Black Mirror: Season Six Overview

Summary

A new season of Black Mirror presents itself, dare you step inside this modern day Twilight Zone.

I thought this season as a whole was fantastic, easily the best season of Black Mirror in years and certainly the best since Netflix took over the show. There were no bad episodes each episode both fit within the mould of the wider season whilst also doing something new and fun, this is highlighted perfectly by the two episodes that book end the season one is an inception like science fiction and the other an end times disaster romp through south Yorkshire.

As I have said in a number of reviews over the years when it comes to anthology shows and films it is very easy for one bad segment to hold back the wider whole of the season or film, however that definitely isn’t the case here. I also liked that though this season had Black Mirror’s sense of dark humour there were enough jokes and lighter moments scattered over the episodes to keep you watching whilst also perfectly balancing the tone.

Overall, this is a season of Black Mirror that pretty much anyone could enjoy.

4.5/5

Pros.

The tone of the episode

The way the episodes play with and interact with each other on a subtextual level

The acting is great

The concepts really come together

The twists and turns

Cons.

There were a few minor pacing issues within some of the episodes.

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Star Wars Visions: The Bandits Of Golak

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A brother and sister duo try to escape Imperials and Inquisitors whilst fleeing the Galactic Civil War.

There isn’t a whole lot wrong with this episode, it has some okay action and at times knows how to use its tension, but I think that is just it, this is an episode of half measures it is fine but doesn’t push for more than that.

I think the major issue with this episode is that the plot idea has been done before and done better, not the exact same plot but the idea of force sensitives having to run away from the Empire whilst being hunted down and having to make sacrifices to go into hiding. I feel like I have seen the episode so many times before in different areas of Star Wars media and for me that is a problem.

I also think that it is time to stop having all these survivors of Order 66 as it totally ruins the moment within the lore. Order 66 was impactful as it killed off most of the Jedis, it was a big deal, to have more and more of them surviving just takes away from it. Before you say it I know this show isn’t cannon, but I just wanted to say as it plays a role in the narrative of the episode that it is a plot crutch I am not enjoying from current year Star Wars. If they want to have more Jedi they could establish that there was a temple of some kind in the Outer Rim or beyond that was a splinter group from the main order and which didn’t get involved in the Galactic Civil War for whatever reason. That way you can have more new Jedi’s pop up without the question being where were they in the original trilogy.

Overall, a fine episode if one that felt very, very familiar.

2/5

Pros.

The action was okay

It was watchable

Cons.

The lazy plot crutch of another surviving Jedi

I feel like I have seen it before

The emotions weren’t developed enough to be impactful

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Star Wars Visions: The Spy Dancer

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A dancer bides her time to strike back against the Empire.

Despite my claims in the last Star Wars Visions review this episode is in fact the best of the season so far. This is for two central reasons.

Firstly the story of the lead and the horrors she has faced really puts a human, or in this case alien, face to the rebellion and makes it feel even more important and impactful. I think the episode perfectly captures this idea of rebelling and pain in the most beautiful way, and that the final hint towards resolution was surprisingly effecting.

Secondly, the animation is the best here is has been all season with Cartoon Saloon being the only ones thus far to pose a challenge to Studio La Cachette’s excellent form. This really comes through during the dancing scenes with the incredibly intricate dance wherein the lead’s outfit and the fabric itself seem to come to life.

I think both of these reasons raise the bar from what has already come out this season and lays down a gauntlet for the final few episodes to match or exceed.

Overall, I think this is a powerful episode that is well crafted and is guaranteed to make you shed a tear.

4/5

Pros.

The emotions

The animation

The characters

The feeling of rebellion and pain

Cons.

The ending is a bit too opened ended for my liking I would have liked a more definitive ending

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Star Wars Visions: Journey To The Dark Head

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A monk and a Jedi must work together in order to turn the tide against the Sith.

Finally midway through the season this show remembers what it is. This was the first episode of the season that actually felt like Star Wars and would be what I would expect from this show.

That is not to say it was perfect as it was a little formulaic at times and felt very much like something we have all seen before, but there were still more good elements than bad which made this the best episode so far this season in my opinion, but that is also a pretty low bar.

