Black Mirror Fans Think 'Loch Henry' Shouldn't Even Be in Season 6
Loch Henry ‘felt like a cousin of Black Mirror.’
The new Black Mirror season certainly stands out from what we've seen on the show before. With five of the six episodes set in different decades of the 20th and 21st centuries, it's clear that showrunner Charlie Brooker was going for a unique vibe and sought to capitalise on themes that were popular in the past. However, some fans feel this approach didn't work out for at least one episode.
Loch Henry, the second episode of the season, made viewers question its Black Mirror pedigree. It tells the story of a young couple who come to the boyfriend's sleepy hometown to make a true crime documentary about the murders that took place there in the 1990s. Their research ends with a shocking discovery, and the characters become the subjects of a true crime documentary themselves.
Although Loch Henry has an unexpected, gruesome twist, some Black Mirror fans can't help but wonder why it's part of the sci-fi series.
‘Usually, every Black Mirror episode has some link to a current or future technology, the only link I can make with this one are video tapes tho, which is like OLD technology, older than anything we've seen being relevant in any other Black Mirror episode,’ a fan explained their confusion on Reddit, sparking a discussion.
According to the viewer, to put the Black Mirror tag on a story, it has to be paired with some innovative technology that helps highlight the human nature or technophobia we all have to one degree or another. Loch Henry is essentially a crime drama with a dramatic twist and a stunning cast performance, but no innovative technology is featured anywhere in the entire episode. If anything, it is the lack of technology that drives the plot.
‘I had the exact same thought. It felt like a cousin of Black Mirror. Like... Kinda related but definitely not Black Mirror. Was pretty disappointed,’ another fan replied in the discussion.
However, some viewers disagreed with the original author. They noted that Loch Henry works as a Black Mirror episode because it is a profound commentary on the exploitative true-crime genre that has become wildly popular lately, and at its core, the show is an indictment of society more than anything else.
‘[Black Mirror] is more about how humans interact and are shaped by technology, often leading to self-destructive outcomes. Every character in this episode is motivated to act in pursuit of their desires, made possible through the tech available to them (cameras, newspapers, etc.), whether it's for lust, money, fame, the truth, etc. That screams Black Mirror to me,’ a fan explained.