Black Mirror is finally back with season six, and we couldn’t be more excited to have it back on our screens! The new season has everything that we love about the hit series from Charlie Brooker - drama, intrigue, a funky demon in a Boney M skin suit… but for those left scratching their heads after any of the new five episodes, we have done in deep dive into explaining just what the endings were all about, starting with Joan is Awful…
Joan is Awful’s ending explained
Much like Inception, if we think about this too much our brains might explode, BUT! We will give it a try. In Joan is Awful, Joan was devastated when she realised she’d accidentally allowed 'Streamberry' to make a computer-generated version of her life using famous faces. However, by the end, a computer technician points out that she is not the 'real Joan'. She is Annie Murphy, an actress known for starring in Schitt’s Creek.
Instead, there is a different level of 'Joan' who watches a version of themselves on screen. In Salma’s world as 'Joan', she is watching Cate Blanchett play 'Joan' and so on. As such, it makes perfect sense why every single person in Annie Murphy’s version of events is a well-known TV actor - as they are all in 'that level' of the 'Joan is Awful' simulation.
Unfortunately, their realities are destroyed when the 'real Joan' trashes the main server - making the Joan we have been following cease to exist. In the final moments of the episode, we join the original Joan, who has achieved her dream of opening a coffee shop and is now good pals with Annie who, like Salma’s character, helped Joan in destroying the server. The only issue is that they’re both under house arrest.
Loch Henry’s ending explained
This was a dark one, and that’s saying something for Black Mirror! In this episode, Davis and his new girlfriend Pia make a documentary on the mass tortures and murders that befouled Davis’ hometown. While a producer is intrigued by their film, she suggests that the documentary needs a more personal angle as well as more material, and the group get back to shooting 'authentic' footage on an analogue camera. However, while Davis is in hospital after a car crash, Pia discovers that his mother’s videotapes are actually filming the tortures and that she and Davis’ late father were involved in the horrific deaths. Running from the house, Pia accidentally hits her head and drowns in the river.
Meanwhile, Davis’ mother realises that Pia has discovered the truth and hangs herself, leaving Davis with a pile of videos for him to use in the documentary. In the future, Davis has earned a BAFTA for the documentary, which is full of all of the personal and authentic details. His pal Stuart is thrilled, with business in the town thriving again. However, Davis sits bereft, as despite becoming a successful filmmaker, he has lost absolutely everything else.
MORE: Black Mirror: everything to know about season 6 from cast to episode details
Beyond the Sea’s ending explained
Did we say Loch Henry was dark? No, we meant this one. In the 1960s, two astronauts are part of a programme which means that they can project their consciousness into a realistic robotic version of themselves on earth during a six-year mission, only returning to their real bodies for routine physicals or if the ship has any mechanical issues. In a horrific sequence of events, Charles Manson-esque intruders break into David’s house, murder his entire family and destroy the robot version of himself, leaving him stuck on the ship while bereft with grief. In an act of kindness, his colleague Cliff (played by Aaron Paul) allows him to use his own avatar in order to spend some time in the real world and to paint, which David finds therapeutic. Slowly, David begins to have feelings for Cliff’s wife Lana, and tries to seduce her, which she abruptly shuts down.
Devastated by the betrayal, Aaron’s character harshly tells David about how little Lana cares for him while David claims that Cliff couldn’t understand what he was going through. However, after calling Cliff to the ship on a fake errand, David goes back to his home and it is strongly implied that he murders Lana and Cliff’s son, Henry. As Cliff returns to the ship, devastated by the loss of his family, he sits with David, and appears to finally understand the turmoil that David is going through. Grim.
Mazey Day’s ending explained
Did anyone see that coming? We definitely didn’t! The story follows a paparazzi named Bo who, down on her luck, jumps on the chance to make 30k with just one shot of the actress Mazey Day, who has disappeared after abruptly leaving the set of her film. As viewers, we know that Mazey was involved in a hit-and-run, and appears devastated by her actions, struggling with flashbacks while destroying the home of the producer who is keeping her safe.
Bo manages to track down Mazey’s location and follow her to a rehab facility where, joined by three other paps, they find her chained up inside. Horrified, Bo tries to break her free, despite Mazey’s pleas to leave her alone. However, after breaking her out of the chain, it is revealed that Mazey had actually hit a werewolf and was infected herself. Turning into a monster, she kills everyone except Bo (who manages to shoot her) before turning back into a human and begging Bo to kill her. Bo hands her a gun to do it herself and photographs her as she does it, knowing that she will make millions from the images. Horrific.
Demon 79
In the final episode of season six, Anjana Vasan stars as Nida, a shy and unassuming shop assistant who faces daily prejudice as an Indian woman. After accidentally pricking her finger onto a talisman while eating in the basement, she summons a demon Gaap who tells her that she has to kill three people to prevent an apocalypse.
Initially experiencing shock, horror and terror by her first kill, Nida eventually becomes determined to kill a politician who will cause untold horrors. However, she is thwarted by a police officer at the last moment and tries to tell them that the world will end. However, the clock ticks on and nothing happens - until it does. She is visited by Gaap, with whom she is pals with at this point, and he invites her to spend eternity with him in oblivion. She agrees to join him, and the pair leave hand in hand as the world is being destroyed behind them.