I enjoyed seeing the Sith Lord being fully evil and destroying the Jedi temple in the flashback as I feel like within Star Wars more broadly we are often told about the evil things these Sith Lords have done rather than being shown it. By showing it here it allows for an added layer of dramatic weight which enables the novice Jedi’s backstory and later character journey to feel more believable and weighty.

Overall, a lot further down the right track.

3/5

Pros.

It feels like Star Wars

Showing the Sith at their most powerful

The premise is interesting and mostly delivers

Cons.

The monk characters feels very one note

At times this episode bordered on the overly familiar

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Star Wars Visions: I Am Your Mother

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young pilot is embarrassed of her mum and so doesn’t informer her about the family race.

This is a very sad review for me, I am a big fan of Aardman Animation for the most part and when I heard they were doing their own Star Wars short I was very excited, but this is the review I am writing.

Many aspects of this short just didn’t work. The characters are paper thin and cannot have a believable emotional journey in the amount of time they are on screen for. The story is generic and revolves around a child being embarrassed by their parent, which we have all seen before. Even the humour and tone feels a little too goofy to fit the pretty sober tone of the rest of the animated offerings within this second season.

I suppose that brings things to the crux of the problem, much like with the last episode this just doesn’t feel like Star Wars, yes there are fighter pilots, but more broadly there is a lack of connectivity that makes this episode feel like it could just be taking place in any old science fiction universe.

Overall, I am all for doing something different with Star Wars but there is a point when it just doesn’t feel like Star Wars anymore.

1.5/5

Pros.

A little bit of Aardman charm manages to get through

It is short

Cons.

The tone doesn’t work

It doesn’t feel like Star Wars

The story feels generic and played out

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Star Wars Visions: In The Stars

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two sisters attempt to restore water to their devastated world

Much like episode 2 I found this episode to be depressing, and I know Star Wars can be depressing and can do it well look at Andor, however, even within the confines of that show there is an underlying hopefulness as the Rebellion is beginning to from, here things start out incredibly bleak and don’t get better until the end of the episode.

I thought the characters were fine, I didn’t really warm to either sister, and thought that their arc of one being naïve and plucky and the other guarded and jaded had been done better in the past. I understand where the episode wanted their arcs to go and it roughly got there but I think more work was needed to do it well.

I am finding with this second season of Visions that pacing is really becoming an issue either the idea isn’t developed enough and needs more time to tell its story or the idea is too long and needs to be better cut down. The whole season thus far could do with some better editing.

Overall, fairly boring and generic.

2/5

Pros.

A solid premise

Seeing the wide reaches of the Empire

Cons.

It is underdeveloped and the character arcs needed more time

The sister’s don’t stand out as characters and feel too familiar in terms of personality

It feels depressing and not fun to watch

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Star Wars Visions: Screecher’s Reach

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of children straight from the workhouse explore a cave system and come across an old Sith who has gone mad and is thought of by the locals as a ghost, little do the children know they have stumbled into a much darker game.

This episode was certainly not what I was bargaining for, in many senses this episode was deeply unsettling outright creepy. Normally I wouldn’t have an issue with this but in the context of the show and what Star Wars is this came across as being far too different.

Now the whole point of this show is to try and play around with Star Wars and do new things, however, I think it is a balancing act between doing something new that still feels like the brand at the same time. This I would argue crossed that line and no longer felt like Star Wars

The Sith Mother, who is the real villain behind the whole episode was a very intriguing figure that I have not been able to stop thinking about since watching this, there was just something so off-kilter and incredibly sinister about her that makes her interesting. I hope the wider Star Wars lore comes back to her at some point.

Overall, depressing and unsettling not really what I want out of a Star Wars show.

1.5/5

Pros.

The Sith Mother was interesting

It has great animation

Cons.

It is bleak

It doesn’t feel like Star Wars

It is unsettling

The narrative needed greater explanation

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Planet Terror: Go-Go Gore

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The survivors of a biochemical disaster must face off against zombie like creatures and the military.

