Verity’s system was the main cause.
Exploring such deep, thought-provoking topics is exactly whyBlack Mirrorhas gained such a strong reputation.
Her tragic fate adds to how sinisterBête Noirereally is despite its seemingly simple premise, as it shows just how powerful the ability to alter reality actually is, and exploring such deep, thought-provoking topics is exactly whyBlack Mirrorhas gained such a strong reputation and is easily among2025’s most exciting returning TV shows.
What Black Mirror’s Creator Has Said About Bête Noire’s Ending
Charlie Brooker Described Bête Noire’s Conclusion As A “Joke Ending” That Is “Slightly Absurd”
AlthoughBlack Mirrorhas had some peculiar endings in the past that are difficult to truly understand,Bête Noire’s is a lot more straightforward, and creator Charlie Brooker has had his say on it. According toTudum by Netflix, Brooker enjoyed the idea of making it look like Maria had lost everything, only to rise triumphantly while on the brink of despair. He also believed the conclusion was on the more playful side compared to some ofBlack Mirror’s more twisted episodes, claiming “It’s kind of a joke ending, but hopefully it’s slightly absurd.”
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In Brooker’s original ending, he pictured it being darker by having Maria wearing a fascist uniform, but ultimately went for a less sinister look, stating “It’s more Game of Thrones… A little bit Beyoncé meets Khaleesi.” He also compared Verity to Robert Daly from “USS Callister”, since they were both tech experts who used their pain to justify their evil actions. Based on Brooker’s comments, it’s clear that both Maria and Verity have ominous sides to them, and while they may not be naturally evil people, both have committed terrible acts, leading to a playful yet slightly morbid climax.
Bête Noire’s Real Ending Explained
The Episode Title Shows How Hate & Trauma Consumed Verity’s Life
Bête Noire’s true ending is partly explained through the name of the episode itself. Translated into English, the term means a person or thing strongly disliked or avoided, which in essence, plays into the main theme ofBlack Mirrorseason 7’s second episode. At school, Verity felt like the person everyone disliked or avoided, but through her complicated technological breakthrough, she tried to make this Maria’s reality. Verity successfully turned Maria’s work colleagues against her and basically did the same with her boyfriend, who called the cops on her after believing she had snapped.
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Of course, Maria could have changed reality once again after the episode concluded, but what happened after the credits is up to the audience’s imagination. Overall,Bête Noireis clearly about the concept of hatred and revenge, as Maria and her friends' nastiness in school caused Verity to hold a grudge for years. While the story containedBlack Mirror’s usual complex technology and its dark tone,Bête Noirewas essentially a tale about revenge and highlighted the impact that trauma can have on someone’s life, making it a fascinating entry to the anthology series.
