Black Mirror: Common People ending explained – What happened to Amanda?

Common People introduces fans to Amanda (Rashida Jones) and Mike (Chris O’Dowd), a married couple whose life comes crashing down when Amanda is diagnosed with a brain tumour and falls into a coma.

But when Mike (Chris O'Dowd) meets Gaynor (Tracee Ellis Ross), a salesperson who pitches Rivermind, a technology that promises to restore Amanda's cognitive function, everything changes.

However, as the costs for Rivermind start to spiral out of control, the couple soon realise the downsides of relying on a subscription service to remain alive.

Between a rock and a hard place, Mike has to make some incredibly tough decisions for the sake of his wife and her health, with the series delivering on one of its most impactful and harrowing endings.

"Oh god, there were a few [scenes that were challenging to film]," O'Dowd said (via the Mirror]. "Those days that we were in the house where the culmination of the whole show happens, that was pretty dark."

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about her character's place within the story, Ross said: "On the surface, it looks like she's the evil one and she's the representation of greed and playing on this couple's vulnerability.

"But when you look at it from the perspective of her backstory, I think Gaynor really was somebody who was in the exact same position that they were in and didn't have a choice as well.

"Her husband made the choice for her, and so she's sort of playing out this mirrored experience that they are, even though she's also a representation of somebody taking advantage of the vulnerable."

Wondering how it all unfolds? Read on for a full breakdown of the ending of the season 7 episode, but be warned: there are full spoilers ahead.

Black Mirror: Common People ending explained – What happens to Amanda?

While Rivermind seems to be the perfect opportunity for Amanda to continue living after her major health emergency, it soon transpires that the new system is set up like any money-grabbing tier-based business.

As a lifeline, Rivermind is undeniably a great asset for Amanda and her husband Mike. But it soon becomes apparent that the polished, customer-appeasing and almost 'trendy' tech company is actually just profiting from people's misfortune.

With financial stress already plaguing Amanda and Mike, they make cutbacks in their lives, and Mike continues to take on more work to pay for Amanda's Rivermind subscription.

When they go to visit Gaynor over a suspected malfunction, she informs them that they're introducing Rivermind Plus, a new subscription tier that has extended coverage, which means that they can actually travel outside of their county. It's $800 a month, but if they can't afford it, Amanda will just have to remain on the newly named Rivermind Common tier.

Soon, it becomes apparent that on the Common tier, advertisements are being run through Amanda. The eerie public service messages seem to come out at the most inopportune of times, jeopardising her job when an advert for Christian family counselling gets her into trouble after she relays it to one of her pupils.

Although Amanda doesn't have any recollection of the ads when they happen, Mike soon clocks onto them, and returning to speak to Gaynor at the Rivermind offices, she informs them that it's part of something new that they're trialling. Again, the only way to opt out of adverts is to upgrade to Rivermind Plus.

Amanda is told that if she can't stop the adverts, she's going to lose her job, which only puts more pressure on their finances, which is already under strain with the Common subscription.

Mike turns to performing degrading acts on DumDummies.com, a site he had previously been introduced to by his co-worker Shane. His first payment upgrades Amanda to Rivermind Plus, but soon it becomes clear that Amanda is sleeping longer.

Back at Gaynor's office, she informs them that Plus is actually now Standard, which means that Amanda is experiencing extended sleep mode as she's a non-premium user.

But all is well, as Gaynor explains, as they have an exciting new tier called Rivermind Lux. Although Amanda is opposed to the idea of upgrading again, Mike does some acts (with his mask off) on Dum Dummies and has enough to pay for Amanda's Lux subscription for the day.

Back at work, though, his co-workers have found out and screenshot his double life on the website. Mike goes to angrily confront Shane, who falls back when Mike lunges at him and falls into the path of an oncoming truck, which crushes his legs.

Mike gets fired but doesn't want to tell Amanda the truth, instead saying that they can just plead their case to Rivermind as they're loyal customers.

Gaynor expectedly tells them that her hands are tied and she can't help them, with Mike saying that they can't use their baby money that they've saved.

