by Foster Harlfinger, Contributing Writer
Back from its four-year hiatus, Charlie Brooker and co. deliver Season Six of Black Mirror, with five more episodes of mind-bending, technological horror. The show first began as a small-scale program on the British television network Channel 4 for its first two seasons before making the switch to Netflix in 2016. Though it lost some of its original grit after the network jump, its anthology structure continues to result in a delightfully wide range of subject matters, visual styles, and genres.
“Joan is Awful”
This star-studded opener follows tech CEO Joan (Annie Murphy) as she discovers a limited series bearing her name on the streaming network Streamberry, an obvious stand-in for Netflix, which — to Joan’s horror — inexplicably depicts the events from her morning. As Joan’s friends, family, and coworkers progress through the limited series featuring her likeness, the episode becomes a timely cautionary tale regarding artificial intelligence and privacy in the digital age. Murphy delivers a terrific performance in the title role, alone making this episode worth the watch, and its comparatively humorous tone remains enjoyable for the entirety of its runtime. Unfortunately, “Joan is Awful” does not quite stick the landing. Despite being written by Brooker himself, the twists often give the impression of a screenwriter imitating what they have come to expect from a Black Mirror story, rather than the shocking and innovative turns of the first few seasons. In an age of Rick and Morty, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, this story simply does not pack the punch that it would have had if it aired even five years earlier.
“Loch Henry”
Playing out more like a BBC mystery than a technological horror, “Loch Henry” tells the story of two film students, Davis (Samuel Blenkin) and Pia (Myha’la Herrold), filming a documentary about a serial killer from Davis’s hometown of Loch Henry. While perhaps less punchy than a typical Black Mirror episode, this is a delightfully suspenseful and well-acted entry to the season. Directed by Sam Miller (Luther), the tone of “Loch Henry” harkens back to the first two seasons without trying too hard to fit into the Black Mirror tone. As seems to be a growing theme with this season, the final reveal is not quite as hard-hitting as it could have been, but the episode has just enough tension and commentary on the real-world obsession with true crime to make it a worthy entry into the Black Mirror canon.
“Beyond the Sea”
Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett star in dual roles as two astronauts whose bodies have been recreated in a mechanical likeness on Earth while they complete their true mission among the stars. Directed by John Crowley (Boy A, Brooklyn), “Beyond the Sea” feels like a true return to form for the show. Emotional, thought-provoking, and clever in all the right moments, Brooker constructs the most impactful premise of the season, in no small part due to Paul’s tremendous performance. Though not entirely unpredictable, and perhaps 10 minutes too long, “Beyond the Sea” hits the bullseye with ease, even if the target was only a few steps away.
“Mazey Day”
The penultimate episode of the season is a puzzling watch, to say the least. Bo (Zazie Beetz), a paparazzi photographer, tracks down missing actress Mazey Day (Clara Rugaard) to a rehabilitation facility in order to capture a handful of photographs, earning herself a much-needed $30,000 reward. Though the initial premise is engaging enough, the episode takes an unexpected turn that feels wildly out of place with what we have come to expect from the series. The episode is certainly not a train wreck, though it is not entirely successful in its aims either. The metaphors regarding the predator-prey relationship between paparazzi and celebrity, along with our culture’s obsessive need to capture every moment on film, are clear. However, the twist of the episode feels unearned, and comes across as more of a distraction than it does a clever turn of the story.
“Demon 79”
Though Annie Murphy and Aaron Paul will understandably receive more acclaim for their performances, the true MVP of Season Six is Anjana Vasan, who delivers the most wonderfully strange, complex, and humorous performance of the entire season as shoe store clerk Nida. After discovering a mysterious talisman, Nida finds herself reluctantly beholden to its demonic inhabitant. From there, Brooker and co-writer Bisha K. Ali take us on a suspenseful, surprisingly funny, and genuinely unpredictable ride as Nida sets out to complete her undesirable tasks. “Demon 79” feels notably out of sync with the show’s typical subject matter, though given that an early title card brands it as the show’s first “Red Mirror” episode, it makes more sense to view this as an early pilot for a potential Red Mirror spinoff show. This episode may not appeal to many fans of the show, but that does not change the fact that “Demon 79” is the most visually stylish and narratively cohesive episode of the season. Employing 1970s Giallo zooms, grainy film footage, and an orange-brown color palette, director Toby Haynes — one of the finest television directors around — made the most of this unconventional, genre-blending script.
Season Six of Black Mirror is much more in line with its underwhelming fifth season than any of its first four. However, despite this season’s varying levels of success, there is always fun to be had in exploring Brooker’s unendingly creative worlds. The show may no longer be two steps ahead of its audience as it once was, but it is difficult to complain when talented filmmakers are given the freedom to earnestly experiment with unique, original premises. Whether it be in the form of a seventh season of Black Mirror, or a horror-themed Red Mirror spinoff, Brooker will always be a welcome voice in the television landscape.
Score: 7/10
Black Mirror is currently streaming on Netflix
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