Spoiler Warning: This article discusses certain episodes of Black Mirror Season 6.
It has been four years since the release of Season 5 of Black Mirror, and Season 6 sees one of the most star-studded casts yet. The show functions as a modern day Twilight Zone, and rifts off of future technology as a crux to its plot. Some episodes show the benefits of the Black Mirror universe’s advancements, but others show the darkest points of humanity.
Black Mirror Season 6 showcases five new episodes, all documenting different scenarios in which both the future and the truth are questioned. Yet the most alluring aspect of Black Mirror isn’t just how well the episodes are shot, but how close current technology is to producing some of the show’s most advanced mechanisms.
Streamberry Satire
Black Mirror has always been a series that emphasizes the plot by subverting expectations. Each episode is layered, and each scene divulges more information to the viewer than the last. Season 6’s first episode, “Joan is Awful,” introduces what may be the most plausible technology to date. Sure, there is some flair for drama’s sake, but the idea that an actor can license out their image rather than actually appear on-set isn’t exactly too far-fetched.
The episode is a multiverse, and the one the audience perceives to be real features Annie Murphy as Joan. Joan’s life has been turned into a drama series for the streaming service Streamberry, and new uploads circulate daily. The ultra meta concept shows Joan watching the events of her day play out on screen, as portrayed by Salma Hayek, until she just can’t take it anymore. The episodes pinpoints where the advancements in AI technology can go in the film industry.
Black Mirror Season 6’s most curious notion is that it seems to be past-centric. The past five seasons of Black Mirror have plotted themselves in distant futures in which scientific advancement has even created an option to cheat death. Season 3’s “San Juniper,” arguably one of the best epsiodes of Black Mirror, flashes to 80s and 90s worlds, but they are a mere simulation.
“Striking Vipers,” the premiere episode for Season 5, is another idea that isn’t exactly the most far-fetched plot reach. Two friends find themselves in a future where their favorite video game offers a different platform. The new feature includes a virtual reality head set which transports the player into the game. The game is modeled after Mortal Kombat, where the two players must fight to the death. Virtual reality is one of the most realistic gaming platforms on the market, and it may only be a matter of time until they find a way to connect the physicality to the sight.
Robots and Retrospect
The much anticipated Black Mirror episode featuring Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett, “Beyond the Sea,” recreates an alternate timeline in the 1960s, where astronauts on a mission in space can mentally transport back down to Earth. The bodies in which the astronauts inhabit are entirely their own, and were created before the mission began. The technology allows the men to return home to their families, not only to maintain their lives, but also create mental stability for the years left on the mission.
This changes for Hartnett’s character, David, when a group of anti-science activists break into his home to murder his family and destroy his Earthly counterpart. David slowly descends into madness until Cliff (Aaron Paul) offers him the opportunity to use his avatar on Earth. This becomes problematic when David begins to pursue Cliff’s wife, but it all comes to a tragic ending when David murders Cliff’s family. According to Digital Spy, Charlie Brooker’s “Beyond the Sea” was inspired by the COVID-19 Pandemic. He notes that David displays the transcendence into the social distancing era throughout the episode.
Much like Season 2’s episode, entitled “Be Right Back,” where a widow assumes an AI replica of her dead husband’s body, “Beyond the Sea” begs a very similar question. Is it possible for someone’s body to exist in real time, but their mind be elsewhere? The answer seems to be both yes and no depending on who you ask. Unlike the zany horror comedy Tammy and the Teenage T-Rex, where a young teenage boy’s brain is stolen and inserted into a animitronic T-Rex, Black Mirror is much more subtle. According to AI Plus Info, it is completely plausible for AI to learn and simulate the human brain. What does that mean for the future? Will human’s eventually be able to live forever? These are some of the few subtle suggestions Brooker laces into his plots.
The Future of Black Mirror
A natural instinct when finishing any gripping series is to find out what is yet to come. Season 6 of Black Mirror introduced viewers to alternate pasts, plausible presents, and took a swing at true crime. Hell, there was even a werewolf thrown in to spice things up. Overall, this season came back with a bang and was darker than ever. Black Mirror is one of Netflix’s biggest shows, but has yet to confirm whether or not it has been renewed for a seventh season. In the meantime, if you’re itching for more doomsday bliss, Netflix’s selection of sci-fi TV shows should be more than enough to scratch that itch.
