It's hard to believe that Black Mirror is 12 years old. Since the day the show began, the franchise, despite not being perfect, has been held in high regard by many fans and critics and labelled one of the most original concepts when it comes to mystery, science fiction and even horror.
Charlie Brooker, the man who created the show, also writes every episode. His stories offer interesting concepts and exploratory tales about a dystopian world, the dark side of using technology, and how it is going to impact our lives along with some social commentaries.
However, after five seasons of that formula, it can get a little predictable and boring. So, that's why the sixth and the latest season of Black Mirror is surprisingly the most unpredictable and unexpected yet. In this season, the concept drifted away a little bit from sci-fi to crime, comedy or just straight-up supernatural. Sure, there still are some episodes that focus on sci-fi, but we also get a couple of very different presentations that sort of caught me off guard. Please note that this review may contain some spoilers, so make sure to finish watching the season before reading this review.
The first episode, Joan Is Awful, is perhaps the only one that keeps the typical concept. The episode stars Annie Murphy who plays Joan, a tech CEO, who finds that the events of her daily life are being retold in near-real time by a streaming app called Streamberry. Losing her job and a lover because of it, Joan sets out to investigate and look for the people who are responsible for what happened. The episode blends sci-fi and absurd humour quite well.
Among the five episodes, the one that really stood out for me is Episode 2 titled Loch Henry about a young film student returning to his childhood home in Scotland with his girlfriend with the intention of making a documentary. After a couple of days, they decide to change the subject matter to explore a scandalous murder mystery that devastated the town. I loved the unique cinematography and storytelling of this episode a lot. The episode's theme is different from most others in the anthology over the years.
Episode 3, Beyond The Sea, seems to have attracted a lot of attention from fans even before the season premiere due to the fact that it features well-known stars including Aaron Paul, Kate Mara and Josh Hartnett in this sci-fi drama about two astronauts and their mission in space. Unfortunately, the story here is much slower than in other episodes. It turned out to be more of a jealousy, love affair type of story than anything else, which is kind of a letdown for me.
Mazey Day is another episode that stays away from the sci-fi element and focuses more on the world behind the glamorous lives of celebrities. It stars Zazie Beetz (Joker) as a paparazzi trying to get a shot of an elusive but wildly popular celebrity. It is an intense tale that introduces moral dilemmas for certain characters, forcing them to make a choice between something they want and something they feel they should do.
The final episode is called Demon 79, and it is the longest of all five. We follow a young woman who works in a department store. She's mistreated and faces discrimination and racism from her co-workers and boss because she's Indian and not white British. She discovers something one day that leads her on a journey that is both exciting and disturbing. This is another story that doesn't follow the usual style of the franchise.
Overall, the sixth season of Black Mirror is entertaining and enjoyable thanks mostly to a broader range of genres. Not every story is perfect, but each contains enough interesting material to draw our attention. Each episode is around an hour long, so I wouldn't recommend binge-watching them in one go, because you might have to do some emotional resetting between each story.
- Black Mirror Season 6
- Starring Annie Murphy, John Hannah, Salma Hayek, Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett
- Created by Charlie Brooker
- Now streaming on Netflix
