‘Black Mirror’ Bête Noire Episode Ending Explained

The best way to sum up the second episode of “Black Mirror” Season 7, “Bête Noire,” is to simply look up the definition of the episode title.

Merriam-Webster defines “bête noire” as “a person or thing strongly detested or avoided.” As for who the bête noire truly is? That remains in question. It would depend on which of the main characters — Maria (Siena Kelly) and Verity (Rosy McEwen) — you ask.

Here’s what to know about how the episode of “Black Mirror” ends.

What is the premise of ‘Bête Noire’?

Maria is head of flavor at Ditta, a food company that eagle-eyed fans will have noticed was one of the ads Amanda (Rashida Jones) unwillingly spewed in Episode 1.

Maria excels at her job — until Verity Greene applies for a research assistant position in her department and, much to Maria’s dismay, gets it.

The pair went to high school together and, according to Maria, Verity was “the school freak.”

“She was clever — like brainbox clever — to the point where she was sort of ‘off.’ Zero social skills,” Maria says. “She had this mad hair. She was always scribbling like these weird little diagrams of like computers that she wanted to build.”

She then explains that a classmate named Natalie started a rumor that Verity was hooking up one of the school’s teachers, Mr. Kendrick. Natalie created the nickname “milkmaid” for Verity based on the rumor and it stuck.

After Verity gets the job, Maria starts to lose her grip on reality. It seems the truth keeps warping.

First, it’s small things, like Verity insisting that a chicken shop chain is spelled differently than how Maria remembers. When Maria Googles the place, though, the name really has changed to align with Verity’s spelling.

Maria is spiraling, certain that Verity is somehow behind everything that keeps going wrong. She texts Natalie for the first time in four years but doesn’t get a response.

The bending of reality grows more sinister. For example, Maria types out an email to Verity listing ingredients to use in a sample recipe. When there’s a mishap with the recipe and Maria’s original email is checked, a key ingredient is missing, making Maria look like the bad guy.

Maria’s colleagues turn on her and Verity seems to ascend in popularity. Is Maria paranoid or is Verity somehow sowing chaos?

A call from Natalie’s husband helps her find the answer. Maria learns from Natalie’s husband that Natalie committed suicide a few days ago after spiraling in paranoia.

Maria loses her job after a spectacular showdown with Verity involving… almond milk. Verity chugs a colleague’s almond milk then blames in on Maria. When Maria says she has a nut allergy, Verity seems to somehow erase the concept of a nut allergy from the internet and people’s minds.

Maria is fired but she does figure something out: Verity’s pendant seems to be altering reality.

What does Verity’s pendant do?

Maria, now more than slightly unhinged, follows Verity to her home, which turns out to be a giant mansion. Maria breaks in while Verity is showering and discovers the pendant. She clicks it, but it flashes red and makes a small sound. Hearing Verity exiting the shower, Maria ducks underneath her bed, pendant in hand.

Maria tries to use the pendant again, but it makes the same sound showing it won’t work — but this time Verity hears it.

“Come out,” Verity says. “I will call the police.”

Verity then explains to Maria that the pendant is just a remote and she has plenty of them. The remote connects to a “quantum compiler,” which allows Verity to change reality by moving along infinite timelines.

By clicking the pendant — which uses touch ID that only works for Verity — she can say whatever wish she wants to be true. Then, she is immediately transported into whatever parallel reality where whatever she’s said has always been true.

“There’s infinite timelines so I just pick the one where you’re the only one who knows what’s going on so you feel really special,” Verity explains, adding that she built the system herself.

This revelation explains why Maria has been spiraling and how the cameras and her email wording inexplicably changed.

“I don’t care if you understand it,” Verity says to a baffled Maria. “I’m doing it to hurt you. That’s the main thing.”

What is Verity’s problem with Maria?

By now it’s very, very clear Verity is targeting Maria. She finally explains why — and it all goes back to that rumor. 

The accused teacher had looked out for her and was kind, Verity says. But in the aftermath of the rumor he was transferred, leaving her with nothing. 

Maria claims she doesn’t know why Verity would want to hurt her. Verity doubts this. Verity reveals that Natalie told her it was Maria who started the rumor.

Maria finally admits she did start the rumor, but that Natalie amplified it. Clearly hurt, Verity says she was “stuck there” with everyone calling her mad, unable to fight back.

What happens in the end?

Now, Verity is determined to make Maria take her own life like she did Natalie. Maria fights back and Verity matches her intensity. Verity gets hold of the pendant and uses it to have armed cops immediately arrive to arrest Maria for breaking in with a knife (which materializes into Maria’s hand).

A second later, cops with guns arrive, directing Maria to drop her knife. She does, but as one police officer approaches her to put the handcuffs on her, Maria grabs his gun and shoots Verity in the head, killing her.

She then has a shoot-out with the police, but in the chaos is able to grab the pendant, placing Verity’s dead finger on it.

“The pendant works for me. The pendant works for me!” Maria desperately yells. Then she starts to bend reality, saying, “She shot herself. It wasn’t me. You saw the whole thing.”

The police immediately agree that that’s the truth of what happened, lowering their weapons. The police then ask Maria to come down to the station to answer some questions, but Maria — pressing the pendant again — tells them they won’t need to do that.

“You work for me,” she says. “Both of you.”

“You worship me,” she adds. “Because I am — I am the Empress of the Universe.”

The shot then transitions into both cops on their knees, saying “Hail Maria,” as Maria stands in front of a cheering crowd of thousands of people chanting the same thing.

The final shot is her smiling at the new life and power she has all for herself.

Will she let the power corrupt her as it seemed to do for Verity? You’ll have to use your imagination.