Demon79 didn’t feel like a Black Mirror episode, but I did like it. Felt like it had potential to be its own standalone series

In the credits of Demon '79 it says a 'Red Mirror' production. Charlie Brooker said he hopes to do more Red Mirror episodes focused more on the supernatural than on tech. The 70's look was so well done, I was 10 in 1979 and watching it was like time travelling! The actress who plays Nida is also in the fourth series of Killing Eve.

I will not accept any demon79 slander. Wasn’t black mirror but was a lot of fun and I loved it

Mazey Day felt like something written by Hollywood stars for Hollywood stars. It feels like a personal grievance being aired out with an insane twist and extremely heavy-handed message.

Loch Henry gave me the feeling I expect from Black Mirror. Those twists that hit you harder than you expect, and leave you stunned. It was definitely more horror than sci-fi, but exactly how I'd want a 'Red Mirror' . I thought Mazey Day and Demon 79 felt like rejected American Horror Stories script

Wait, how do you recognize Dahmer, but don't realize the California cult is a reference to Manson and his followers?

I also think it’s important to talk about the British vs American approach to black mirror as we can see that once it switched over to being primarily American produced, that’s when the critiques of “quality dropping” started coming in. I’m American, but the appeal with British television is that it tends to be comfortable with bleakness and slow burn in the topics that it is exploring. American television is not the same. We almost always need some sort of pomp and circus and a resolve at the end (mostly a happy ending). But that doesn’t fit with Black Mirror. And that’s why seasons 4-5 were so weird. In this season, it seemed like they were trying to find the interplay between the original seasons with episodes like Loch Henry & Beyond the Sea while not entirely wanting to commit all the way. Also wtf is up the supernatural elements??? I actually really liked Demon 79 but it doesn’t fit with Black Mirror at all. Wish it was in a horror/supernatural anthology instead. Also on that note, I sort of disagree that the actors from the original seasons were largely unknown. They were pretty popular actors in the UK, but their popularity wasn’t transportable to US audiences. Even Kaluuya had a base in the UK already, but his episode was pre-Get Out, Black Panther, and Queen and Slim which landed him more international fame.

"Because she is a werewolf" I can honestly say I did not see that coming

I think society has got so screwed up so quickly over the last couple of years that Joan is Awful would probably have been received way better 3 years ago. Yes, it was predictable but I give plenty points for its comedic value.

I loved Loch Henry even though I thought it was predictable. I actually enjoyed all the episodes even if they didn't always hit the mark.

I think Beyond the Sea could be an analogy for depression as well. Men are alone in their own minds and sometimes annihilate their families out of fear of losing them. The psycho friend could represent deranged psychosis.

I loved Demon 79, it didn’t feel like a Black Mirror episode but it still worked for me. I did watch it high so maybe that did enhance the experience, but the 2 leads were just amazing and I thought it got deep without hitting you over the head with the sentiments it was trying to convey. The stylistic choices were brave and they payed off, I wouldn’t mind if Black Mirror threw in a few less technology focused episodes every once in a while in this style

I don't understand why you would say that the show before was about "tech bad" and just now became about "human nature bad". The show has been about human nature and etics since the very first episode (which is not tech driven at all btw). it has always been about "human nature bad" with tech being just a device to explore that

The cult stuff in Beyond the Sea is an alternate universe version of the Manson Family killings, which also happened in 1969 and there are homages to it in the episode Valley of the Dolls is being read by Rooney Mara, which was adapted into the film that sparked Sharon Tate’s career, as she was the real world victim of the Manson Family.

My ranking having only seen everything once is that “Demon 79” was my favorite episode (JiA and Loch Henry were other faves). There was something so interesting about trying to decipher whether Nida was hallucinating or actually doing her “job” to save the world right up until the end. Then having her walk into oblivion with the ONLY person/demon she truly connected with (on a platonic level) while leaving her cold world behind was great. They clearly were trying to depart from the norm with the “Red Mirror Productions” label/stylistic choices. So glad the consensus was that “Mazey Day” was the worst. Love my girl, Zazie but this one was NOT IT.

If you're able, I would definitely recommend Inside No. 9 if you're able to watch. It's also an anthology, mostly horror series which touches on human nature in some way in every episode. The genres are a lot more varied so the episodes can be a bit more "this is/isn't for me" but there are some great ones. It's also very British!

