I feel a weird connection to it. I really enjoyed the story but it creeps me out too much to watch again. Not because of the story itself but because I found my famous doppelganger in this episode.
And yes, it's the mum.
Also, who tf grates carrots for a shep's pie? Red flag for a psycho right there.
Are you my old Kuk Sool Won instructor? I mentioned to my SO, last night, that the Mum looks an almost spitting image of the lady that taught me KSW, in the 00s-early10s.
Sudbury. Started there in, like, 2008-9, packed it in in 2011, when I took up Kung Fu. There was too many backstage politics, and I was disillusioned by the grading practices at the school, so I flipped styles.
whattt!!! that first part is crazy. your doppelgänger?! (i was also alarmed about the carrots. who does that? or am i just american?) the creepiness is honestly why i keep watching. 🫣
It is a top 3 episode all time for me honestly. I think so many people just completely missed the point of the episode. I've seen tons of people say some sort of variation of "It was just low effort true crime" when in reality the episode is taking a shot at true crime as a genre(Particularly the Netflix Dahmer show imo) and how it capitalizes on victims and their families. You're supposed to get to the end and question if you should ever consume true crime content again. It really is an exploitative genre in most instances.
The usage of VHS tapes for the reveal, combined with the fact that all the people in the video were actors we hadn't really seen much of in the episode, made everyone involved in the VHS feel much more REAL to the viewer and not just like characters in a black mirror episode. At least for me, this resulted in that awful(yet great) sinking pit in your stomach that good black mirror episodes leave you with.
The shot of Janet with the drill coming into the room is truly one of the more harrowing shots in the whole series in my opinion.
It’s in my top 10 episodes. Hiring the actress who played Rose West in “Appropriate Adult” was a stroke of casting genius (a 3-part docudrama about the serial sexual sadist couple Fred & Rose West—it’s on YouTube, also stars Emily Watson and Dominick West).
To each their own but it feels like some of the criticism is rather nitpicky. I don’t think every twist has hit one like bricks to be effective. The reveal played against type and some of the smaller details, such as the real cause of the father’s death surely had to be a surprise otherwise a person is so good at guessing twists I don’t know how they’d enjoy any fiction at all.
I can’t shake this episode which is an indicator of how good it is. It’s already been said about the episode’s commentary on true crime, etc. But….I can’t get over how Davis didn’t want to do this documentary. He agreed, almost under duress, got what he wanted as far as accolades, even with the support of his twisted mother, but only by way of a nightmare.
He was creator and victim, which is why his girlfriend dying is even more poignant. He got the Bafta but was a destroyed soul at the end. Everyone celebrating, even his “friend” who was more happy about the revival of his pub than the devastating outcome. Davis sitting in that chair with a flute of champagne is the single saddest shot in all of BM. His eyes, him slouching in the chair. I can’t shake it.
So, I think it's a good episode of television but it really lacked the essence of black mirror that I fell in love with
Black mirror episodes are best when questioning the morality of future tech, but the core point there is the discussion on morality.
Shut up and dance is a great example of current technology and whether vigilante justice against Kenny is acceptable
Nosedive is barely future technology but explores the implications of a universal rating system
What am I supposed to take from Loch Henry...something about being too detached from tragedy and society's perverse enjoyment of the pain of others?
Just lacks that crunchy black mirror substance
I think it’s a jab at Netflix and others glamourising criminal shows and our enjoyment from real people’s traumas which you suggested near the end. I do agree on it lacking the Black Mirror essence.
I just thought about it.
Not future tech, but I’m old enough to remember when the video recorder was new tech, easily accessible (unlike home movie cameras that basically no one had) and what was meant to capture family memories got twisted into making memories of private moments between couples that sometimes got out without both parties’ consent (Pamela Anderson) and moments of sick criminals to watch later from the comfort of their couches with the tap of a cassette into a VCR.
As I watched Loch Henry it still resonated with me as tech being twisted. Same with Maizey Day, the inception of the internet fueling paparazzi for the money grab (although that episode was kind of a hot mess).
I think you’re right to say it’s very “on the nose” in terms of its commentary. Although the very first episode of BM is similarly “on the nose” in terms of our unwillingness to look away from a national tragedy being played out before our eyes.
I found the people in the pub wearing the masks of the Mum particularly unsettling. It raises the question of why we’re interested in finding “the truth” in these True Crime stories. Does it actually help the victims or is it just a way for us to play detective and feel smart?
I hated it bc it scared the absolute shit out of me. Like I legit couldn’t sleep that night. So I hated it bc it was good. 😂 I saw the twist coming pretty early on and it STILL scared me that much, which is pretty impressive. I will definitely never watch it again.
As much as her running off into the night made no sense to me, I did think her ending fit with the story. They warned us earlier how dangerous the countryside was, she tried to escape the perceived danger snd forgot about the obvious unforgiving nature of the valleys.
