When Black Mirror first came out, it caused a real stir. The show went on to win the Emmy nine times with its anthology format, standing out over time for its shocking way of exploring how technology can impact humans in dark and disturbing ways. While some episodes, like “White Bear,” “Shut Up and Dance,” and “Mazey Day,” stray a little from this main idea and focus more on psychology, morality, and the media, Black Mirror still surprises by touching on things that are already affecting the world today. Because of that, we often finish an episode not knowing how to react or what to think about our lives from that point on.
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But sometimes, the show can be a bit heavy-handed, really going straight for the heart of the issue and showing just how far humans can go under the influence of technology. It’s normal to be shocked by some of the endings, but they don’t always just make us reflect on life. Some stories go beyond that, hitting the viewer in a brutal way and leaving them with a sense of anguish that’s hard to ignore. And that’s definitely the case with “Beyond the Sea.”
“Beyond the Sea” Is Black Mirror’s Best Episode
Considered a favorite by many, Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 3 “Beyond the Sea” manages to be both sad and complexly dark at the same time. In an alternate reality of the 1960s, David (Josh Hartnett) and Cliff (Aaron Paul) are two astronauts on a six-year mission in space. The technology of their world allows both men to transfer their consciousness into robotic replicas of themselves back on Earth. This way, they can interact with their families while physically remaining on the ship for the years of their space voyage.
Tragedy strikes when David’s family is murdered by an extremist group that hates robot tech. As a result, he becomes completely disconnected and depressed, especially since he can’t return to Earth, as his replica was also destroyed (and there’s no chance of making another one). Cliff is moved by this and lets David temporarily use his replica to experience normal moments back on Earth. From there, it’s easy to see what happens next…
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David returns to Earth in Cliff’s replica after being cut off for a while; he explores nature and gets emotional over the immensity of his loss. This makes him want to go back more often, and an agreement is made with Cliff: As a kind of therapy, David gets to use his colleague’s replica body once a month, for an hour. However, as a result, David starts getting closer and closer to Cliff’s wife Lana (Kate Mara).
A painter by hobby, David offers to paint a portrait of Cliff’s house as a way of saying thank you for the replica timeshare. The problem is that David comes across as more romantic, artistic, and charming than Cliff, which Lana soon notices. Cliff is emotionally distant from his wife, so spending time with David (but seeing Cliff’s image), starts to get confusing. Eventually, David starts being attracted to Lana, but before anything starts, she stops him. Cliff learns this truth while alone on the ship during one of David’s “visits” to Earth. Cliff finds David’s drawings of Lana and quickly figures out what’s going on behind his back.
Cliff ends up confronting David and withdraws the offer to use his replica. David makes it very clear to Cliff that he has nothing and no one; his feelings for Lana are a clear projection of his loneliness and emotional distress after the loss of his family. The closeness with Lana offered David temporary relief from his pain and Cliff didn’t seem to mind.
“Beyond the Sea” Has One of Black Mirror’s Best Endings
Cliff and David’s conflict is put aside when an emergency occurs – a problem with the air system. Cliff leaves the ship for a spacewalk and diagnostic check but finds nothing wrong. He checks in with David, but when David doesn’t answer him, it’s teased that he could let Cliff die in space to claim Lana. However, in one of Black Mirror‘s darkest twists, it’s revealed why David took so long to answer Cliff from the cockpit: he had gone back to Earth and used the replica to kill Cliff’s wife and child.
The final scene shows Cliff jumping into his replica and seeing what happened to his family. When Cliff leaves the replica and returns to the ship, David is sitting there waiting for him, and offers Cliff a chair, as if to say, “What choice do you have? Solitude?” which finally makes his fellow astronaut understand the loss he suffered.
This is undoubtedly one of the saddest episodes of Black Mirror – not in the sense of provoking tears, but because of the impact of human evil and its darker side. Technology plays a crucial role here: without the replicas, the whole tragedy would have been avoided. However, it also offers the possibility of bringing something positive into someone’s life. In “Beyond the Sea,” the series brilliantly illustrates the dual effects of technology, but without a doubt, it is darkness that dominates as the central theme of the narrative.
As the plot unfolds, you even find yourself thinking about the predictability of events and how everything might turn out, but it’s hard to really believe how human beings can be capable of committing an atrocity just to make a point. Black Mirror manages to emphasize that: As much as technology creates possibilities for salvation, the potential darkness of its consequences is what really marks human trajectory. The question now is: will the upcoming Season 7 be darker than this?
Black Mirror is available to stream on Netflix.
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Image courtesy of Marvel Studios
