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Tabitha Wilson

Charlie Brooker’s twisted anthology, Black Mirror, is back for its sixth season! With 5 episodes featuring in this installment, the season is perhaps the most inconsistent series yet – but this doesn’t mean that it isn’t enjoyable.

As with all Black Mirror episodes, credit must be given for their watchability, regardless of whether you’re a superfan of the show, or you haven’t heard of it before. Each episode has a distinctive, interesting plot, but the quality varies massively.

This season, more than previous ones, feels almost like a parody of itself at times. However, it could be argued that Brooker had an impossible task ahead of him due to what audiences have come to expect from the critically-acclaimed series.

Now, more than ever, Brooker must realise that he can no longer stay ahead of the curve, particularly with the pace of technological innovation. Instead, Black Mirror must now reflect current happenings, rather than predict what will come.

Joan Is Awful

The first episode, Joan Is Awful, features a star-studded cast. We see our lead, Joan, played by Annie Murphy, and Salma Hayek portraying a televised version of Joan. Michael Cera makes a short yet uninspiring cameo towards the end of the episode, and comic Rob Delaney plays Joan’s ex-lover Mac.

“It leaves the viewer asking, ‘Is that it?’”

Joan, a tech executive, finds out that Streamberry, a fictionalised version of Netflix, is streaming a dramatized retelling of her life on a TV show entitled Joan Is Awful. She finds out she technically consented to this by not reading the ‘Terms and Conditions’ when she signed up for the service. We follow Joan as she vows to destroy the company and the quantum computer that is generating the series.

Whilst it starts off strong, Joan Is Awful fails to develop properly into an effective episode. It feels as though Brooker can’t decide whether to turn it into a comedy or delve deeper into the premise. It certainly makes for good viewing, but it leaves the viewer asking, ‘Is that it?’. This lack of direction ultimately makes the first installment of the series quite forgettable.

Loch Henry

In the second episode, Loch Henry again falls victim to some of the problems found with Joan Is Awful. Film students Davis (Samuel Blenkin) and Pia (Myha’la Herrold) head to visit Davis’s mother Janet in the seemingly picturesque Scottish town of Loch Henry. The two meet with local resident Stuart (Daniel Portman) who proceeded to tell Pia about Iain Adair, a notorious serial killer who tortured tourists, turning the place into a ghost town.

Davis and Pia decide to shoot a documentary about Adair’s crimes, which leads to a series of shocking discoveries, and a twist that many viewers won’t have seen coming.

The episode is beautifully shot, with some excellent cinematography and some standout acting performances. Daniel Portman, most known for his role in HBO’s Game of Thrones as Podrick Payne, is one of the most notable in the episode.

However, like Joan Is Awful, it doesn’t delve deeper into the message it is trying to share. People know true crime documentaries aren’t ethical but will continue to watch them anyway. Nothing new is being shared here, with the episode being entertaining, but not thought-provoking.

Beyond The Sea

The third installment of the series, Beyond The Sea, is perhaps the most ‘classic’ Black Mirror episode to appear in the anthology, and one of the strongest of the series, alongside Demon 79.

“Expertly combining sci-fi and adventure with the more human elements of grief, lust, and anger…”

Beyond The Sea features astronauts Cliff (Aaron Paul) and David (Josh Hartnett) as astronauts in an alternative 1969, who have embarked on a deep space mission. However, we discover that the pair inhabit the bodies of their ‘replicas’ on Earth so that they can spend time with their families.

When tragedy strikes for David, we follow as his life along with the lives of Cliff and his wife (Kate Mara) become increasingly intertwined, with devastating consequences. Expertly combining sci-fi and adventure with the more human elements of grief, lust, and anger, Beyond The Sea is definitely one to watch. A phenomenal performance from Aaron Paul as Cliff ties everything together, making this episode one that will go down in Black Mirror’s ‘hall of fame’.

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Mazey Day

Following on from the triumph of Beyond The Sea, it seems that Mazey Day, the fourth episode in the series, was almost destined to fail – and fail it did. Centered around a disillusioned paparazzo (Zazie Beetz) trying to hunt down missing actress Mazey Day (Clara Rugaard), the episode feels lazy and rushed.

At only 40 minutes long, it feels as though Brooker didn’t have much confidence in this episode either.  The strange supernatural twist at the end of the episode doesn’t have an impact and doesn’t feel like a Black Mirror episode. The message, much like Joan Is Awful and Loch Henry, is diluted, and stagnant.

Demon 79

Brooker manages to bring the viewer back with the fifth and final episode, Demon 79. The episode conjures up some of that Black Mirror magic and adds a sprinkle of Red Mirror too, with the installment allegedly being a potential episode of a spin-off series.

Demon 79 combines traditional horror tropes with the political aggression and racism of the National Front in the 70s. Anjana Vasan gives a standout performance as sales assistant Nida. From her character’s violent tendencies and thoughts are shown when her colleagues are racist to her, to when her front door is graffitied by the National Front, Nida is an amazing up-and-coming actress.

“this premise could easily be a series on its own.”

When Nida discovers a talisman that releases a demon dressed like Boney M, expertly played by Paapa Essiedu, she faces some difficult decisions.

The episode perfectly balances comedy, horror, and political commentary, with just one installment not feeling like enough. I believe this premise could easily be a series on its own.

Overall, Black Mirror season six is definitely worth a watch – but it’ll be all eyes on Charlie Brooker. We will be closely watching to see if he can claw back the initial hype and acclaim for the series when it comes to writing season seven.

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Featured image courtesy of John-Mark Smith via Pexels. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image. 

Tabitha is currently a reporter for Newsquest, and was previously an MA Journalism student at Sheffield University. She has worked as a maritime journalist in the past, and studied politics at Durham University. She enjoys writing about music, culture, and travel.

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