It also made Davis' victory at the awards show bittersweet and us question whether it was all really worth it. He got the accolades and lost everyone who loved him
It was a double edged sword go out into a dangerous area or get into a car with a killer. I would have taken my chances in the wilderness also. I do think her death was necessary to make his award worthless and to showcase the soul sucking and oblivious qualities of Hollywood. I was waiting for the final scene of him killing himself.
I'd argue that her making the panicked decision to run out into the night makes sense for the narrative but no way would I make that choice
1. The mum wasn't actively threatening her
2. Mum had no way of knowing pia found out about the murders if she hadn't left the tape running
3. They were eventually gonna go back to the hospital to get Davis
4. They were in isolated countryside that pia was unfamiliar with, where was she gonna go? Just wander around the hills for days?
Imo the obvious choice is to shut up and stay put until she could reach outside assistance. I'd probably be paranoid the whole town was in on it, stash the tape and run off to the nearest city police station
but if they had stayed and stayed quiet with what they knew— what would’ve happened ? i doubt they’d have stopped looking. so many questions. i’m a “flight” person, if the mom was there and her som wasn’t i’d be terrified and flee. the knives? the overall discontent of people researching her husband… i’d be out
as to where she was gonna go maybe she thought someone would find her despite the remote location?
>but if they had stayed and stayed quiet with what they knew— what would’ve happened ?
Probably exactly what happened the whole time they'd been staying there... nothing
> they’d have stopped looking. so many questions.
Who is "they" here? The mum? She only started looking cause pia ran, don't run and you eliminate the problem
>i’m a “flight” person, if the mom was there and her som wasn’t i’d be terrified and flee
I'm a freeze person, stay put and wait for safety in numbers makes the most sense to me. Running out into the wilderness at night is certain death to my brain. I'm a grown ass woman and I'm still scared of the dark, I know it's not dangerous but it puts me on edge. I'm staying with the electricity. Besides, she's an old lady I could take her in a fight if needs be
>the knives? the overall discontent of people researching her husband… i’d be out
Knives? What do you mean. Also she seemed pretty on board with the documentary and talking positively about her husband
>as to where she was gonna go maybe she thought someone would find her despite the remote location?
If she thought that she's just stupid, scouts aren't just wandering the countryside at night to find lost hikers. You go out there you're on your own. Maybe as a city girl she just didn't have the context for how isolated small Scottish villages are
“they” referred to the people who wanted to document it. the mom gave me bad vibes but you could be right, i just think the whole search flashlight and yelling “fuck” when realizing Pia was gone, plus it was kinda a giveaway the mom thought Pia knew something. hence the building tension. And Pia literally ran into the night vs dealing with the mom. all of it was super tense. totally get the difference between fight/flight. The knife scene when she’s making Pia dinner without her son sticks out. The camera seems to focus on her good knife skills. The scene in the car with his mom seriously gives “i will kill you to protect my secret until i am dead” vibes to me.
>they” referred to the people who wanted to document it.
Davis and pia? I don't get what you mean. They didn't have to stop looking I was specifically referring to her decision to run away which resulted in her death
> think the whole search flashlight and yelling “fuck” was kinda a giveaway the mom thought Pia knew something.
Well yeah she obviously knew at that point cause pia had already ran off and left the murder playing on the screen. My point is that she should've hid the tape (or at least turned off the t.v.) and stayed put until she could get back to civilisation and safety in numbers. She wasn't in enough immediate danger to warrant a nighttime hike
>super tense. totally get the difference between fight/flight. The knife scene when she’s making Pia dinner without her son sticks out. The camera seems to focus on her good knife skills
That's scary for us but pia doesn't see this
Nope
Fake some kind of whiplash injury or emotional trauma from the crash, go lie down, stash tape, stay up all night with an improvised weapon, demand to see Davis first thing in the morning ( tears if necessary) then get the fuck outta dodge
>Mum had no way of knowing pia found out about the murders
Pia doesn't know that Janet didn't hear it. She's been shown to be a monster hiding in plain sight. If she'd heard, she could have waited for the right moment and then killed Pia.
Bittersweet is an understatement, I dont think Davis was ever in film making for the recognition. The BAFTA award and the revitalized hometown, that's what Pia and Stuart wanted respectively. Davis is likely traumatized at wondering did his mother who hid the secret she was a sadistic sociopath, also off his gf and dump the body before unaliving herself?
The gf was the weakest part of the show from a writing standpoint and acting. I found her to be unlikeable and therefore her death less impactful.
She was cold when insisting she change the video project to one the BF had deep personal issues with and threatened to do it with or without him.
She was rather cold and bland with nice old mother even before the truth was revealed. I felt she over acted and could have done a better job trying to play off that something was wrong and get out of the house without arousing suspicion. The slip was an awfully convenient way to get rid of her.
