Chante JVR

lack Mirror Season Season 6

“They could make Salma Hayek blow an orangutan if they wanted to.”

Never before has this GIF been more true.

*spoilers cause your girl has THOUGHTS

4 years since the last season released which only gave us 3 episodes, season 6 gave us a full 5 episodes and they were awesome! Well, most of them at least. When I first watched the new season (yes, I binge-watched most of it in one day) I was so sure I’d give it 5 stars. But some of the episodes were really a miss, so, I’m going to rate each one of them individually.

Joan Is Awful – A regular woman learns that a renowned streaming platform has released a high-profile television drama series based on her life, with the lead role played by none other than the esteemed Hollywood actress, Salma Hayek.
This episode was a good start to the season. Fighting for highest rating on IMDB among all the episodes this season, this episode was intriguing and slightly comical. Although, anything with Anne Murphy is guaranteed to be brilliant.
The episode was also though-provoking, prompting viewers to revisit their Netflix agreements to ensure that such a surreal scenario in real life. It also had people asking their disgruntled fiance’s, “what if our life is a TV show and we’re not real and we’re just actors playing other people,” to which their fiance would scream, “NO, I’M NOT HIGH ENOUGH FOR THIS!” (Or was that just me?). 5/5.

Loch Henry – A young couple embarks on a journey to a sleepy Scottish town with the intention of starting a nature documentary. However, they unexpectedly become entangled in a local tale that unravels shocking events from the town’s history.
This episode was actually surprisingly good. I don’t know why I say it like that, but it genuinely was. It wasn’t as tech-oriented as a Black Mirror episode normally is and felt more like a thriller/mystery type deal. And while some may see the plot twist coming, I certainly didn’t. 4/5

Beyond the Sea – In an alternate version of 1969, two men embarking on a dangerous high-tech space mission find themselves grappling with the aftermath of an unimaginable tragedy. In this reality, both men are able to place their consciousness into the mind of a robotic clone of themselves. When David Ross’s body gets destroyed and his family murdered, he’s stuck on his spaceship alone for another 4 years while his crewmate, Cliff, flits in and out. That is until Cliff offers David use of his robotic body.
This episode was probably my favourite. It was gripping and kept you on the edge of your seat. Whatever you think will happen at the end of this episode, you’re probably wrong. 5/5

Mazey Day – A troubled celebrity finds herself relentlessly pursued by intrusive paparazzi as she grapples with the aftermath of a hit-and-run accident.
This episode was weird. If you want to watch an anthology with a good werewolf episode, then I recommend Love, Death & Robots, also on Netflix.
I get where this episode was going, you know with the whole ‘Paparazzi will do anything for a photo’ angle, but I honestly couldn’t have been bothered. 2/5

Demon 79 – A timid sales assistant receives instructions that she must commit horrific acts in order to prevent the apocalypse.
This episode is labelled as a ‘Red Mirror film’ which is basically Black Mirror’s way of saying that this episode is different to what we usually expect from BM. Different it was. While the episode had phenomenal leads, the episode wasn’t really memorable over and above its initial shock factor. I mean, it failed the Chante Sleep Test not once, not twice, but three times. I would’ve finished the entire season in one day too had it not been for this blasted episode and its demon. 2/5

I think the reason this season of Black Mirror doesn’t slap as hard as it normally does could be due to the built-up anticipation, or it could be due to the fact that BM normally focuses on technology driven narratives which this season has moved away from, or it could be due to the fact that real life has actually gotten so much worse than anything BM could put together. I feel like they’ve also started playing it safe with what they release these days.