Black Mirror was never the same after going to Netflix. Those series that initially aired on Channel 4 were so dark and gritty, but now everything is a bit too polished. I didn’t particularly enjoy any of the latest episodes apart from Beyond The Sea, which had an interesting concept despite making no sense (why would you not just send the robots to space instead?). Highly recommend another British dark comedy/horror series called Inside No 9. Not as horrific as Black Mirror.

The actor from Demon 79, Paapa Essiedu, is really good, fell in love with him when he starred in I May Destroy You and was a good sport in the movie Men (as much as I hate the way it got executed story wise)

As a Brit I have had the priviledge to grow up with Charlie Brooker's writing in many forms so a lot of this season of Black Mirror wasn't a huge surprise to me. He has dabbled with supernatural horror stuff before, such as his channel 4 series 'Dead Set' (think Big brother but a zombie apocalypse happens & the housemates don't know till it's far too late). I do agree that 'Mazey Day' was the weakest of the episodes & that 'Beyond the Sea' did drag on a bit but wow Aaron Paul knocked it out of the park! As a Northerner who is also a minority, the last episode of the season 'Demon 79' sometimes had me fuming at the level of discrimination that was sadly appropriate for the era. I must admit I was rooting for Nida to take out the Tory scum from the moment the demon popped up & said she needed to kill. There was certainly a lot of shade aimed at the modern day Tory party in this episode (which I liked quite a lot) that maybe non-Brits wouldn't pick up on as easily. Plus her name was Nida Hug & aww she really did. I very much enjoyed all the easter eggs in this season that referred back to earlier episodes, be it the song from 'Fifteen Million Merits', a sticker of Waldo from 'The Waldo Moment' or the mention of project Junipero from 'San Junipero' etc. I do miss the over all 'tech is evil' theme but I still enjoyed this season as a whole. Kayla I loved the story of your Grandad asking what you have got him to watch due to the first episode having the PM have s*x with a pig on live TV (irony is of course that years after this episode aired, the PM at the time David Cameron actually was outed as having performed similar acts with a pigs head while at university. The kismet was glorious). Great vid!

I think you misunderstand episode 1. The fact that it was so over the top was annoying to me at first, but it's a netflix show, dramatised and written by an AI who makes everything more extreme. Everyone is talking about it the way they are is to exagerate what happened. Genius writing.

To me the cult reference made a lot of sense, because in that time period cults were really on the rise, especially in the US. And it would have made a lot of sense during that time if the Replicas were an actual thing, that some people would have seen it as an atrocity against nature, and that some of those people would have taken it even further (doing exactly what happened). I didnt take it as a specific reference to like the Manson murders, or anyone/cult in particular, more just a believable and natural occurrence for the time period. Nowadays technology is all around us and ever increasing and encroaching... but back then even for an alternate timeline, tech especially where you put a human consciousness into a machine and it can walk around just like any other human.... yeah I could see people losing their minds over how unnatural it is 😅 But yeah.... this season, while better to me than S5, was pretty disappointing overall. Oddly i think i would have liked a couple of them more, if they weren't packaged as Black Mirror, if that makes sense? Lol.

I was pretty baked while I watched demon 79 and I really enjoyed it it really didn't feel like black mirror more like a buddy cop show about murders but it was just so bizarre and oddly charming and fun for a story about murder and racism I also loved the ending overall a solid 6 probably my second favourite episode this season after loch Henry

This is a great breakdown. Thank you for the hardwork!

I agree with your analysis about Lock Head. It really felt like a "return to form" of the glory days of Black Mirror & I felt like it perfectly commented on the issues of exploitative true crime dramas without being heavy handed (*cough* Mayzee Day *cough*)

Can someone plz just tell me why the fuck didn’t they just send the replicas to space they would cut the costs by a fucking much or better send robots that they can control

I'm a massive Philomena Cunk stan, have been for like 5 years now, and would recommend Cunk on Earth, Britain, Shakespeare etc. and all moments of wonder shorts to anyone. that's the Charlie Brooker media I tend to prefer, though I've also seen bits and pieces of his other stuff. I've only seen the pig episode of Black Mirror, but I've always considered checking it out again, but have yet to do so. This may be the reason I give it another look.