Amanda didn't realise they had any left, but in talking about their hopes for a child, Gaynor interjects and reveals a devastating piece of news – that pregnancy is actually an extra $90 a month, something that Amanda and Mike hadn't ever been told.

What happens to Mike at the end of Common People?

One year later, we see Mike making himself a coffee with whiskey in and the house looks untidy, with plates piled up and laundry everywhere. A young couple arrive to buy their baby crib from him, with it becoming apparent that, with no hopes of having a child, Mike and Amanda's lives have taken a turn for the worse.

Laughing hysterically at the fact that the couple aren't even expecting a child and will just set it alight for a music video, it's evident that Mike has pulled out one of his teeth for money on Dum Dummies.

Mike wakes up Amanda who remembers that it's their anniversary, and in an effort to celebrate the occasion, he buys her 30 minutes of a Lux subscription. Amanda now knows about Dum Dummies, but Mike tells her that he didn't pull out another of his teeth and, instead, got the money from a private buyer this time.

Mike turns Amanda's serenity up to max as they sit outside and, looking out happily, Amanda says that she thinks "it's time". Mike initially disagrees with her but accepts it, only if Amanda is certain she's sure. "Do it when I'm not here," she tells a tearful Mike.

Mike tucks Amanda into bed as her upgrade time starts to count down to its final seconds, and as soon as the time is over, Amanda goes back to reeling off an advertisement for antidepressant lozenges. Mike pleads with her for it to not be time just yet, but faced with no choice, he smothers her with a pillow.

"When she’s advertising things, she’s not really aware it’s happening," creator and writer Charlie Brooker told Tudum. [It's] almost like it’s in her sleep, so she’s not aware at that moment that it’s happening.”

Once it's clear that Amanda is dead, Mike falls to the floor and retches, overcome with emotion at what he's done.

We then see him return to his office, where the screen for Dum Dummies is open and waiting. Mike walks in with a craft knife in his hand and solemnly closes the door behind him.

While it's left open-ended, we can assume that Mike will either harm himself in order to earn some more money or will take his own life, unable to go on without his wife by his side.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the ending of the episode, Rashida Jones said she felt a "gut punch" when she first read it in the script, remarking that she initially thought: "That's so mean!"

She continued: "But I think in order to make the point, it sort of had to be that way. I felt like the challenge was just making sure it felt like the only choice... where we were just crashing towards that moment.

"I think, ultimately, we were just discussing, it is kind of a love story and it's an act of love. I know it feels really brutal, but both the parallel endings are acts of love."

Jones explained: "To stay in the mode where it feels like a really good choice, I like that because I think there's so much fear around death. It just feels like the ultimate worst thing that can happen to anybody.

"I feel like, culturally, we deserve to kind of explore it in ways where there are people who are happy to die because it feels like the better version of where they are, where they're in pain.

"Death with dignity is a real thing. I like the idea that she chooses this thing for herself in a way that feels good."

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Brooker acknowledged just how bleak the ending is, adding: "Earlier, he alluded that he's paid for her last half-hour of Rivermind Lux. He’s doing something for a private buyer on DumDummies. You can surmise from that that he’s probably not coming out [of that room].

"It’s subtle, but he looks straight down the lens at the end, which is particularly chilling as endings go."

He also revealed to Tudum that initially, the episode was going to be a much lighter affair.

“I’d been thinking about, what if someone needs a subscription service to stay alive? And then what if somebody was running adverts?” he said.

“The adverts came from a funny place because I’d been listening to a lot of podcasts where the hosts would suddenly break off and start pitching products and then go back to the rest of the podcast. So I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be a funny one.’”

But over time, that changed.

“They’re extending the amount she has to sleep, and she’s tired all the time. It’s exhausting," he said. "And now they’re living this existence where she’s constantly advertising thing.

"I felt like her request, being smothered to death while giving a pitch, felt sort of perfectly bleak and perfectly Black Mirror.”

Black Mirror season 7 is streaming on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.