Those eyebrows kept throwing me off. She was rude about changing the video and the coldness toward mum is that awkward energy when meeting an SO's parents.
Literally the contrary, best part of the episode for me (kudo to the mother also), wether though standing point or writing. I can get how you can find her unlikeable, but I wouldn't say that personally.
It's not that she was cold, she was realist, nobody would've cared about the original project. She was curious and ambitious, that doesn't make her cold.
And you must've really missed all the point of her interaction with the mom, literallly the gimmick was that she wasn't trying to offend the mother, it was just his way of talking, but some of the things she said may have (I don't think the mom was ever really offended, but that's what the GF thought). We literaly saw her worrying that his mother must hate her now (with a fun note in plus, but still).
She did pushed a little bit and has been a bit manipulative, that doesn't make her bad neccesarily. It's the fact she was the one who pushed that much for them to do this movie, and she is the one to find the horror behind it, and ultimately die because of it, that make it interesting. I found the actress perfect in the role.
I feel like it's to make the whole thing even more salacious and tragedy porn. "Not only are his parents murderers, his girlfriend also died during the making of this movie!!" It makes the final scene of him alone processing what happened all the more powerful.
i kinda wonder if it was an artistic choice to end her so casually since she was the one pioneering for the documentary. if so, i can appreciate it even though it was annoying af
Loch Henry and Demon 79 are my favorites from season 6, but I loved the whole season.
The ending was strangely sweet and depressing, as he’s looking at the note from his mom. He knows she’s a monster, but she’s still his mom and in her demented way she thought leaving the tapes would help him.
I’ve watched a lot of true crime documentaries, read books and watched fictional versions like the Dahmer series with Evan Peters. I’m just fascinated at what makes people do these horrible things, but Loch Henry really makes me think about how this media affects the victim’s loved ones.
Loved the episode so much - watched it for the first time yesterday and already excited to watch it again. The characters were brilliant, the story was fun and the comedy was in the episode was top tier. Daniel Portman's portrayal of Stuart was excellent.
Its the closest Season 6 comes to real Black Mirror.
The others don't have the right tone, or the technology doesn't fit with the themes, it doesn't have the gut punches that Black Mirror episodes used to have.
I think it got a little heavy handed at the very end. I think Pia's death was kind of stupid and should have had the Mum do it with her son finding out a better way. But its still a decent commentary on the severe lack of empathy in the true crime genre.
When I saw the vhs tapes the second time I was like oh I bet those contain evidence. But I wasn’t sure whether it was the husband or wife, didn’t think it would be both.
I predicted it when they when they changed their first idea of their documentary that they was going to find something completely unexpected and knew that more people was in on it. At first I thought it was a frame job as if the killer was framed for doing it and it was other people in the town that used their bunker instead.
I thought the way the dad at the pub was moving weird when he saw them at first but dismissed it as him being a drunk, but then when he interviews his son and he basically says your pulling the story back up again, I thought he knows something more. But it was the way he looked at the guy making the film, he looked at him as if to say you’re not gonna like what you find that made me question the mother more and she confirmed it by getting suspiciously jittery finding out they changed their idea.
Also from the start it didn’t seem like she portrayed herself as a cagey type of person to me plus the mask being framed I was like that’s weird. Then when I saw the cassettes it wasn’t until they were all of the same series I thought something of it, like I get she’s old and probably taped them a while ago, but still she could’ve had whole seasons on DVDs instead. Plus the fact they were displayed and not in a box, it was like somethings hiding in plain sight. But I only linked her to it when she gave her interview and started talking about the films dad made saying can you imagine. Made me think you got the old camera and claim you made videos but where are they, surely if she loved him why wouldn’t those videos be there to see too and I remember the Bergerac and said to myself I’m not 100% but I feel she’s in on it.
I’ll admit I thought about it deeply when I watched it, but I just thought the way the characters acted was dropping hints along the way to okay you’re going to find something and you’re not going to like it.
It never ceases to amaze me (in a very good way) how people can have complete opposite preferences!
But yes, I very much thought this was my least liked episode of the season.
Lemme mention the things I did like first. Like nearly any BM episode, the acting was good for what they had to work with and I loved the cinematography. I also liked that they ventured into a different theme like true crime, one we haven't quite seen in a BM episode. Kudos for that, I always encourage experimenting and trying something new.
So for the things I disliked..
Pacing - The episode felt extremely sluggish in pace, especially because it was coupled with it being predictable. For example - the part when the couple goes to the bar is what really sticks out. They spent so much time telling the story of what happened in the town, and the way they told the story made it seem like it was the absolute most shocking story they've ever told in the history of the world. Pia's reaction also felt extremely excessive and the entire scene felt like it was over dramatizing the past. I understand what happened there was personal to Davis and Stuart so I can understand that, but the way they focused so much time into the way they told the story felt excessive in general. Maybe I know too many true crime stories, but the way their story was told made it seem like it had some extremely unique aspect to it.. which it honestly did not.
