Every 'Black Mirror' Season 6 Episode, Ranked
Black Mirror has recently returned to help make your 2023 more paranoid, with a sixth season recently dropping on Netflix. It's a show that began in 2011, and started to receive worldwide attention around 2016 (the first time it had a season produced by Netflix), so most surely know what the deal is with the premise by now. It's an anthology series that predominantly focuses on sci-fi/mystery/thriller stories that are often bleak and tend to comment on humanity's relationship with technology, whether that be present-day tech or futuristic things that don't exist yet (but one day could).
Things feel a little different in season 6, however, with the sci-fi elements stripped back to a surprising extent. Three of the five episodes are set in the past, one feels like it's in the present, and only one feels like it might be futuristic. Of course, sci-fi stories don't have to be set in the future by default, but technology and its impact on the lives of everyday people is less prevalent of a theme here, which does feel odd. It may well be what others feel the show needs, though, given a series will inevitably start to feel a little formulaic after five seasons. It all adds up to a rather strange, perplexing, and sometimes interesting season of Black Mirror, with the five latest episodes ranked below from worst to best.
5 "Mazey Day"
The most divisive episode of Black Mirror's fifth season looked at celebrities and the pitfalls of stardom, and it's a topic returned to in the weakest episode of its sixth season, "Mazey Day." Things start well enough, though, with its premise centering on a cash-strapped paparazzi who's tasked with taking a photo of a troubled actress, as there are rumors in the press surrounding her possibly struggling with addiction. It's set in the 2000s, and though no real sci-fi elements are to be found here, it does look at the media, the entertainment industry, and the power of technology (in this case, photographs) to permanently damage one's life.
It's not bad for the first two-thirds, and it benefits from being the shortest episode of the newest season at just 40 minutes, thankfully not feeling needlessly padded out the same way the other episodes can. But the reveal towards the end is easily the silliest, goofiest, and most downright laughable Black Mirror's ever thrown at the audience. It's so stupid it's almost admirable, but it also doesn't feel like it adds anything to what the episode's trying to say, and it gives the impression that writer Charlie Brooker didn't know how to end this story properly, and haphazardly decided to jump the shark instead. It derails an otherwise alright episode, and ensures "Mazey Day" commits the unforgivable sin of wasting Zazie Beetz.
4 "Loch Henry"
"Loch Henry" is a low-key episode that's clearly aiming to be a slow-burn with a devastating ending, but the execution leaves a good deal to be desired. It follows a young couple, Davis and Pia, who travel to a small town in Scotland where Davis grew up, intending to shoot some sort of nature documentary while there (they seem weirdly under-prepared, even by film student standards). However, they soon become more interested in making something true crime-related, given the town is notorious for a series of crimes that happened there in the past.
With "Loch Henry," there's a clear intent to satirize - or at least question - the way people seem morbidly fascinated by true crime, even if it means overlooking what survivors or those related to the victims of a crime want. It's nothing that hasn't been said before, but covering familiar ground is okay if the angle is interesting, or the presentation of a tried-and-true narrative is simply engaging. Unfortunately, this season's second (and second-worst) episode is a bit of a bore, and feels a good 10 to 15 minutes longer than it should be, with various scenes that drag on just a bit too long. The reveal is also a little silly, but is made much easier to swallow in hindsight, given it's not as bad as episode 4's twist.
3 "Joan Is Awful"
"Loch Henry" might poke a little fun at streaming services like Netflix, but season 6's first episode, "Joan Is Awful," goes all-in. For better and for worse, this feels most reminiscent of Black Mirror episodes in the past, and is the only episode of season 6 that feels like it could be set in the future. It follows a woman named Joan who's not the worst person in the world, but she's not great. One night, she discovers that a streaming service has made a TV show about her life that makes her look worse, using a deep-faked Salma Hayek, AI, and advanced CGI to have one episode for every day of her life, which drops on the platform Streamberry on a nightly basis.
There are plenty of questions raised by this premise, with some of the episode's explanations working and others feeling lazy or even a little rushed. It goes to some deeper, stranger places toward the episode's end, but it almost feels like too little too late by that point. It's otherwise not a terribly paced episode, though, with the first 40 minutes making for some serviceable Black Mirror. It's just a bit disappointing that it's not quite as sharp, funny, or unpredictable as the show seemed to be in seasons past, but "Joan Is Awful" still manages to be mostly competent, even if it could've (or even should've) been great.
2 "Beyond the Sea"
There are plenty of big names attached to Black Mirror's sixth season, with "Beyond the Sea" arguably being its most star-heavy episode, featuring the likes of Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett, and Kate Mara. It's fitting, in a way, because "Beyond the Sea" feels like the most cinematic episode of season 6, thanks to an essentially feature-length runtime of 80 minutes and a need for plenty of special effects, due to the episode being partially set in space. It centers on two astronauts who can transfer their consciousness into replicas on Earth, and what happens when one of them loses his family - and his replica body - in a horrific Manson Family-type crime.
Unfortunately, it's the runtime that truly holds "Beyond the Sea" back, as a first half that feels like it could be building to greatness is undone by a second half that just drones on and on. The actors all deliver the goods here, especially Paul, who ends up having to play two characters, in a way, and it's easy to see the conclusion as one that would have an impact if it had been arrived at with a little more haste. The bloat undoes much of the good on offer within "Beyond the Sea," and even if some of those positive qualities are still appreciable, it stands as a clear sign that should Black Mirror continue, it needs to have a more ruthless editor going forward.
1 "Demon 79"
It's easy to feel conflicted about the final episode of Black Mirror's latest season, "Demon 79." It is the most entertaining of the bunch, and has a streak of dark humor throughout that feels reminiscent of the very funny (and extremely messed up) pre-Netflix seasons. Like "Beyond the Sea," it's perhaps overlong with a runtime of 74 minutes, but it justifies exceeding one hour a little more than that episode. And the premise is an intriguing one, following a young woman in the late 1970s who's apparently visited by a demon that no one else can see, with the demon telling her she needs to commit three murders in three days, otherwise the world will end.
It feels a little choppy and somewhat rough around the edges, but a good chunk of it's entertaining enough to make it a season highlight. The problem? It's just not Black Mirror. It has some of the humor and social commentary you'd expect, but there's nothing here related to technology or science-fiction, making it feel like perhaps too much of an oddity. It feels cynically attached to this latest season because it would get more exposure as an alleged Black Mirror episode, rather than a separate movie or a part of another, less well-known anthology show. It's baffling, and not exactly in a good way, but if you can push through and not judge it as a Black Mirror episode, it's the best of a very mixed bunch.
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