It’s sad to see that people watched black mirror in the complete wrong order and will never understand why you NEED to watch Black mirror backwards it makes WAY more sense chronologically

I liked Beyond the Sea the best for the acting but I agree that a lot of it has issues. I had no issues with the pacing because I like slow character and relationship studies, but I didn't like the cult subplot either. I know it was meant to reference the Manson murders which just makes me wonder if the Manson murder/cult hysteria of the late 60s was the only reason why it was set in the late 60s (and I guess the space race of that era) but at the same time I think it would have been fine to set the story in any era. And also I was really uncomfortable with yet another reference to the Sharon Tate-Manson murders. I actually could have this be longer because I personally hated the ending and wanted it to have more slow character study that was less shock value. Agree that Loch Henry surprised me the most, and decent commentary. Last bit with the BAFTAs.... I'm not sure about it either. Didn't really like the rest of the episodes, too on the nose.

Interesting how you mentioned BTS as focusing more on human nature than tech when I would argue that human nature first + tech second is the entire thesis of the show and has been prevalent in many eps including Shut Up and Dance as well as Crocodile.

you earned my sub, good video!

I could watch a whole stand-alone show of Demon 79. It reminded me of Death note.

I felt the same about Joan is Awful. I don’t get the praise, it was so predictable, the existential part of it was highly rushed, and it was not funny at all to me. It was a fine watch but not what I was expecting or wanting. Soooo on the nose. I agree with you, it’s stupid.

I was wondering the same thing about the first episode, why doesn't she consider getting rid of her mobile phone? Or switching it off and placing it somewhere. Sure they could bring some comment about her being addicted to her mobile phone (like we all are), but she doesn't even consider it as a solution, before shitting in a church.

them using supermassive black hole aka the song i can’t help but associate with twilight and then hitting us with that insane plot twist was kinda hilarious. same opinions! loch henry was absolutely my fave, and i liked beyond the sea as well (i thought the cult stuff fit really well imo!)...the others....eh. the national anthem is in my top 5, ngl. nothing will beat finally deciding to start black mirror and running headfirst into THAT. peak tv.

OH MY GOODNESS WE HAVE THE SAME FAVOURITE EPISODES This season lock Henry really broke me down. My heart broke for Pia and I didn't see the ending being the way it was. I legit was on the phone with my friend shocked at each turn

So glad Loch Henry is getting her flowers from you! Genuinely underrated because it doesn’t have a tech angle but imo Black Mirror is at it’s best focusing on relationships.

I think people look into it too much. The gripes y’all have with some of the episodes are what make the episodes flow. If they really did what you guys complain about would you have a show? Perfect example with “joan is awful” y’all keep saying she could of turned off her phone. But to be honest would any of you? We are all attached to our phones. We actually need our phones. Especially us married people or people who have children. People in general. That’s how we communicate. Y’all expect her to get rid of her phone and only communicate through email? And most importantly it’s a TV SHOW. Of course it’s gonna have its plot holes and things of such. There are plot holes in season 1 as well. Is this season my favorite? No. But is it the worse? No. It’s not like BM is now putting out bad product. It’s a anthology. So you can be creative as you want. I believe it actually gives writers and directors freedom to have fun. Not every episode has to have some super deep meaning that we have to reflect on. Sometimes they can just go crazy and make something they’ve always wanted. Just my opinion

Exactly, thank you

i actually rlly liked this season, I felt like brooker already made episodes that are more relevant today, and doing episodes like them again would be redundant. i really liked the change of pace and, very unpopular opinion, i enjoyed mazey day lmao. it was kinda nice having a break from tech episodes. I feel like ones u can watch to feel that relevance are: Nosedive, Be Right Back, White Bear, Loch Henry, USS Callister (regarding workplace stuff), San Junipero, and maybe some others i'm missing. i also feel like joan is awful is still relevant, even more so considering loch henry and all the docu-series as well as misguiding docu-series (cough cough cleopatra)

all valid points!!

also loch henry was also my favorite. watched the demon one drunk.. felt so many emotions

I am with you on episode one, it turned me off so much because it was too on the nose and meta; instead of being clever and thrilling, it felt like a weird way to get 50 cameos.

