Geek Review – Black Mirror: Season 6 (Netflix)

After a four-year hiatus, Black Mirror is back for a sixth season with a new tone and taste for something grimmer and darker. Created by Charlie Brooker, the anthology series is known for its pessimistic, bleak dystopian take on technology and features the same formula in each standalone episode but season six switches it up to focus on a new big bad to hit mankind – ourselves. 

Since its inception in 2011, Black Mirror often focuses on the consequences of the advancement of technology. It starts with introducing a new piece of technology that seems amazing at first, only to end the episode with a reminder that technology is bad. For example, ‘National Anthem’ (Season 1) is a commentary on the usage of social media and the media frenzy that follows political figures while ‘The Entire History of You’ (Season 1) shows how memory implants can lead to the dissolution of a marriage. It’s standard cause and effect and it’s a formula that has been implemented throughout five seasons. Admittedly, it works because Black Mirror remains popular till this day, but it looks like even Brooker has grown tired of the familiar too. 

For starters, not all episodes of season six depict technology. That’s right, shocking. Out of the five episodes released, only two episodes truly depict advanced technology of any sort: ‘Joan is Awful’ and ‘Beyond the Sea’. Meanwhile, ‘Demon 79’ and ‘Mazey Day’ seemingly take place some time in the past so don’t expect commentary on advanced technology there, and ‘Loch Henry’ takes place in present time so everything is status quo. Even then, the two episodes that depict technology do not follow the typical ‘cause and effect’ formula. The advanced technology shown are simply elements that exist but the consequences and the chain of events that follow are simply because of man’s doing. 

In ‘Joan is Awful’, an average woman is stunned to discover a global streaming platform has launched a prestige TV drama adaptation of her life. It’s an incredibly meta episode that dabbles in the idea of false realities and being a simulation, but the main lesson here is to essentially read all the terms and conditions before signing a contract. It lends a little bit from ‘San Junipero’ (Season 3) but without the heart-warming romance, while pumped with comedy from leads Salma Hayek and Annie Murphy. 

‘Demon 79’ and ‘Mazey Day’ diverts the most from what audiences are familiar with when it comes to Black Mirror, with massive elements of supernatural horror – a first for the series, ‘Demon 79’ sees a meek assistant told to  commit terrible acts to prevent disaster, while ‘Mazey Day’ sees a troubled starlet being dogged by invasive paparazzi. These two episodes in particular question the ethics and morality of our human characters and challenges you to either judge them or side with them. 

‘Loch Henry’ will perhaps be a favourite among true-crime fans. It sees a young couple making a juicy documentary in a sleepy Scottish town only to uncover incredibly dark events of the past. Out of all the episodes, ‘Loch Henry’ is perhaps the less creative or inventive and if you’ve been a long-time viewer of Black Mirror and/or true-crime documentaries, it’s likely you would be able to sniff out the twist ending before it even gets to that part. 

A personal favourite is ‘Beyond the Sea’. In this episode, two men on a perilous high-tech mission wrestle with the consequences of an unimaginable tragedy. Don’t be fooled by the alternative 1969 setting, because this episode deals with AI machines, much like ‘Be Right Back’ (Season 2). But unlike ‘Be Right Back’ where the protagonist struggles to live with an AI of a loved one, ‘Beyond the Sea’ explores how it could work for certain families. It is also the episode with the most drama, exploring the often told story of marital temptation, male violence and grief and loss. It’s equal part dystopian tech and some of the worst human traits possible mixed into an hour-long episode. 

The deviation from the tried-and-tested formula and exploration of new genres aside, Black Mirror season six is much darker than most seasons so if you’re a fan of the incredibly dark and disturbing episodes of ‘White Bear’ (Season 2), ‘Black Museum’ (Season 4), ‘White Christmas’ (Season 2) and ‘Crocodile’ (Season 4) and yearn for depressing endings, stay tuned. While not all of these end depressingly, four out of five of the episodes in season six are filled with violence. You can expect death and blood splatters episode after episode and they’re so visual, you might end the episode feeling much heavier than when you started it. 

Despite the departure, there are pros and cons. The black comedy and satire hits even stronger in this season and since the show has left British soil, we get to see big-name American actors lead episodes like Hayek, Michael Cera, Aaron Paul and more. Black Mirror never had issues with casting – even the “nobodies” become somebodies thanks to the series, so the new wave of talent and cast is just an added perk. The deviation is appreciated and we’re keen to see how else creator Brooker can transform and transcend the formula that made his show so successful, and still maintain the same adoration or even better, gain new viewers and turn them into loyal fans.

Unfortunately, the slight deviation means that fans who do enjoy Brooker’s dystopian take on technology and predictive (not reflective) effects will leave unsatisfied. After all, it is Brooker’s twisted stories on technology that hooked viewers onto the show in the first place, especially since most if not all of what’s presented has a possibility of actually happening in real life in years to come. The paranoia Black Mirror fuels is part of the enjoyment and without that, it just doesn’t provide the same watching experience. 

Our order of favourite episodes thus far, is as follows: 

1. Beyond the Sea
2. Demon 79 
3. Joan is Awful 
4. Loch Henry 
5. Mazey Day 

While some episodes are also relatively stronger than others, none of which feels like it’ll make a ‘top 10’ list of Black Mirror episodes if we were to round up all six seasons and pick our favourites out of the lot. Still, if you’re a fan of Black Mirror, season six is definitely still worth the watch and the potential discussions you’ll have. If this is your introduction to the show, you’re signing up for a dark and depressing ride – and you’re going to love it.