Daley may be the victim of workplace bullying in real life, but he well and truly becomes the bully whenever he is on board the USS Callister. He regularly uses his sense of power to systematically abuse his crew, forcing them to behave in ways they absolutely wouldn’t if they had the choice – particularly the women, who are required to smile on command, sing Daley’s praises and kiss him passionately whenever he demands them to do so.

All the elements of the alleged Harvey Weinstein scandal are present: the power imbalance, the so-called professional meetings that are actually settings for sexual assault, the older man using the plum jobs he controls to pressurise a younger woman into doing exactly what he wants.

Perhaps the most striking similarity of all, though, is the fact that Daley’s outrageous abuse of power manages to go on for so long without detection. How? Because those who do not comply with his demands are punished, as Cole quickly discovers. She herself has her facial features removed and is suffocated (a non-fatal process due to her immortality, but painful all the same) until she submits to Daley’s will. Others who stand up to the self-professed captain are transformed into grotesque alien creatures – who can only communicate in grunts – and banned from boarding the USS Callister ever again.

Essentially, those who vow to speak out against his regime find themselves silenced – by any means possible. Their jobs are threatened, their voices undermined and their characters disparaged. These women are monsters, Daley reminds his crew, and their testimonies do not even deserve to be heard, let alone trusted.

It all harks back to our society’s tendency to discount women’s voices. Specifically in cases of sexual harassment, subjects often find themselves met with scepticism and an onslaught of questions that try to drill holes in their story – all of which put the blame firmly on them. What were you wearing? Why did you go into the hotel room with them in the first place? Why didn’t you fight back? Why didn’t you remove yourself from the situation sooner? Why didn’t you say anything until now? Why, why, why?

Black Mirror: why USS Callister remains the most important episode to date