One thing that sort of but not really didn't make sense to me in Beyond the Sea was why they didn't send the replicas to space and keep the human bodies on Earth. It seems far more logical at first glance but I think the reason has to do with maintenance and upkeep. We never saw ANY kind of organization that was responsible for them being in space or for the replicas. Like when the painter guy gets his family killed and his replica destroyed, you would think whatever company behind it would at the very least, contact the men. But we hear nothing from anyone so idk what happened. It might be a situation where the men are unaware but the company view them as a disposable trial test for the replicas. That they won't step in no matter what happens to them.

Demon79 should be it's own show

I feel like as a whole there are topics and elements that feel like it is part of that black mirror vibe but the whole season felt like a different show

Ashley Too was Disney Channel !! idc

In beyond the sea the scene where David's family was killed you can sea the white bear symbol so ig that's why they did it like that plus cults are kinda weird spooky even if there wasn't an easter egg i like it like that

Nice this saved me like five hours 👍

your grandpa and i holding the same trauma of watching the first episode of black mirror when watching BM for the first time 🤡🤡🤡

demon 79 is actually a red mirror episode and I'm here for all of it. I hope they'll make alpt more red mirror eps 🙏🤞 as far as joan is awful goes, when the director of streamberry or Michael c3ra says "we don't jknow how this worls it's basically magic" hit a nerve. at the pace tech is going forward and shaping our lives, by the time we're 80 we might say the same 😅 and as far as mazey day goes, I had anger towards those paparazzi and also thought of how scary it must be to be even a yt well known figure and be stalked around by randos ... so I think it hit it's mark imo

I interpreted the whole cult thing in beyond the sea to more place us in the late 60's and tie into the whole anti-technology counterculture of the time while evoking figures like Charles Manson

I really like your arguments for Loch Henry. I just was so disappointed that I guessed the mother was crazy. So there was no pay off for me at the end.

the cult thing felt like a charles manson reference almost

I was watching Demon 79 high as a kite. It was AWESOME. It's one of my favorite episodes, i still cant process it but i can identify with Nida in the way she feels as a stranger everywhere. And then i was SO HAPPY that she was right, and like... living eternal nothingness with someone who knows all the bad parts of you and don't judge you, from Nida's perspective (living like a robot and enduring violence and racism without reacting) is better than anything. I think she felt seen for the first time in her life.

Makes sense you didn't love Joan is Awful if your fav is White Bear. White bear is like shut up and dance or crocodile for me. Nonstop, inescapable anxiety. PASS. My favorite is U.S.S. Calister. So Joan is Awful was my cup of tea.

i was stoned for my binge watch of s6 and i fell asleep after demon79, not much to comment on the actual experience of the episode but i did have extremely vivid dreams of the world ending!

Watching demon 79 under the influence of grass was like a round of bumper cars. Because tone visual and pacing were everything. But very cool

Charlie said he feels like he’s done the earlier seasons and doesn’t want new episodes to be redundant and stale. He said in S6, Beyond the Sea is his favorite episode. Hope he continues with the psychological explorations.

Very relevant.

Beyond the Sea IS a character study. IMO it’s what makes this episode far and away the best in S6. Slow burn? It takes its time to let us see into these characters and experience that niggling fear that in isolation we might have the same behaviors. It was written during the lockdown! I guess you’re too young or a little lazy on history not to realize the story takes place in the 60s when Manson-style cults were societally threatening. I love the subtle sci-fi references: The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land, books that David reads and picks out for Lana. This episode won some nominations for awards and most recently a win from the PGA. All three performances are outstanding. Charlie says this episode is his favorite and feels it’s a step forward, away from his earlier work. I say Amen to that!

Your comments are right in the pocket. I do however, need to give the season a second viewing

I guess this season of Black Mirror is trying to be Inside No 9 with all the unexpected supernatural elements

…. Mazey Day was my fav. 😆 Also the cult was of the time. Charles Mansons cult happened in the 60’s, also ties in with the “Satanic Panic” of the 80s.

I LOVED demon 79, brilliant left turn for the show for sure, and after some of your thoughts, I definitely agree with some of your takes on Joan Is Awful, ending was great, middle was rushed, could’ve benefited from seeing more of her doing some dumb shit instead of cutting to the actor being in her house pissed so much.