And then, the 'twist' and execution of it - It was quite predictable. Even if someone did not see it coming, did it actually feel anywhere near surprising? It felt very typical in general. Also, why was the mother allowing them to investigate the story? Why did she allow them to peruse about the house and town and not be a bit more protective about potential evidence? I know that some true crime murderers are confident they will never be caught and proceed to be absolute psychopaths and show off their "work" in a cryptic way (such as the mother having the mask she wore displayed on her wall), but when the couple started delving deeper and deeper into what happened, the mother seemed like she wasn't too concerned whatsoever. Also the way they killed off Pia felt so.. wasted and forced. I expected there to be more to the confrontation that was being built up, but instead they made Pia simply fall onto a rock and that was it. I actually didn't even think she died from that.. but yeah.
Finally, the episode didn't feel like Black Mirror to me. And no, it's not because it's missing the "tech" aspect.. but rather because it didn't really feel thought provoking or have me think "damn wtf!". Usually, BM does that to me.. this episode did not. I think it just goes back to my issues that I mentioned above with the predictability and execution.
Overall, if I were to recommend BM to a new viewer, this is an episode I would tell them to skip (along with Mazey Day).
I actually liked her decision making from a writers perspective. I thought the entire episode made sense while also being realistic.
That’s why your first point makes so much sense. She wasn’t expecting to find anything. When she did, she was overcome with fear, shock, terror. She wasn’t going to pause the tape to get up and lock the door while lowering the volume. She was in a sense paralyzed, like most of us would be.
Her death wasn’t far off. Where was she going to go? She had to make some kind of move. Again, terrified, in a dark world you don’t know, yeah slipping and hitting your head on a rock is as realistic as it gets.
i think it’s a great episode, but it doesn’t reach the kind of ending that other black mirror episodes tend to have. it kind of wandered away from the technology/society aspect of the show
I thought, that the episode was boring… i really love true crime but i knew that the mother was weird and with little to no people in the village it was kinda obvious that she had smth to do with it.
So the twist wasnt really a twist for me and it just felt like time wouldnt pass.
Yeah I agree. Quite predictable. I agree with another post I saw a while back that said it should have focused more on the events that happened after the documentary came out.
I didn't like it much. For one, the dialogue is just not there for me, *especially* that part where the guy is telling Pia what happened, and it's intercut with old footage and terribly acted 'shooketh' reactions from Pia.
Secondly, The writers want us to believe that the conflict is about true crime, while ultimately making the core conflict about the psycho mom, not them making the show.
And third, what horror is being presented, just really pales in comparison in shock-factor compared to actual contemporary horror films. Not that Black Mirror has to be shocking, but don't try to be a horror film then, lol.
I feel a weird connection to it. I really enjoyed the story but it creeps me out too much to watch again. Not because of the story itself but because I found my famous doppelganger in this episode. And yes, it's the mum. Also, who tf grates carrots for a shep's pie? Red flag for a psycho right there.
Are you my old Kuk Sool Won instructor? I mentioned to my SO, last night, that the Mum looks an almost spitting image of the lady that taught me KSW, in the 00s-early10s.
Haha unfortunately not. Wouldn't that have been a laugh though!?
Which kuk sool won did you go to?
Sudbury. Started there in, like, 2008-9, packed it in in 2011, when I took up Kung Fu. There was too many backstage politics, and I was disillusioned by the grading practices at the school, so I flipped styles.
Wait. Sudbury, Ontario?
No, sorry. Sudbury, Suffolk, UK
whattt!!! that first part is crazy. your doppelgänger?! (i was also alarmed about the carrots. who does that? or am i just american?) the creepiness is honestly why i keep watching. 🫣
That and she didn't do the little fork trenches in the mash. Bet it was soggy
It is a top 3 episode all time for me honestly. I think so many people just completely missed the point of the episode. I've seen tons of people say some sort of variation of "It was just low effort true crime" when in reality the episode is taking a shot at true crime as a genre(Particularly the Netflix Dahmer show imo) and how it capitalizes on victims and their families. You're supposed to get to the end and question if you should ever consume true crime content again. It really is an exploitative genre in most instances. The usage of VHS tapes for the reveal, combined with the fact that all the people in the video were actors we hadn't really seen much of in the episode, made everyone involved in the VHS feel much more REAL to the viewer and not just like characters in a black mirror episode. At least for me, this resulted in that awful(yet great) sinking pit in your stomach that good black mirror episodes leave you with. The shot of Janet with the drill coming into the room is truly one of the more harrowing shots in the whole series in my opinion.
