BLACK MIRROR SEASON SIX: HOW A SHOW LOSES ITS EDGE
by Minwa
For over two years, everyone joked that we wouldn’t need another episode of Black Mirror because it felt as though we’d been living in one. Still, when a new season was suddenly announced less than two months ago, anyone who once enjoyed the show tuned in excitedly. After two years that included lockdowns, quarantines, and our hyper-dependency on technology and social media…. surely, we’d be in for something good… right? Well, we all hoped so, and the latest season falls somewhere in the middle, including some of what makes Black Mirror the brilliant show it is, while also going in a new direction that resulted in some of the show’s weakest stories (which, in all fairness, could be labeled as “okay” at worst).
JOAN IS AWFUL was the great, memorable start we needed to the season. A classic Black Mirror story that was bleak but, surprisingly, never draining or too pessimistic due to the satire and lightheartedness in its storytelling. I’ve seen the argument that the episode and the one that follows it, LOCH HENRY, fall flat and the satire doesn’t really work since Netflix, the show’s home, is exactly what the show is criticizing, and thus, the show is hypocritical as it is complicit in the very things they’re criticizing, but I’d reckon that’s missing the point of the episodes, despite coming close to it. It’s self-aware on every level. Yes, they’re criticizing Netflix, but it works because the showrunners know they’re complicit in the streamer’s faults and essentially call themselves out as well as you, the also-complicit consumer. It’s part of what makes the episodes clever and what makes their messaging work and oh-so-apparent. It wouldn’t have made sense on any other streamer or network, and I doubt anyone would be able to forget, either. The guilt we might feel at the end of LOCH HENRY drives that point home more than anything else. They’re excellent (though definitely not among Black Mirror’s best).
The same can be said for BEYOND THE SEA, the season’s third episode and, arguably, its best. It definitely seems to be the fan favorite and within good reason. It’s everything you could want and expect from Black Mirror (probably the only one this season that sticks true to ‘the classic Black Mirror formula’ and proves in fact, that there is one). Thus, I assume most Black Mirror fans, such as myself, could tell where the episode was going - and whether that held up until the very end of the episode or not, it didn’t really matter. The episode was bone-chilling, and its clear derivation from the pandemic made it so, relatable, and what (also) makes it stand out among the rest. The episode draws on fear and fear related to isolation, loss, distance, and the devastating result that’s a blend of those themes. That parallel and the void in the distance and what if’s, is what makes it work and oh-so harrowing for the characters and viewers alike.
I’d say I hoped the rest of the episodes were similar to BEYOND THE SEA, but though I enjoyed it and hoped to experience more similar thrills this season, I have a suspicion it won’t be the episode that holds up best among the latest batch. I’d give that honor to JOAN IS AWFUL - the premiere episode will definitely be remembered with whatever dystopian plans Netflix undoubtedly has in store for us in the future.
BEYOND THE SEA, however, proved to be a needle drop gone wrong because after such a thrilling episode, we’re left with baited breaths for more…. and the season falls flat with its final two episodes.
Black Mirror has never directly meddled with ghouls, goblins, demons, and the like - technology stepping in the horrifying role of the supernatural is one of the reasons why the show is so excellent - it doesn’t need to get too far-fetched. As a result, finally toying with the supernatural felt lazy. Sure, the themes and reasons why the show finally goes there are apparent, but with the stories they’re telling, it comes off as an easy way out, especially in comparison to all that has come before.
MAZY DAY’s only highlight is its final frame, and DEMON 79 is tedious to get through. All I kept thinking while watching the latter was which K-pop idol would take the place of Gaap had I been in the main character’s shoes, rather than what I’d have done when facing her main obstacle. I didn’t even care enough to go there, though I did appreciate the 1970s horror genre callbacks. Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker had reportedly conceived a companion show called “RED MIRROR,” a retro-themed horror anthology series (with DEMON 79 set to be its first/test episode). Though I wasn’t blown away by Demon 79 in any way, I think it could have worked as a part of a separate series, and had that been the case, I would have gone easier on the episode… but it is not Black Mirror. I’d be very intrigued by the possibilities that could await us with a companion show, possibly with some innovative horror directors: Del Toro, Raimi, Flanagan, Ana Lily Amirpour, James Wan, Eggers… The idea excites me, even as someone who isn’t a horror fan.
Most of the episodes this season have stayed true to Charlie Brooker’s intention with them, which was to not stay as true to “the expected Black Mirror formula.” Brooker himself has stated that the show was always about human nature rather than technology, which is why the show veered away from it this season, but what I, as a viewer, always found most interesting about Black Mirror was that it consistently had something to say about the intersection between those two things rather than just one of them. Without that, the show would lose its edge…
Every day we hear news articles about new advancements in technology and the dilemmas discussed in Black Mirror are brought to life and can shed an insightful light on the topic, and even if you did away with technology in the show…. the supernatural and religion in its stead felt like easy ways out and rehashing of old stories done before, reminiscent of those in The Twilight Zone, an exceptional television program in its own right that served as an inspiration for Black Mirror…. Blurring the lines between the two with similar genre elements only reminds us which one did it first, more successfully, and for longer Venturing into that uncharted territory doesn’t equate to reinvention or having entirely new things to say and portray, and, again, after a period where the entire world went through a quasi-dystopian event and came out the other side entirely different, viewers aren’t at fault for expecting more, even from the first three episodes.
With this season and the one before it, Black Mirror could finally lose its edge and standing as innovative series that could spark up so many debates on human nature… and instead resorts to being good entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with that, but to go from one to the other is unfortunate.
I’ve been a strong advocate for Black Mirror for years, and I will continue to be, even hoping for another season and a companion series as well…. but I do foolishly hope we see more of what made the show so great in the first place, especially since it seems as though we need it more than ever. The dystopia of the series is finally relatable and, weirdly enough, a cathartic experience…. Don’t stray too far.