I agree with the "high impact" aspect of Black Mirror!! I mean, anything technology-related occurrence in real life, I always equate it to *"we're living in a Black Mirror episode."*

my best friend and I watched Demon 79 high as hell and thought it was a laugh riot that would occasionally get really dark 😅

Watched Demon 79 high and loved the whole vibe, it felt like a dark buddy comedy, the ending was perfect imo, not very black mirror-esq true, but it was so much fun I really didn't mind.

smoked 3 bowls and watched demon '79... i was terrified

I watched the finale after smoking some weed lol. I enjoyed it as it’s own story, but it definitely didn’t feel like black mirror to me since it really had nothing to do with technology

Please please pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase make a Bandersnatch episode! Omg!

Love your review and you just gained a new fan. Jane is awful was okay, the way everyone is talking about it it so funny to me, like you said it feels rushed and way to in touched with today. Loch Henry was everything from the tone to the story line is was easily best top 5 black mirror episode for me. Beyond the sea was 50/50 for me, like you said very predictable but yet a slow burn. Maze day was pretty good to watch 🤣 and I’ll leave it there. But I did take the episode kinda made you think who were the real wolves was it the paparazzi or was it maze. Demon 79 was very interesting and a fun spin for black mirror to have in its catalog. Overall I love you review.

I just like your videos too much so I willingly spoiled myself. (only skipped the part about the episode you said was the best)

mazey day is so weird in a “why is this something that was made?/why is this a black mirror episode specifically?” way. like you said, it’s so hollow thematically that the actual content of the episode is barely worth discussing. when i finished it, my only thoughts were 1. that was fucking dumb 2. why the actual fuck is there a werewolf episode of black mirror it’s also an example of something i despise in media which is when the only value and interest comes from some batshit plot twist. i’ve always thought that if spoiling something makes it not worth watching, it probably wasn’t worth watching to begin with

This season had more horror elements rather than sci-fi. I loved it

Absolutely loved Joan and Demon 79.

the reason why I didn't mind the cult plot line is because you can totally hear all the nut jobs centralized in one voice, pushing for "the natural order".

could they have like... purposely made mazey day bad to get people to talk about it? Idk to me there is no way the creators thought this episode would do well with people? im starting to think they made it ridiculous on purpose lol

If you liked Demon79 you might like 'Inside No. 9' and 'Misfits' and maybe 'Being Human'

Demon 79 was far and away my favorite episode of the season, even if it didn’t stick to the show’s theme. That’s usually a down point for me too, but honestly, the only other one I really liked was Loch Henry, so maybe the show would be better if they did go outside of the theme more often. Joan Is Awful was okay, I enjoyed the meta-ness of it and Annie Murphy’s performance, but I was so bored during the other two. Beyond the Sea was the most disappointing imo- I called what was going to happen as soon as Josh Hartnett’s replica was destroyed, and I just think they could have done SO much more with the concept because it’s really cool.

I love your voice

I wasn't sure why I didn't resonate with Joan is Awful but you nailed it.

some episodes feel more like Love, Death and Robots than Black Mirror

The last episode felt more like something from Atlanta season 3

I think some of the episodes in these past couple of seasons will gain more fans as time goes on as they are solid pieces of television and i personally like that Black Mirror tries new things. However i do agree that just like you need the light with the shade, you still need real shade with the light; Black Mirror could use a few more of the classic gut-punching satire kind of episodes again. To talk about things that are difficult to talk about and take the risk of having a bit more anger and bite. It could be more in the "Red Mirror" not about technology way, as I thought that episode was great, but i think the writers need to have the courage of their convictions and not pull too many punches.

The topics that Joan is Awful comments on is interesting with AI deepfakes and negativity driven media getting more engagement. In another video I'm watching its said that people feel negative emotions more intensely then positive emotions EDIT: Also to add Demon 78 is actually a backdoor pilot to a retro horror themed Companion series which is why it's under the Red Mirror label. Which I hope it gets made Also the actor who plays Gaap is Paapa Essiedu. I've seen him in Black Earth Rising in a minor role and he had a main character role in I May Destroy You

