‘Black Mirror: Loch Henry’ Ending Explained: What Is Loch Henry About?

Welcome to the Ending Explained for Loch Henry, the second episode of Black Mirror Season 6. In this episode, the season’s subject seems to come to light. Understandably, Charlie Brooker has decided to make a season around Netflix as a streaming platform. The existence of Netflix has surely been one of the most influential events in the history of media; there is no doubt about that. So, exploring a bit more about what it means to be Netflix and how can Netflix and its way of operating can go out of control and hurt people instead of helping them.

Loch Henry is a very interesting episode, especially in contrast to the rest of the show as such. How? Well, most Black Mirror episodes show a distinct piece of technology that ruins the protagonists’ lives.

We have seen this many times before. However, in this episode, the technology is not a device or an idea. It is a behavior, one that is already permeated in reality. Maybe, more than any other episode, Loch Henry goes the extra mile to put a mirror on today’s society. It does so much that the episode doesn’t have to imagine a society five minutes into the future. The dystopia is already right here; we just haven’t seen it.

The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Loch Henry, the second episode of Season 6 of Black Mirror. Read at your own risk.

What Is Loch Henry About?

Loch Henry is basically an example of how the Netflix algorithm has changed how people watch content and how creators choose to make that content. Worse even, the word “content” has awful connotations.

At one point, the film was considered an art medium that could deliver messages, emotions, and so much more. Film was more than just something to fill up the minutes on a watch list. Nowadays, though, the film is content, disposable content to be watched and forgotten just as you watch it. Thus, Loch Henry is a critical example of how Netflix has ruined the art form.

We follow the character of Davis, and his girlfriend, Pia. They are both filmmakers. Pia is American, and Davis is Scottish. They have traveled to Davis’ hometown to film a documentary on Egg-theft. Davis also takes the chance to introduce Pia to her mother, a fragile old woman who seems to be quite lonely.

We learn she is alone because Davis’ father died many years ago. Davis confesses he doesn’t miss his father like his mom does. He was very small at the time of the tragedy, while his mother actually lived through it. The next day, they visit the local pub and meet Stuart, Davis’ childhood friend.

Pia wonders why the town is so alone. Why are there no tourists? The landscape is gorgeous, so it is a surprise that no one comes here. Stuart and Davis begin telling Pia that these parts are dangerous and people die or go missing constantly. However, the real reason there are no tourists is a man named Iain Adair.

The story goes that Adair was a criminal who kidnapped a couple in the 1990s. Davis’ father discovered the man, who kept a torture chamber in his basement. Davis’ father got shot and died of his wounds years later. The horrific nature of the crimes basically killed the town as well. Pia is interested in the story and suggests that they should make a film about it. Stuart gives them his late mother’s archive, so they can start piecing the documentary together.

Davis is initially unsure, but then he gets convinced that the publicity will benefit the town. They finished the first cut of the documentary, but their producer told them that they needed new material, something that they had never seen before. They decide to go to the house where everything happened and record some material at the torture dungeon.

It all seems well and dandy, the documentary is pushing forward, and even Davis’ mother gave an interview. She wants her husband’s story to be told to the masses. However, on the way back, they crash into another vehicle on the road.

Does Davis Finish His Documentary?

Davis wakes up in the hospital with a concussion. Pia and Stuart are fine. However, just to keep him under observation, Davis must remain the night at the hospital. Pia leaves with Davis’ mother. She begins working on editing the footage they recorded that day while the mother starts cooking dinner. Davis had used some old videotapes of his mother to record the torture chamber. They guess that VHS quality recording would help with the atmosphere. The tapes were supposed to contain old episodes of a TV show. However, Pia discovers a terrible truth.

Meanwhile, at this hospital, Stuart’s father begs Davis to stop making his film because he knows the truth. He has always known it. When we go back to Pia, we discover what that truth is. We see that both of Davis’ parents were the masterminds behind the kidnappings and the tortures. They only used Adair’s basement as the place to do all their sick sex games. Pia watches the video in horror and then has to have dinner with Davis’ mother. She panics and escapes the house. Davis’ mother finds the tape and sees that Pia now knows the truth. She goes outside to look for her.

Davis and Stuart had already warned Pia that those hills were dangerous. People often took the wrong turn or fell into the wrong place to their deaths. This happens to Pia. She slips and then falls unconscious into the river, drowning. Meanwhile, Davis’ mother panics as the truth comes out. She returns home without having found Pia and decides to kill herself. She leaves the tapes will all her murders so that Davis can use them for his film. She ties a rope to the ceiling and hangs herself.

We then jump into the future and see that the documentary has been finished and has become one more successful true-crime documentary series on Streamberry. The documentary wins a BAFTA, and the town receives tourists once again. However, Davis’ story is out there for everyone to see. The episode ends with Davis looking at his award as he cries with a drink in his head.

The episode tries to make us see that the people in these true-crime documentaries are real people, and the fact we demand their sad and tragic stories for entertainment is quite sickening.