Black Mirror review: All season six episodes ranked from worst to best

Episodes of Charlie Brooker’s award-winning sci-fi anthology series were last released in 2019

Annie Murphy stars in Joan is Awful, Black Mirror. All photos: Netflix

Joan is Awful tells the story of a woman living a mundane life, who one day sees that a TV show has been adapted from her life

Myha'la Herrold and Samuel Blenkin as Pia and Davis in Loch Henry

Loch Henry is about a couple who find themselves drawn to shocking events of the past while shooting a nature documentary

Aaron Paul stars as an astronaut named Cliff in Beyond the Sea

Josh Hartnett as David, another astronaut in space, in Beyond the Sea

Clara Rugaard plays Mazey Day, a troubled actress who is dealing with the consequences of a hit-and-run

Bo (Zazie Beets) is a member of the paparazzi who is offered $30,000 to get a photo of Mazey

Anjana Vasan as meek sales assistant Nida in Demon 79

Paapa Essiedu plays Gaap in Demon 79

It’s been four years, but Black Mirror is back.

Charlie Brooker’s award-winning sci-fi anthology series has made its long-awaited return with five new episodes as part of season six, now available to stream on Netflix.

The National was given early access to the anticipated new season and it’s safe to say the elements that have made Black Mirror a critically acclaimed, award-winning hit show are back, meaning these five episodes are well worth watching.

Season five was released in 2019 with three episodes and received a lukewarm response at best, but this time around, Brooker and his team have come back with enthralling, entertaining and thought-provoking stories that will resonate with fans of the series.

So for those who want a spoiler-free look, here are the episodes listed from worst to best:

5. Loch Henry

Myha'la Herrold as Pia in Loch Henry. Photo: Netflix

Although there’s nothing wrong with Loch Henry, it does feel like it could be the forgotten episode of season six.

Samuel Blenkin and Myha'la Herrold star as Davis and Pia, a filmmaking couple who travel to Davis’s small remote hometown in Scotland to film a nature documentary but instead find themselves drawn to a local story involving the town and shocking events of the past.

Although Blenkin and Herrold are wonderful in their roles, the episode as a whole felt a bit boring. The run time is only 54 minutes, making it the second shortest of season six, but it felt much longer. This is probably because of how long it takes to build things up to where it finally gets exciting.

Without revealing too much, by the time the final twists are revealed, the shocking blow it was hoping for doesn't really materialise. However, Loch Henry is still a solid episode of the Black Mirror anthology.

4. Mazey Day

Clara Rugaard as Mazey Day in Black Mirror. Photo: Netflix

Mazey Day is a nostalgic episode with ties to the early 2000s, with references to the birth of Suri Cruise, VH1 and the Iraq War. It also feels like its plotline was inspired by celebrity and paparazzi interactions of the time.

The episode begins with Bo (Zazie Beetz), who is a member of the paparazzi, looking for her next big payday. However, unlike her fellow photographers, she feels remorse for the type of work she does.

She’s told that if she can get the first photo of a troubled actress named Mazey Day (Clara Rugaard), she’ll get $30,000 for the shot. Unbeknown to Bo, Mazey is dealing with the consequences of a hit-and-run.

The episode is only 40 minutes long but is well paced. It is also cleverly written, which makes it hard to guess what happens next, equating to quite a memorable episode after revealing its final twist.

3. Beyond the Sea

Josh Hartnett as David in Beyond the Sea. Photo: Netflix

Even though I’ve ranked this episode as the third best, it could easily be at the top of the list for many. Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett star as astronauts Cliff and David, two men who live in an alternate 1969, where they are on a high-tech space mission set to last for six years.

In this universe, they are up in space but have replicas of their physical selves down on Earth. This is so that when they are done with their tasks on the space shuttle, they can “link” to replicas below, allowing them to spend downtime with family and friends.

This episode is the longest at one hour and 20 minutes and feels like a feature film. Despite being set in the past, the use of technology is frightening. Along with superb acting from Paul and Hartnett as well as a well written story, Beyond the Sea is definitely a stand out in the entire series that stays with you long after the end credits roll.

2. Demon 79

Anjana Vasan as Nida in Demon 79. Photo: Netflix

To be honest, I flipped around trying to decide between the next two episodes as I loved both of them despite how vastly different they are.

Demon 79 stars Anjana Vasan as Nida, a meek sales assistant who deals with racism in northern England during the growing National Front movement in 1979. One day while being banished to eat in the basement of her workplace after complaints that her biryani lunch smells too strongly, she awakens something. She is then told she has to commit unspeakable acts to prevent disaster.

The episode is stylistically shot like an Italian giallo film with sharp camera cuts and a jarring musical arrangement. It feels a lot like a mystery-horror film with its hour and 15 minute runtime. Vasan steals the show and is mesmerising as Nida. She also has strong chemistry with Paapa Essiedu, who plays Gaap, an equally entertaining and enthralling character.

Of course, we won’t reveal any spoilers but the ending is typically Black Mirror, leaving us wanting more.

1. Joan is Awful

Annie Murphy in Joan is Awful. Photo: Netflix

This episode feels like the most realistic and that is why it’s my favourite. In Joan is Awful, Annie Murphy plays the titular character, an average woman living a mundane life.

Joan is a team leader at her company and begins her day by firing an employee before later going into a therapy session that offers more insight into her life. She shares comparisons between her fiance and ex-boyfriend as well as dreams of owning her own coffee shop. At one point, she even tells her therapist, “I feel like I’m not the main character in my own life story”.

Later that night she heads home to her fiance and they decide to watch something on Streamberry (a global streaming service that is a parody of Netflix. Yes, it even has the ta-dum sound). They stumble upon a mysterious show called Joan is Awful which seemingly stars Salma Hayek as Joan, thanks to the matching of her funky hairstyle, in what appears to be a dramatic adaptation of her life from the very same day.

As we learn more about what is actually happening, Joan is Awful has the right mix of entertainment and wackiness for it to feel like it belongs with the great episodes from previous seasons of Black Mirror. Murphy is also wonderfully cast in the lead role. I won't go into much more but the episode is a definite must-watch for fans of the series.