Ranking All 5 Episodes of Black Mirror Season 6

Welcome to the Hog’s power rankings of “Black Mirror” Season 6. I’m going to give an honest review and write it up with few spoilers so that everybody can read this. As a whole, I thought it was another successful season. The UK’s witty humor is flowing off the charts while still involving some seriously horrific plot twists. My hot take is that next season should be their final. I hope they take a long look at themselves and realize that they have been pure this whole time or that it is time to call it quits after another okay season. I feel like I’m losing the meal but getting more champagne and appetizers. I appreciate the “woke” or self-aware spin on some of these episodes and how the dark humor mixes into tough mixtures regardless of how you look at it. Dark will be dark, but the funny is only funny if you laugh. Let’s not forget what got us here – it was constant shots in the dark with 200% commitment in the writing, alongside unique storylines with sci-fi twists.

1. Loch Henry

Holy s###! What an episode! Combine all those murder mystery podcasts you’ve ever heard of and put it into a very creative story with a massive plot twist at the end. This is a great example of how the layered conversations are so ingrained that the foreshadowing is screaming at you. It hits you with every scene. Just as a special reward they go back and re-run some of the quotes to really hammer home what is happening and what you could have missed. I loved how it was kind of a game to figure out what you can while watching it play out. The only negative thing I can see from this episode is the language for viewers outside of the UK. We are talking with very heavy English accents, with some Irish as well. It is tough to keep up, but man the synonyms they use are hilarious. I recommend subtitles the first time and then re-watch without. Once again, I don’t wanna get into the specifics and ruin this episode, but the actors used in this were expertly casted. I have never seen any of them before except for one, and it was a beautiful sight to see John Hannah from Spartacus.

2. Demon 79

I’m really shocked at how long this episode is because I felt like it was 30-40 minutes long. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen some comparisons to Death Note, a Netflix anime remake. But the ghost/evil pretense was pretty awesome and a solid rendition to a chaotic outlook. The Talisman, pretty stylish and cool, had me laughing when it switched to a domino. I love how this episode puts you in that situation with “Would you do the same thing to save the world?” Next you ask “Is it worth saving?”. The morality levels are off the charts with this one, I’ve rewatched this one the most as it’s just funny on the buildup and breakdown and what “must” be done to save the world. The British elect becoming an English Adolf would have been a crazy spin, but I see why they limited it to certain visions and deep outlooks while limiting the actual projections on screen. I loved the story arc of this and enjoyed the similarities I’ve seen in other flicks. This episode was very thoughtful and should get most viewers asking themselves and their friends what they would do. The whole time I kept thinking this was an English Childish Gambino as the demon friend.

3. Joan is Awful

Talk about an Inception-esque episode with the layering of realities. Very smart and witty, especially since it’s a direct play at Netflix. I remember the days when we were worried about Apple products and the fine print, but this episode shows us we are never safe in this stream-based world. Joan, who is portrayed by Salma Hayek, has her existence basically streamed on Streamberry without her knowledge or authorization. Salma Hayek’s role in all of this is pretty funny since she is mixed with herself in real life and on film as an actor. As clever as it is making fun of Netflix and its Streamberry product, it’s heavily repeated in this episode which is necessary for the storyline but exhausting to me. As wickedly funny as it was to witness a person’s life not only crumble, but to do so while on national broadcast is very creative. As is the eventual alliance between Salma and Joan to take down the evil and intrusive “Netflix” company. I don’t understand destroying the machine at the end if she was a copy and the original had already done it. I guess her life was pretty much over at that point since she had opened a massive wormhole in her reality that she couldn’t recover from. To me this seemed like it was probably a fun episode to be involved with in terms of making and creating it. It was fun watching and it was pretty clever to put it first.

4. Mazey Day

Quality. This was a solid storyline where people can sit back and enjoy a quirky take on the Hollywood lifestyle featuring the paparazzi. I personally would have loved the tale if Bo (Zazie Beetz) became the monster or aggressor and kind of defender for the rich because of how ironic that would have been. Although Mazey Day (Clara Rugaard) being the monster fit the storyline nicely. The Doctor, Dimitri Babich, looking like an evil doctor with a dark aura was nailed perfectly. The ending was just sitting there taking a dramatic blow for blow on how it had to play out. The pictures needed to be taken and she had to go down after what destruction Mazey wrecked in her new form. I had to smirk, as a big movie guy, at how the flash at the end was the camera and not the gun which is usually the ending we’ve witnessed in other similar scenarios. A good story but not one Black Mirror should be telling. Just too much weirdness for an easy layup that should be an episode on handling the paparazzi.

5. Beyond the Sea

Awkward for me and in the weirdest way. So much hope in the early stages of this episode only to be dashed with the slow developing plot and awkward ending. That’s probably the best way to sum this episode up – awkward. It featured two of the most famous actors to hit the screen, Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett, and it just felt like they relied so much on their shine to cover all the flat parts this episode had. The first act literally had the wildest scene and the most action. The rest felt drawn out with little room for surprises but there was so much potential, especially how they drew it towards the Manson murders on the styling and characterizations. I thought they should have sent the replicas into space and it would have been the same function if not for more dramatic purposes. I don’t hate it at all. I felt like Aaron Paul could have been the winner in this one. Not a lot of roles result in him being the winner so it would have been cool to see him come out on top in a victorious manner through all the effort he gave with his sincere intentions to help his friend out. There is extra darkness in this episode as you are left wondering what’s next for them. I really feel like I was left out of their big goal and what they were trying to do. Seems like they watched that movie with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio and thought let’s expand on the Manson murder part but with a space station where two humans run the whole thing and “live” through replicas that nobody else has.