Black Mirror actor reveals unsettling double-meaning in Loch Henry

It tells the story of young couple Pia (Myha’la Herrold) and Davis (Samuel Blenkin) who originally plan to make a nature documentary, but are soon sidelined by a past true-crime case in Davis's small Scottish town of Loch Henry.

As the two team up with Davis's longtime friend Stuart (Daniel Portman) to get to the bottom of why murderer Iain Adair tortured and killed numerous victims over the years, they stumble upon the startling truth right near the end of the episode.

It's slowly revealed that Janet, Davis's seemingly well-meaning mother, is concealing a dark secret of her own, and together with her husband, police officer Kenneth, recruited Adair to help them torture and kill all of those people.

The episode ends with the shock deaths of Pia, who stumbles on a rock in a stream, and also of Janet, who hangs herself and leaves a stack of incriminating videos and memorabilia for Davis to use in his documentary.

The final scenes of the episode show that Davis has made his documentary, which wins best factual series at the BAFTAs. But although it's a time of celebration for many involved, Davis is left to drink champagne alone in his hotel room. The final shot is of a teary-eyed Davis staring at his BAFTA award - which, of course, is a mask.

When chatting to RadioTimes.com and other press about Loch Henry, episode stars Herrold and Blenkin were quizzed about the double meaning of the mask at the end.

Of course, it bears a striking similarity to both the fact that Janet was seen wearing a red masquerade mask in the disturbing torture videos, and that she chose to wear it when she hung herself.

Commenting on the similarities, Herrold said: “Good catch” while Blenkin said: “Yes, I think you’re absolutely right."

He explained: "There’s a thread there about the stories that we tell other people about who we are, and my mum’s character in the show, this story she’s been telling herself about who she is. That’s all in there, masks and all that kind of thing – there’s absolutely a connection there.”

In other similarly eerie episodes of season 6, Charlie Brooker interrogates our ideas about streaming in Joan Is Awful, the feeling of isolation in Beyond The Sea, invasive paparazzi in Mazey Day and our darkest, innermost thoughts in Demon 79.

Caught up on Black Mirror season 6? Read our episode breakdowns below:

• Joan Is Awful - episode 1 ending explained
• Beyond the Sea - episode 3 ending explained
• Mazey Day - episode 4 ending explained
• Demon 79 - episode 5 ending explained

Read our interview with Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, as well as season 6 stars Salma Hayek, Aaron Paul and Rob Delaney, in the latest issue of Radio Times magazine – out now.

Black Mirror season 6 is streaming now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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