"USS Callister" is a parable about power that works on many levels, whether you're referring to the gaming world, the workplace, or society.
Jesse Plemmons (not Matt Damon) plays an unsavory villain named Robert Daly, who, by day, is a meek CTO of a VR gaming company. By night, he takes revenge upon coworkers who have scorned him by replicating their consciousness and making them his subordinates in his video game.
The episode features a delightfully clever and capable heroine. Basically, the female crew members in the game are reduced to sycophantic fangirls for the captain. Portrayed by How I Met Your Mother alumnus Cristin Milioti, Nanette, the doe-eyed newbie at the gaming company, gets duplicated into Daly's fantasy.
At first, copy Nanette rejects her boss's twisted role-playing. But she soon complies to trap Robert at his own game and triumphs with a resistance effort. We should also give a shout-out to Michaela Coel, who plays Shania, a coworker who is fiercely protective of Nanette. Coel's character represents a female solidarity that's needed in sci-fi, where women are often standalone characters within a group of men.