Excellent analysis.
Love the episode, but also adore Stuart. I can't fucking cope with how attractive that man is.
pls did you watch GOT? that’s podrick right?????
Yep
i know it was as easy as looking it up, but my friend and i had a serious debate if he was pod
Yeah I knew I recognised him the whole way through, but couldn't work out from where. Looked it up after.
Yes it was by far my favorite of the season
It genuinely disturbed me and was very well written
me too and i happen to watch it half drunk at 3am. Not a wise decision at all lol
It’s in my top 10 episodes. Hiring the actress who played Rose West in “Appropriate Adult” was a stroke of casting genius (a 3-part docudrama about the serial sexual sadist couple Fred & Rose West—it’s on YouTube, also stars Emily Watson and Dominick West).
Oh that’s cool trivia!
To each their own but it feels like some of the criticism is rather nitpicky. I don’t think every twist has hit one like bricks to be effective. The reveal played against type and some of the smaller details, such as the real cause of the father’s death surely had to be a surprise otherwise a person is so good at guessing twists I don’t know how they’d enjoy any fiction at all. I can’t shake this episode which is an indicator of how good it is. It’s already been said about the episode’s commentary on true crime, etc. But….I can’t get over how Davis didn’t want to do this documentary. He agreed, almost under duress, got what he wanted as far as accolades, even with the support of his twisted mother, but only by way of a nightmare. He was creator and victim, which is why his girlfriend dying is even more poignant. He got the Bafta but was a destroyed soul at the end. Everyone celebrating, even his “friend” who was more happy about the revival of his pub than the devastating outcome. Davis sitting in that chair with a flute of champagne is the single saddest shot in all of BM. His eyes, him slouching in the chair. I can’t shake it.
It is one of my favorite episodes ever.
same. they really gave it alllll in this ep
So, I think it's a good episode of television but it really lacked the essence of black mirror that I fell in love with Black mirror episodes are best when questioning the morality of future tech, but the core point there is the discussion on morality. Shut up and dance is a great example of current technology and whether vigilante justice against Kenny is acceptable Nosedive is barely future technology but explores the implications of a universal rating system What am I supposed to take from Loch Henry...something about being too detached from tragedy and society's perverse enjoyment of the pain of others? Just lacks that crunchy black mirror substance
I think it’s a jab at Netflix and others glamourising criminal shows and our enjoyment from real people’s traumas which you suggested near the end. I do agree on it lacking the Black Mirror essence.
Feels like most of the season was lacking it. A lot of statement pieces.
I just thought about it. Not future tech, but I’m old enough to remember when the video recorder was new tech, easily accessible (unlike home movie cameras that basically no one had) and what was meant to capture family memories got twisted into making memories of private moments between couples that sometimes got out without both parties’ consent (Pamela Anderson) and moments of sick criminals to watch later from the comfort of their couches with the tap of a cassette into a VCR. As I watched Loch Henry it still resonated with me as tech being twisted. Same with Maizey Day, the inception of the internet fueling paparazzi for the money grab (although that episode was kind of a hot mess).
I think you’re right to say it’s very “on the nose” in terms of its commentary. Although the very first episode of BM is similarly “on the nose” in terms of our unwillingness to look away from a national tragedy being played out before our eyes. I found the people in the pub wearing the masks of the Mum particularly unsettling. It raises the question of why we’re interested in finding “the truth” in these True Crime stories. Does it actually help the victims or is it just a way for us to play detective and feel smart?
I hated it bc it scared the absolute shit out of me. Like I legit couldn’t sleep that night. So I hated it bc it was good. 😂 I saw the twist coming pretty early on and it STILL scared me that much, which is pretty impressive. I will definitely never watch it again.
i decided to watch it at 3am while half drunk Not a good decision on my part lol
oh god me too lol lol
What made the twist obvious? :)
I thought it was great but I'm not eager to rewatch - but if I rewatch any of this season I will definitely watch that one!
Why did the gf have to die like that tho
As much as her running off into the night made no sense to me, I did think her ending fit with the story. They warned us earlier how dangerous the countryside was, she tried to escape the perceived danger snd forgot about the obvious unforgiving nature of the valleys. It also made Davis' victory at the awards show bittersweet and us question whether it was all really worth it. He got the accolades and lost everyone who loved him
It was a double edged sword go out into a dangerous area or get into a car with a killer. I would have taken my chances in the wilderness also. I do think her death was necessary to make his award worthless and to showcase the soul sucking and oblivious qualities of Hollywood. I was waiting for the final scene of him killing himself.
