‘Black Mirror: Loch Henry’ Review

The thing about Black Mirror is that its episodes are built on top of big ideas. The concepts usually come from aspects of technology and society. But the problem with ideas is that they aren’t stories. Characters and plots need to be developed and they can steer a story away from its original intention. “Loch Henry” began as a commentary on docudramas, and it ultimately ended that way. But in order to get to that ending, the episode became a rather standard thriller. The overall commentary was lost in exchange for plot, which definitely hurt the episode in the long run.

The tale follows a couple, Davis (Samuel Blenkin) and Pia (Myha’la Herrold), who visit Davis’s childhood home. They plan on making a documentary about a man who protects endangered eggs, but they instead decide to focus on a notorious crime committed in the town some years back. It even involved Davis’s father, who was a police officer at the time. While shooting their film, they discovered that Davis’s mother and father were actually the masterminds behind the heinous events. This leads the documentary to become something else entirely, which twists Davis’s life in a way that he never intended.

Overall, the episode is actually pretty good. It has compelling characters, a tight storyline, and a twist of an ending that pays off. There is even some commentary muddled in there during the beginning and end of the episode. It is not necessarily a good Black Mirror episode, however. It would be a perfectly fine installment of Law and Order, but Black Mirror has a very distinct style. “Loch Henry” didn’t lean heavily enough into its commentary about documentaries and the culture surrounding them in order to qualify. It’s still great entertainment; it just could have been more if it centered around Black Mirror’s trademark themes rather than a suspenseful plot.

Black Mirror is now streaming on Netflix.