Charlie Brooker finally did it. He got bored of the future. For years, we all sat there expecting every new batch of Black Mirror to be a terrifying warning about our iPhones or some VR headset that traps your soul in a digital cookie. Then 2023 happened. When Black Mirror season 6 episodes finally dropped on Netflix, it wasn't exactly what the "tech-is-evil" purists wanted. Honestly, it was better because it was weirder.
Brooker leaned into something he calls Red Mirror. It’s basically him admitting that humans are plenty messed up even without a high-speed internet connection. Instead of just shiny chrome dystopias, we got werewolves, 1970s demons, and a very aggressive parody of Netflix itself. It felt less like a lecture on screen time and more like a fever dream about how much we love to watch people suffer for "content."
If you're looking for the breakdown of what actually went down in these five stories, here is the reality of the season that traded silicon for skin.
Joan Is Awful: The Episode That Bit the Hand That Feeds
The season opener, Joan Is Awful, is probably the most "classic" Black Mirror concept of the bunch, but with a meta twist that feels like a legal nightmare for Netflix's PR department. Annie Murphy plays Joan, a middle-manager who finds out her entire life is being turned into a prestige drama in real-time on a streamer called Streamberry.
Basically, she signed a Terms and Conditions agreement without reading it. We've all done it. But for Joan, it means Salma Hayek is playing her on TV, and everyone she knows is watching her deepest secrets—and her bathroom habits—on their home screens.
Why It Hits Different
It’s not just about AI or deepfakes. It’s about the "quamputer"—a quantum computer that generates these shows instantly. The episode features a hilarious, slightly unhinged performance by Michael Cera as the guy running the machine. The real gut punch? The show reveals that "awful" content sells better than "nice" content because humans are naturally drawn to the mess. It's a direct shot at our binge-watching habits.
Loch Henry and the Filthy Truth of True Crime
Then we get Loch Henry. This one is dark. It follows Davis (Samuel Blenkin) and Pia (Myha'la Herrold), two film students who head to a sleepy Scottish town to film a nature doc about rare eggs. Boring, right?
Pia thinks so too. She convinces Davis to pivot to a "juicy" true crime story about a local serial killer named Iain Adair. What starts as a quest for a BAFTA ends up destroying lives.
- The Setting: Dreary, rainy, and filled with old VHS tapes.
- The Twist: It’s one of those endings that makes you want to take a long, cold shower.
- The Commentary: It asks why we find real-life murder so "entertaining." By the time the credits roll, the "win" feels like a massive loss.
Davis gets his trophy, but he loses his soul. It’s a brutal look at how we package tragedy for a Friday night stream.
Beyond the Sea: A 1960s Tragedy in Space
This is the long one. Beyond the Sea stars Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett as two astronauts on a mission in an alternate 1969. They aren't just floating in a tin can; they have "replicas" back on Earth—robotic bodies they can beam their consciousness into to spend time with their families.
It’s a beautiful, slow-burn tragedy. When David’s (Hartnett) family is murdered by a cult that hates "unnatural" replicas, Cliff (Paul) lets David use his replica to get some fresh air. Big mistake.
Josh Hartnett is genuinely terrifying here. He plays a man who has lost everything and starts to covet his friend's life with a quiet, simmering rage. It’s not about the tech failing. The tech works perfectly. It’s the human heart that breaks the system. The ending is abrupt, cold, and classic Brooker. No one wins.
The "Red Mirror" Experiment: Mazey Day and Demon 79
The last two episodes are where the show really departed from its roots.
Mazey Day is the shortest and, according to most fans on Reddit, the most controversial. Set in the early 2000s (think iPod minis and paparazzi), it follows Bo (Zazie Beetz), a photographer trying to hunt down a starlet who has gone into hiding. You think it's a commentary on the death of privacy. Then, it turns into a creature feature.
Yeah, there's a werewolf.
It’s a "Red Mirror" story, meaning it’s straight-up horror. While some people hated the supernatural shift, the final shot of the camera flash is a perfect, cynical bow on the idea that we will document anything for a paycheck, even a monster.
Demon 79: The Dark Horse Favorite
The season finale, Demon 79, is arguably the best of the lot. Set in 1979 Northern England, it stars Anjana Vasan as Nida, a shoe sales assistant who accidentally summons a demon named Gaap (Paapa Essiedu).
Gaap looks like a member of Boney M. because Nida finds him attractive. He tells her she has to kill three people in three days or the world ends in a nuclear apocalypse. It’s funny, stylish, and weirdly heart-warming in a "let’s watch the world burn" kind of way. It deals with racism and the rise of far-right politics (the "Britannia Party") without being a boring PSA.
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What This Means for the Future of the Show
People keep asking: is Black Mirror still sci-fi?
Not really. Not exclusively. By including Black Mirror season 6 episodes that focus on the past or the supernatural, Charlie Brooker has widened the "mirror." He’s showing us that the "black mirror" isn't just a TV screen or a phone; it's any surface that reflects our worst impulses back at us.
If you’re planning a rewatch, don't look for the "message" about your phone. Look for the message about why you're watching the show in the first place.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Watch:
- Watch the backgrounds in Joan Is Awful: The Streamberry home screen is packed with Easter eggs from old episodes like "The National Anthem" and "San Junipero."
- Pay attention to the music: The recurring song "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" pops up again, linking the season to the wider universe.
- Don't skip the "Red Mirror" label: If you see that title card, expect ghosts or monsters, not gadgets.
- Loch Henry demands a second viewing: Once you know the twist, every interaction Davis has with his mother (Monica Dolan) feels ten times more sinister.
The show is evolving. It’s messier, more human, and a lot less predictable than it was during the "social credit score" era. That might be exactly what it needed to survive.