Black Mirror season 6 is the scariest yet: review

dirty: if I were black mirror A fan — or even just an occasional viewer of Charlie Brooker’s Emmy Award-winning anthology series — you’re familiar with the emotional journey of watching any episode of your newest: Well, what is it?followed by Oh, so is this the twist?followed by Oh yeah, this is a twist!followed by Oh no, now that you know the turn, what will happen to these poor people?

This is because, like SNL As a diagram, figuring out “the game” is a huge aspect of the game black mirror experiment, and Season 6 is more devoted to this idea than ever (as evidenced by the rigorous list of things critics were told not to spoil beforehand). Another huge aspect of black mirror However, the experience is a variety of genres and tones across each new batch of episodes – Season 6 certainly features that kind of spread, so let’s discuss each episode individually, before considering the season as a whole…

“Awful Joan”: Easily the deadliest episode black mirror Yet Joan Is Awful explores the state of streaming media today through the lens of the titular Joan (Annie Murphy), an ordinary woman living an ordinary life… until she discovers that a streaming service has launched a new TV show that (heh) reflects her life to a shocking degree. , albeit much better.

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There’s a lot to unpack about what this episode has to say and, by extension, about the kinds of shows we see coming up on services just like Netflix “Streamberry” (the world’s live streaming of the show – which you can explore on the Netflix homepage now). Perhaps the most genius element of “Joan Is Awful” is its casting, though some of it may not properly appreciate it until the end credits. It’s easily the season’s most star-heavy ensemble, for good reason.

Loch Henry: Increasingly ridiculous, the season turns into a somewhat still but more terrifying sequel, as a young man (Samuel Blinken) and his girlfriend (Mihala Herold) return to their village to make a documentary on a single topic… only to discover a more interesting subject in a notorious serial killer. locally.

since black mirror Moving from UK TV to a Netflix production, the show has done its best to keep the global audience in mind while making sure that at least one or two episodes per season are deeply rooted in some of the core British characters. “Loch Henry” is a big part of that tradition, a classic example of small-town British murder drama, with a love at its heart for old-school video technology.

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Black Mirror (Netflix)