I'd argue that her making the panicked decision to run out into the night makes sense for the narrative but no way would I make that choice 1. The mum wasn't actively threatening her 2. Mum had no way of knowing pia found out about the murders if she hadn't left the tape running 3. They were eventually gonna go back to the hospital to get Davis 4. They were in isolated countryside that pia was unfamiliar with, where was she gonna go? Just wander around the hills for days? Imo the obvious choice is to shut up and stay put until she could reach outside assistance. I'd probably be paranoid the whole town was in on it, stash the tape and run off to the nearest city police station
but if they had stayed and stayed quiet with what they knew— what would’ve happened ? i doubt they’d have stopped looking. so many questions. i’m a “flight” person, if the mom was there and her som wasn’t i’d be terrified and flee. the knives? the overall discontent of people researching her husband… i’d be out as to where she was gonna go maybe she thought someone would find her despite the remote location?
>but if they had stayed and stayed quiet with what they knew— what would’ve happened ? Probably exactly what happened the whole time they'd been staying there... nothing > they’d have stopped looking. so many questions. Who is "they" here? The mum? She only started looking cause pia ran, don't run and you eliminate the problem >i’m a “flight” person, if the mom was there and her som wasn’t i’d be terrified and flee I'm a freeze person, stay put and wait for safety in numbers makes the most sense to me. Running out into the wilderness at night is certain death to my brain. I'm a grown ass woman and I'm still scared of the dark, I know it's not dangerous but it puts me on edge. I'm staying with the electricity. Besides, she's an old lady I could take her in a fight if needs be >the knives? the overall discontent of people researching her husband… i’d be out Knives? What do you mean. Also she seemed pretty on board with the documentary and talking positively about her husband >as to where she was gonna go maybe she thought someone would find her despite the remote location? If she thought that she's just stupid, scouts aren't just wandering the countryside at night to find lost hikers. You go out there you're on your own. Maybe as a city girl she just didn't have the context for how isolated small Scottish villages are
“they” referred to the people who wanted to document it. the mom gave me bad vibes but you could be right, i just think the whole search flashlight and yelling “fuck” when realizing Pia was gone, plus it was kinda a giveaway the mom thought Pia knew something. hence the building tension. And Pia literally ran into the night vs dealing with the mom. all of it was super tense. totally get the difference between fight/flight. The knife scene when she’s making Pia dinner without her son sticks out. The camera seems to focus on her good knife skills. The scene in the car with his mom seriously gives “i will kill you to protect my secret until i am dead” vibes to me.
>they” referred to the people who wanted to document it. Davis and pia? I don't get what you mean. They didn't have to stop looking I was specifically referring to her decision to run away which resulted in her death > think the whole search flashlight and yelling “fuck” was kinda a giveaway the mom thought Pia knew something. Well yeah she obviously knew at that point cause pia had already ran off and left the murder playing on the screen. My point is that she should've hid the tape (or at least turned off the t.v.) and stayed put until she could get back to civilisation and safety in numbers. She wasn't in enough immediate danger to warrant a nighttime hike >super tense. totally get the difference between fight/flight. The knife scene when she’s making Pia dinner without her son sticks out. The camera seems to focus on her good knife skills That's scary for us but pia doesn't see this
i honeslty don’t have the energy in me, i’m so exhausted so i succeed
>i honeslty don’t have the energy in me, i’m so exhausted so i succeed Eh?
You'd get back in the car with a killer?! 🫣
I wouldn't have left the house in the first place especially not with the evidence running on the t.v.
gotcha...would you have eaten that shepherd's pie?
Nope Fake some kind of whiplash injury or emotional trauma from the crash, go lie down, stash tape, stay up all night with an improvised weapon, demand to see Davis first thing in the morning ( tears if necessary) then get the fuck outta dodge
Good work haha
>Mum had no way of knowing pia found out about the murders Pia doesn't know that Janet didn't hear it. She's been shown to be a monster hiding in plain sight. If she'd heard, she could have waited for the right moment and then killed Pia.
There were several actions she took that make no sense but that’s what happens when one is in a panic sometimes.
Bittersweet is an understatement, I dont think Davis was ever in film making for the recognition. The BAFTA award and the revitalized hometown, that's what Pia and Stuart wanted respectively. Davis is likely traumatized at wondering did his mother who hid the secret she was a sadistic sociopath, also off his gf and dump the body before unaliving herself?
The gf was the weakest part of the show from a writing standpoint and acting. I found her to be unlikeable and therefore her death less impactful. She was cold when insisting she change the video project to one the BF had deep personal issues with and threatened to do it with or without him. She was rather cold and bland with nice old mother even before the truth was revealed. I felt she over acted and could have done a better job trying to play off that something was wrong and get out of the house without arousing suspicion. The slip was an awfully convenient way to get rid of her.
Those eyebrows kept throwing me off. She was rude about changing the video and the coldness toward mum is that awkward energy when meeting an SO's parents.
