Summary
Charlie Brooker takes a shot at the true crime genre in “Loch Henry,” masterfully deconstructing one of Netflix’s greatest assets. It’s thought provoking and ingenious in its delivery, providing twisted humor, tense horror, and intricate analysis, all within its one hour run time.
We recap the Netflix series Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 2, “Loch Henry,” which will contains spoilers and plot twists.
Charlie Brooker satirizes the true crime genre and goes some way towards ruining Scottish tourism in the process with the dark and twisted “Loch Henry.” In this installment, young filmmakers Davis and Pia uncover a horrifying news story whilst planning their own nature documentary.
Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 2, “Loch Henry” Recap
This documentary allows Davis the opportunity to introduce his new girlfriend Pia to his mother Janet. They stay at Janet’s home while they prepare for their week’s filming. Davis also takes Pia to meet his old friend Stuart, who runs a local pub with his father.
The pub isn’t doing so well though, due to a lack of tourism. Pia asks why this beautiful, scenic area is completely ignored. Stuart says that it is because of Iain Adair, a farmer’s son who tortured and killed people in the neighborhood.
Davis recounts how in 1997 a honeymooning couple went missing at Loch Henry. Local police officer and Davis’ father Kenneth McCardle investigated the disappearances, but was unable to find the victims.
One night, Iain got rather drunk and threatened to shoot everyone at Stuart’s family bar. Kenneth drove to Iain’s home to confront the man face to face.
What did the police find at Iain Adair’s farm?
Iain shot at Kenneth, wounding him in the shoulder, before turning the gun on his parents and then himself. In a hidden bunker, the police found Iain’s torture room and eight bodies were then dug up in the nearby fields. This devastating story quickly destroyed the local tourist trade.
On top of all this, Kenneth’s father caught MRSA whilst recovering from the gun shot wound in hospital. This would later kill him. Janet still blames Iain for her husband’s death to this day.
Pia is excited by the story and begs Davis to let them focus on Iain’s grim tale instead. She wants to make a true crime documentary instead. Pia pitches the idea to Stuart and he’s just as enthralled. He believes that this will bring back the tourists. Davis eventually agrees to pursuing the idea further.
The couple get to work on the new documentary, filming interviews and drone shots of the breath-taking landscape. They look through old news footage and newspaper cuttings, editing all this material into a succinct demo reel.
What is Kate Cezar’s feedback?
At Historik Productions, they pitch their series to Kate Cezar. She doesn’t seem that impressed by their story though. Pia says that there is a personal aspect, mentioning the death of Davis’ father, Kenneth. Kate asks them to return with some new material. Pia lies, stating that they have access to Iain’s farm.
Cut to Stuart breaking into the haunted home. The filmmakers and Stuart then slowly investigate this infamous building. In the torture room, UV lighting picks up blood splatters seemingly everywhere. They head home after the day’s filming. The farm has totally creeped them all out, so they try to make light of the events instead. Whilst joking around, Davis accidentally crashes the car.
Davis spends the night in the hospital. Meanwhile, the mother cooks Pia a meal back at home. Pia analyses the day’s footage upstairs. She is distracted and the tape recording comes to an end. It then reverts back to the previous recording.
What does Pia find on the tape?
What follows is a horrifying home movie made by Kenneth and Janet. The footage is from within the torture room, showing Iain and Davis’ parents taunting the honeymooning couple. It’s revealed that Davis’ parents worked with Iain, performing sexual and violent acts together.
Pia is horrified by this discovery, yet unable to escape. She realizes that she’s trapped in the middle of nowhere with a killer. Then Janet calls her down for dinner. Pia tries to call Davis, but there is no phone signal. She decides to just walk out of the building, happily breaking many horror conventions in the process.
How does Pia die?
As Pia runs away from Janet, she hides out in the wilderness. Janet chases after her, but it’s too dark to see. Pia slips in a stream and cracks her head on a rock, dying from the incident.
Janet believes that Pia will now tell the world about her secrets, so she decides to kill herself. She lays out all the evidence and hangs herself without hesitation.
Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 2 Ending Explained
Skipping into the near future, a trailer is released, promoting a new factual series from Streamberry about the Iain Adair case. The trailer reveals the twist about Davis’ parents and their involvement in the crimes. It’s explained that Kenneth covered up the scandal by killing Iain and wounding himself, he orchestrated the whole event.
The episode ends with the BAFTA’s ceremony. Davis’ docu-series, titled Loch Henry, has been nominated for best factual series. Stuart watches the show live from his heaving pub. He’s ecstatic to hear that Loch Henry has won the category.
Kate Cezar thanks the production team and dedicates the award to Davis and Pia. At the after-show party, Kate talks about a dramatized version of the series, which is in the works. Davis appears overwhelmed by it all and retires to his hotel room.
Alone, Davis phones Stuart. The pub is now thriving because of the series. Davis hangs up, irritated by Stuart’s successes. He unfolds a piece of paper, which happens to be the note that Janet left him. It reads: “For Your Film, Mum”. Davis stares at the BAFTA award with tears in his eyes, utterly destroyed by the whole experience.
Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 2, “Loch Henry” Review
“Loch Henry” is a cleverly constructed satire and a surprisingly effective study of the true crime genre, framing both the victims of the scandal and those that are set to profit from the series. This feels like an obvious dig at one of Netflix’s most popular genres, with similar shows capitalizing on human suffering for their own financial gains.
Brooker’s snappy script delivers on all the usual Black Mirror offerings, finding room for cheeky, twisted humor; complex, cultural analysis, and of course plenty of gory horror. This cocktail of classic hits still feels new and refreshing though, as the episode continually defies expectations.
What did you think of Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 2,”Loch Henry”? Comment below.