I think the first episode of the new season is the best I’ve seen in years

Here's my review of Black Mirror Season 6: Joan is Awful - TOTAL Black Mirror vibe, worth a re-watch. (Also: It's the one show where famous stars acting in it as themselves is crucial to the story. Note that "Source Joan" was not a famous star but an ordinary extra.) Loch Henry - Fun little True Crime parody that has a good twist. Explores the "nice normal-seeming people may have dark secrets" angle. Beyond the Sea - [Spoiler Alert] Unexplained consciousness transfer tech in 1969 (WTF?). It's the longest show, definitely could be just half time. (Tip: speed it up.) Interesting parody of astronaut + robot tech shows, which considers the moral question of "Should a machine that looks like a human exist?", "Is it cheating if I'm fucking a machine that looks like my husband?" and "Is it cheating if I'm fucking another man in a machine that looks like my husband?". In a way this is black-mirror-ish, but not quite, because the tech doesn't exist in today's world. It's more of a hypothetical black mirror. The following two aren't really what I understand "Black Mirror" to be. But still, one is worth the watch (if you like to laugh), while the other belongs in the trash bin. Mazey Day - SKIP IT. Stupid Twilight Saga nonsense. I'm glad it was only 40 minutes, but that's too much time I lost on this. Demon 79 - Nice vintage horror-comedy. The whole story itself is so dumb and ridiculous that you'll be laughing all the way just at the stupidity of it. And there are some good comedic moments in it that add some extra laugh sprinkles.

Hmmm. Relevance or entertainment? Brooker still wrote all of these episodes remember. I don't know if I would prefer to watch a political satire with a poignant message that falls as serious (The National Anthem), a political satire that seems quirky but tries to make a point (The Waldo Moment), or an out and out depression-filled who gives a .... like Metalhead. Or we could try for a weird dream that has a pointed but deflating ending (Fifteen Million Merits). The series has moved from serious dark satirical irony, to usually serious but sometimes goofy but still ironic in an MTV kind of way storytelling. Translated: it's changed, but so what? Does it really need to be relevant? And relevant to whom? You pick out the ones you like, and you discard the ones you don't. A saving grace is that this series has yet to put out a season that didn't have at least one memorable episode...in my positive spin of what memorable means. I find myself looking back at each previous season and still coming up with the same score card. Whether or not I get that Twilight Zone type of WOW factor.

It bothers me a little when a KZfaqr says “I don’t know this actor/director/writer’s name…” Dude, you can Google it, you aren’t live. You can edit the video and add the name onscreen. Just take a few extra seconds to find out.

I feel the same way about the first episode. Reminds me of the gay video game one they did - it’s just so on the nose it’s not interesting or saying anything new - I feel like they’ve been chasing the high of nosedive for a long time and they just haven’t reached that. When what they need to be chasing is that original episode 😂 I cackled when you brought it up, dang what an IMPACT that episode has

I've only watched the first 3 episodes of the season and I think Beyond The Sea is my favorite, but there is suddenly one detail that bugs me about the episode. David's wife noticed the camper that the cult probably was in and looked freaked out like she might know who it is. And they never did anything more with that?

I really like the point you brought up that maybe the concept of black mirror doesn't really work anymore. Satire on society, specifically about technology and the future world. But they kinda used up all the ideas already.

i liked demon 79, i was confused at the end because where was the tech, what was real, all that, but as i sit ith it, I'm thinking, when the demon showed her things, her eyes blurred the way they do in the entire history of you, and the visions he showed her looked like pov shots sometimes, and because in the future he shows her there are things we know happen, i'd say the apocalypse doesn't happen, so MAYBE, the intro that said black mirror presents a red mirror film, was meant literally, this is a movie in the black mirror universe, something that the characters would would watch, because they would recognize the visions as the chips, or something along those lines, idk, it's just me trying to make sense of it

I feel like mazey day is an in universe movie that would be featured on streamberry

Does snybody else recognize the song from 15 million merits and how it's red herringed in the whole show but it's actually an iPhone ringtone called twinkle?

Your favorites were my least favorites lol, but I am a horror fan and also understand what you mean about how the last 2 episodes didn’t feel like Black Mirror.

I smoked some weed and watched Demon 79. It was pretty sick

i heavily recmoned being stoned for demon 79

Shocked about the werewolf this season. Kinda felt like a jump the shark moment.

The Hippie cult reminded me of the hippie cult in Once upon a time in Hollywood