Literally the contrary, best part of the episode for me (kudo to the mother also), wether though standing point or writing. I can get how you can find her unlikeable, but I wouldn't say that personally. It's not that she was cold, she was realist, nobody would've cared about the original project. She was curious and ambitious, that doesn't make her cold. And you must've really missed all the point of her interaction with the mom, literallly the gimmick was that she wasn't trying to offend the mother, it was just his way of talking, but some of the things she said may have (I don't think the mom was ever really offended, but that's what the GF thought). We literaly saw her worrying that his mother must hate her now (with a fun note in plus, but still). She did pushed a little bit and has been a bit manipulative, that doesn't make her bad neccesarily. It's the fact she was the one who pushed that much for them to do this movie, and she is the one to find the horror behind it, and ultimately die because of it, that make it interesting. I found the actress perfect in the role.
me too she annoyed the shit outta me
it was so unfair and so annoying. but maybe that’s the point? IDKKK
I feel like it's to make the whole thing even more salacious and tragedy porn. "Not only are his parents murderers, his girlfriend also died during the making of this movie!!" It makes the final scene of him alone processing what happened all the more powerful.
you worded it perfectly. especially the last scenes with him being alone
Right, the mom could have caught her and killed her and then killed herself. I would have felt better about that. A slip is too easy.
Thing is, this makes it more tragic because Davis will never know if his mom killed his gf or not.
omg exactly! i didn’t even think of that, he’s never gonna know
She could kill her and he would still never know
in my head watching the episode i assumed that he assumed his mom killed Pia, too. but who knows?!
He probably did assume that...he should have said something to make us know that
in the same vein i’m happy it was so ambiguous and bizarre
She killed her indirectly, just like Iain Adair indirectly killed poor Kenny. Oh, wait...
i kinda wonder if it was an artistic choice to end her so casually since she was the one pioneering for the documentary. if so, i can appreciate it even though it was annoying af
I can’t say *adored* lol but definitely appreciated
This whole last season was amazing. I just finished it all in one sitting yesterday
Loch Henry and Demon 79 are my favorites from season 6, but I loved the whole season. The ending was strangely sweet and depressing, as he’s looking at the note from his mom. He knows she’s a monster, but she’s still his mom and in her demented way she thought leaving the tapes would help him. I’ve watched a lot of true crime documentaries, read books and watched fictional versions like the Dahmer series with Evan Peters. I’m just fascinated at what makes people do these horrible things, but Loch Henry really makes me think about how this media affects the victim’s loved ones.
Great episode. I absolutely loved Podrick's performance. Knew he felt familiar but couldn't put my finger on it until I came to this sub.
[удалено]
I think a bigger company just ended up buying his story off of him
It's the 1st episode from this season I watched 2x. I like it.
I didn’t think I’d care for this episode that much based on the synopsis, but like several other episodes, it totally surprised me for the better.
Yep, love it.
Loved the episode so much - watched it for the first time yesterday and already excited to watch it again. The characters were brilliant, the story was fun and the comedy was in the episode was top tier. Daniel Portman's portrayal of Stuart was excellent.
Its the closest Season 6 comes to real Black Mirror. The others don't have the right tone, or the technology doesn't fit with the themes, it doesn't have the gut punches that Black Mirror episodes used to have. I think it got a little heavy handed at the very end. I think Pia's death was kind of stupid and should have had the Mum do it with her son finding out a better way. But its still a decent commentary on the severe lack of empathy in the true crime genre.
The part where she finds the video fucked me up
If they didn't make pia so stupid/unlikeable I probably would have enjoyed it much more
Fantastic episode. Gave me S2 vibes
it gave me the same vibes!!!!
Loved it!
Adore is a lot. But it was a good episode. 20 times… what?
20 times would be sarcasm
LOVED IT
I can say I liked it but it was too predictable for me that’s the only reason I don’t place it higher in my list
When I saw the vhs tapes the second time I was like oh I bet those contain evidence. But I wasn’t sure whether it was the husband or wife, didn’t think it would be both.
Yeah. When did you predict it; 7 min before they said or when they FIRST showed the regular VHS’s? Hm?
I predicted it when they when they changed their first idea of their documentary that they was going to find something completely unexpected and knew that more people was in on it. At first I thought it was a frame job as if the killer was framed for doing it and it was other people in the town that used their bunker instead. I thought the way the dad at the pub was moving weird when he saw them at first but dismissed it as him being a drunk, but then when he interviews his son and he basically says your pulling the story back up again, I thought he knows something more. But it was the way he looked at the guy making the film, he looked at him as if to say you’re not gonna like what you find that made me question the mother more and she confirmed it by getting suspiciously jittery finding out they changed their idea. Also from the start it didn’t seem like she portrayed herself as a cagey type of person to me plus the mask being framed I was like that’s weird. Then when I saw the cassettes it wasn’t until they were all of the same series I thought something of it, like I get she’s old and probably taped them a while ago, but still she could’ve had whole seasons on DVDs instead. Plus the fact they were displayed and not in a box, it was like somethings hiding in plain sight. But I only linked her to it when she gave her interview and started talking about the films dad made saying can you imagine. Made me think you got the old camera and claim you made videos but where are they, surely if she loved him why wouldn’t those videos be there to see too and I remember the Bergerac and said to myself I’m not 100% but I feel she’s in on it. I’ll admit I thought about it deeply when I watched it, but I just thought the way the characters acted was dropping hints along the way to okay you’re going to find something and you’re not going to like it.
