‘Black Mirror: Beyond the Sea’ Ending Explained: What Happens When David and Cliff Start Sharing the Link?

Welcome to the Ending Explained for “Beyond the Sea,” the third episode of the sixth season of Black Mirror. A season of the show has arrived on Netflix this week, and it might be one of the show’s best seasons so far. Season 5 was especially weak, and audiences often forget those episodes. The same happened with most of the seasons 3 and 4. However, I might say that this sixth season contains at least three great episodes that go into the most meta of commentaries as well as the most classical of science fiction flavors. The sixth season could be quite memorable if it keeps going like this.

Beyond the Sea is the second-longest episode of the season, and it drops the meta-commentary of the first two episodes in favor of something a lot more classical in nature. I say classical to describe the tone and feel of the story the episode presents. The episode’s looks, along with many references to books from the 40s and 60s, seem to position this story as a forgotten tale written by Robert Heinlein or any other master of the genre at the time. Beyond the Sea goes hard for that old science fiction flavor, and the episode is better for it, as it distinguishes itself from all other episodes of the season or even the show.

The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Black Mirror, Season 6, Episode 3. Read at your own risk.

Why Are The Astronauts Using Replicas?

The episode begins like many other episodes of Black Mirror and goes straight to depicting something that feels mundane and then injects its dosage of creepy technology. In this case, we meet two men, David and Cliff. David is tall, handsome, and enjoying an evening with his family. David seems very much in love with his wife and loves his kids as well. Meanwhile, Cliff is seen, unlike David, far away from the city. We see him chopping some wood in front of his son, but he says he is not used to his grip when he can cut the log in one blow.

Later, we find out that these men are actually replicas of the real David and Cliff. The real David and Cliff are in space, on a space station, working on a mission that will last six years. They are in the second year of their mission, with four more to go. The differences between the men are very clear. David is caring and generous, while Cliff is cold and distant. The men used their sleeping time in orbit to be down on Earth with their families through the replicas, which seem like state-of-the-art copies, indistinguishable from the real astronauts.

One night, after hearing a sound downstairs, David goes out of bed, grabs his bat, and sees what is happening. He finds a group of people wearing hippie clothes and looking very much like the Manson Family, including their own crazy cult leader. The drop on David’s replica cut its arm. The cult then grabs David’s family and accuses them of destroying the world’s natural order, as David is not natural and shouldn’t exist. The cult kills David’s wife and children in front of him and then destroys his replica. David is left in shell-shocked mode. The next morning, Cliff goes to meet him in orbit, but the man is too broken. The mission must continue, though.

Cliff shares what is happening with his wife, Lana. They don’t seem to be on good terms, or at least the affection that once existed has disappeared for some reason. The news of David’s family death speeds up throughout the nation. The criminal gives themselves up to the police, and Cliff assures Lana that they will be fine as they are far away from California. David becomes more and more reclusive and seems to be going insane. Lana suggests that David may borrow his link and come to Earth using his body. She believes feeling the breeze on his face and walking through the woods might be good for the lost man.

What Happens When David And Cliff Start Sharing The Link?

David goes with Lana to the woods on his first visit to Earth using Cliff’s body. Lana shows him her favorite sport by an ancient tree. They sit down and enjoy the fresh air. David breaks down in tears, and Lana embraces him. When David goes back into orbit, he thanks Cliff for giving him the chance to go back to Earth again. Later, David seems to be drawing Cliff’s house, and he shows the drawing to Cliff, who finds it impressive. David asks if he can paint his house in oil to thank Cliff. He talks to Lana about it, and they decide that David can use Cliff’s link for 1 hour a week as Cliff does his physical regimen.

David begins to return to Earth using Cliff’s link and starts painting. It is clear that he and Lana become closer and closer. David treats Lana differently; he talks to her and cares about her feelings. One day, they go to buy some oil he needs for the painting, and they get recognized. However, the people don’t know they are talking to David instead of Cliff. Back at the house, David is almost about to finish the painting, and he and Lana become quite close, and they are almost about to have sex. Lana wakes up and accuses David of confusing her.

David confronts Lana, saying that he knows she wants him; he has seen how she looks at him. Lana replies that he might be the one confused because he doesn’t seem to remember that every time she looks at him, she sees Cliff, not David. Things go as usual until, one day, Cliff finds a series of drawings in David’s room. The drawings are of Lana posing naked. Cliff confronts Lana, and they finally talk about how distant he has been and that she wishes David had touched her because she would feel that it would be Cliff finally loving her once again.

Cliff goes back and confronts David, who confesses that she finds Lana quite beautiful. They brawl a bit and leave it like that. They continue to work as normal. David then calls Cliff for an emergency spacewalk, and Cliff finds out that the walk was unnecessary. Cliff tries to go back inside the station, but David doesn’t open the door. When he finally does, Cliff sees that his key, the one he uses to activate the link, is not with his things but in David’s pocket. Cliff goes back to Earth to find his family is dead. When Cliff goes back, he sees David waiting for him. Now both of them are alone and know what it feels like to lose everything.