So of the two Grindhouse films this is clearly the better. Whilst not perfect, this film is far more enjoyable, both in terms of having a style and a charm that I could easily get on board with as well as having characters that I actually cared about.

I am a big fan of Robert Rodriguez, I like most of his more adult orientated content, and this film proves why I feel that way. It has such a personality and soul and never stops trying to be interesting. I liked the tone the film set and how it managed to swing between irreverent and dramatic at the same time whilst still managing to also gets some rad kills in along the way.

I really do think that Rose McGowan is terrific here. Her lead is both one that you end up rooting for but also one that is full of twists and surprises and is a very interesting character that Rodriguez should consider going back to in his future work.

My main issues with the film is that some of the ideas and themes don’t age well, as well as the fact that zombies, and yes I know these aren’t zombies in the traditional sense, feel very overdone and just boring at times. Due to this I am more interested in the army villains within the film instead, but these do end up feeling underdeveloped at times.

Overall, the better half of Grindhouse but also not without its own issues.

3/5

Pros.

McGowan

The tone and the style

The gore

Cons.

It feels dated

The zombie threat seems overly familiar and played out

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Star Wars Visions: Sith

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A former Sith apprentice must face off against her old master in order to regain control over her own life.

I liked the focus on the Sith, it was nice to see them as something more than just the outright villains they are often shown as. Although the Sith shown here are still definitely villains. I also thought the focus of the grey area in between the light and dark sides of the Force was an interesting avenue for the episode to approach thematically, and I liked where they went with it.

My issues with this episode however were twofold.

Firstly, I wasn’t a fan of the animation style, the water colour esque aesthetic just didn’t work for me and I found it to be distracting. I understand the point of this show is to do different things and be experimental but this felt a little bit too abstract at times for me.

Secondly, I thought the episode was fairly sparse on context or dialogue, and though I am not saying I wanted long scenes of exposition but a lot of this episode’s narrative was told through your own inference rather than the show telling you what is happening. This approach definitely is appreciated in that it treats the audience as adults but also at the same time adds to this artsy, abstract, interpretative feel to the episode that just didn’t work for me.

Overall, a mixed start to the new batch of episodes.

3/5

Pros.

I liked the focus on the Sith

I also appreciated the comments and themes of moral ambiguity and grey areas of the Force

It was an interesting premise

Cons.

The animation style didn’t work for me

The show but don’t tell approach was taken to too far of an extreme here

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The Mandalorian: The Return

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The battle for Mandalore intensifies.

I think this episode did a lot to make the season better, was it enough to make up for some of the midseason episodes that were utterly awful? No probably not. However, I thought there were enough cheer worthy moments to get you back on board with the series here.

I really liked that this episode gave Din, played by Pedro Pascal, real time to shine and let him be a badass and have long drawn out action sequences. Moreover, I liked his reaction when the elite Imperial trooper were about to kill Grogu, you can tell that he thinks of him as a son it is very endearing. As was the scene wherein Grogu saves his adoptive parents from certain death with a force bubble, I must admit I teared up a little in that moment.

Of course I also enjoyed Din finally formally adopting Grogu as his own son and the two of them heading back off together to carry out new adventures of their own, I think it is both a good ending for their arc at the end of the season as well as a good set up so the next season can be better.

The one thing I would criticise this episode for was how it handled the return of Moff Gideon, played by Giancarlo Esposito. They got it wrong in so many different ways, firstly by saving him to so late in the season there was not enough time to set up what his evil masterplan was as such the cloning thing really did fall flat. Secondly, though they tried to make him more physical here to try and match Din, you really had to suspend your disbelief to go along with that as clearly he was a bad fighter yet he was getting in some licks that he really shouldn’t have been able to logically. Thirdly, they gave him a rushed death with little to no acknowledgement of the fact that the series major antagonist has just died, it is all very much okay on to the next thing.

Overall, the action and the Din and Grogu feels make up for the incredibly wasted Moff Gideon. Lets hope next season will be better.

4/5

Pros.

Din and Grogu saving each other

Din getting action scene to shine in again

The action

The ending of the episode and where it leaves things for next season

Cons.

They really waste Moff Gideon

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