A new season of Black Mirror is here, which means one of the most unsettling, frightening television shows is back. The sixth season is made up of six “films,” each exploring how technology (of the past, present, and future) can impact humans’ lives in dark and twisted ways.
One of the standout episodes in the new season is “Loch Henry,” set in a small Scottish town with an ominous history. Samuel Blenkin stars as Davis, a filmmaker who comes back to his hometown with his girlfriend Pia (played by Industry’s Myha’la Herrold) to shoot a documentary. Pia asks about the town’s scarce residence, and Davis reveals the town lacks tourists because of a vicious serial killer whose actions also lead to his father’s death.
Davis and Pia begin research into the town, the murders, and everyone involved. They go to a potential funder and are told they need newer information, something that says “Why now?” So they keep digging, breaking into the home where the murders happened and taking video with ultraviolet light to show off the blood still around after all those years. And on the way back, they get into a car crash.
From there, the twists really begin.
In case you want a recap of what went down, or just want to skip to the end (although the episode isn’t that long, we really recommend you watch it), here’s what happened at the end of “Loch Henry.”
Be warned: it gets dark.
What happened to Pia?
After a car crash leaves Davis in the hospital overnight, Pia returns to his childhood home with his mother. While Davis’ mother is downstairs cooking, Pia is upstairs watching the video she filmed of she, Davis, and his friend, Stuart, as they navigate the house. The video is filmed over one of Davis’ mother’s tapes, which are recordings of the (real!) British drama series Bergerac. The credits roll and Pia lets the video finish out… but there’s more on the tape than she realized.
After the show’s end credits, we see a video of Davis’ mother from years ago in a nursing outfit and armed with a power drill. It turns out she and Davis’ father were the ones who tortured and killed innocent victims all those years ago alongside the presumed lone suspect, Iain Adair. Pia quickly turns off the video and realizes she needs to leave. In the middle of dinner with Davis’ mother, she spots a mask, the same one she wore to commit the crimes. Pia runs out of the house, and Davis’ mother panics.
Pia previously heard from Stuart and Davis (in their telling of the murders), that the landscape is harsh and deadly to tourists, which is why the killings went on for so long. No one suspected a few missing visitors was anything more than accidents from misadventure. Unfortunately, the marshy terrain is exactly where she goes to run from Davis’ mother, where she trips in her attempt to traverse a creek, hits her head, and dies.
How did Black Mirror‘s “Loch Henry” end?
Davis’ mother doesn’t find her, but whether Pia manages to survive to tell the tale or not is no longer a concern. Regardless, people will ask questions. And Davis won’t necessarily stop digging due to Pia’s death. So Davis’ mother goes home, hangs herself, and leaves behind all her souvenirs and videos from the crimes along with a note: “For your film, Mum.”
We don’t get to see Davis’ immediate reaction. Instead we see the aftermath. The film has landed on Streamberry (the Loch Henry docuseries that was teased in the early parts of the “Joan Is Awful” episode), using Davis and Pia’s archival work and footage. We finally learn the true events around the murders, including Davis’ parents involvement. In an attempt to avoid suspicion, Davis’ father, Kenny, went to Iain Adair’s house, killing Iain and his parents, and gave himself a non-fatal gun wound so it looked as if Iain had shot him. It was only bad luck on his part that he contracted a bacteria resistant to antibiotics, and died later after catching MRSA in the hospital.
From the brief clips we see, it’s clear it’s a true crime hit, one that fans of Netflix documentaries would eat up. The documentary even ends up winning a BAFTA. And it’s important to note, none of that is supposed to be a good thing. Black Mirror wants true crime fans to remember the real people behind salacious and gory tales. The show’s message is that for victims’ families, there may not be anything worth celebrating to have their family’s lives on display for the world to see. While Stuart is back in town, celebrating the new boost of tourism (including a ton of true crime fans donning masks similar to what Davis’ mother wore), Davis is in a hotel room after the award ceremony, completely distraught. How’s that for a dark ending?
Milan Polk is an Editorial Assistant for Men’s Health who specializes in entertainment and lifestyle reporting, and has worked for New York Magazine’s Vulture and Chicago Tribune.
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