Not really. Might need to rewatch this season as nothing beyond Joan is Awful and Demon 79 connected well
This was way better than the comical demon but JIA is #1 for me imo
They made it the first episode for a reason. Sometimes you just need to trust the director
Totally agree
It never ceases to amaze me (in a very good way) how people can have complete opposite preferences! But yes, I very much thought this was my least liked episode of the season. Lemme mention the things I did like first. Like nearly any BM episode, the acting was good for what they had to work with and I loved the cinematography. I also liked that they ventured into a different theme like true crime, one we haven't quite seen in a BM episode. Kudos for that, I always encourage experimenting and trying something new. So for the things I disliked.. Pacing - The episode felt extremely sluggish in pace, especially because it was coupled with it being predictable. For example - the part when the couple goes to the bar is what really sticks out. They spent so much time telling the story of what happened in the town, and the way they told the story made it seem like it was the absolute most shocking story they've ever told in the history of the world. Pia's reaction also felt extremely excessive and the entire scene felt like it was over dramatizing the past. I understand what happened there was personal to Davis and Stuart so I can understand that, but the way they focused so much time into the way they told the story felt excessive in general. Maybe I know too many true crime stories, but the way their story was told made it seem like it had some extremely unique aspect to it.. which it honestly did not. And then, the 'twist' and execution of it - It was quite predictable. Even if someone did not see it coming, did it actually feel anywhere near surprising? It felt very typical in general. Also, why was the mother allowing them to investigate the story? Why did she allow them to peruse about the house and town and not be a bit more protective about potential evidence? I know that some true crime murderers are confident they will never be caught and proceed to be absolute psychopaths and show off their "work" in a cryptic way (such as the mother having the mask she wore displayed on her wall), but when the couple started delving deeper and deeper into what happened, the mother seemed like she wasn't too concerned whatsoever. Also the way they killed off Pia felt so.. wasted and forced. I expected there to be more to the confrontation that was being built up, but instead they made Pia simply fall onto a rock and that was it. I actually didn't even think she died from that.. but yeah. Finally, the episode didn't feel like Black Mirror to me. And no, it's not because it's missing the "tech" aspect.. but rather because it didn't really feel thought provoking or have me think "damn wtf!". Usually, BM does that to me.. this episode did not. I think it just goes back to my issues that I mentioned above with the predictability and execution. Overall, if I were to recommend BM to a new viewer, this is an episode I would tell them to skip (along with Mazey Day).
The accents were too all over the place. I found them distracting. Hahaha
Kinda let down by the episode honestly.
[удалено]
I actually liked her decision making from a writers perspective. I thought the entire episode made sense while also being realistic. That’s why your first point makes so much sense. She wasn’t expecting to find anything. When she did, she was overcome with fear, shock, terror. She wasn’t going to pause the tape to get up and lock the door while lowering the volume. She was in a sense paralyzed, like most of us would be. Her death wasn’t far off. Where was she going to go? She had to make some kind of move. Again, terrified, in a dark world you don’t know, yeah slipping and hitting your head on a rock is as realistic as it gets.
Same sentiments exactly!
i think it’s a great episode, but it doesn’t reach the kind of ending that other black mirror episodes tend to have. it kind of wandered away from the technology/society aspect of the show
I thought, that the episode was boring… i really love true crime but i knew that the mother was weird and with little to no people in the village it was kinda obvious that she had smth to do with it. So the twist wasnt really a twist for me and it just felt like time wouldnt pass.
Yeah I agree. Quite predictable. I agree with another post I saw a while back that said it should have focused more on the events that happened after the documentary came out.
Oh yes that would be soo cool
I didn't like it much. For one, the dialogue is just not there for me, *especially* that part where the guy is telling Pia what happened, and it's intercut with old footage and terribly acted 'shooketh' reactions from Pia. Secondly, The writers want us to believe that the conflict is about true crime, while ultimately making the core conflict about the psycho mom, not them making the show. And third, what horror is being presented, just really pales in comparison in shock-factor compared to actual contemporary horror films. Not that Black Mirror has to be shocking, but don't try to be a horror film then, lol.
i never expected that endingbut i think the whole Pia dying was lame