Season 6 of Black Mirror premiered on Netflix in June 2023 and the fourth episode “Mazey Day” is very different from all the others. It examines the relationship between celebrities and the media while offering up a paranormal twist that not everyone could see coming. For some, this is an exciting episode that proves that Black Mirror can keep surprising people, season after season. For others, “Mazey Day” doesn’t quite work and isn’t as good as other more popular episodes.
From the first scene, the Black Mirror episode “Mazey Day” is intriguing. The ending is shocking, which fans have of course come to expect from the TV series. It’s not an episode that anyone will soon forget.
What Is Black Mirror’s “Mazey Day” About?
The most chilling Black Mirror episodes feature storylines that exaggerate how technology can negatively impact people. The Black Mirror episode “Mazey Day” stands out because it has more of a supernatural bent.
The episode follows two main characters: Mazey Day (Clara Rugaard), an actress who has been shooting a movie in the Czech Republic, and Bo (Zazie Beetz), a paparazza. At the beginning of the episode, both Mazey and Bo are at a crossroads in their careers. Mazey disappears when she gets involved in a hit-and-run because of her drug use. The sinister nature of the relationship between celebrities and the paparazzi is explored when Bo snaps some pictures that result in a star taking their own life. Bo realizes that she wants to stop working in the industry.
Unlike the happier episodes of Black Mirror, “Mazey Day” finds both of its main characters in dire situations. There are no simple answers here and it’s clear that they are both in over their heads. While the Black Mirror season 6 episode “Beyond The Sea” addresses technology, that isn’t really a theme here. The episode focuses more on the mistreatment of Mazey and how everyone believes that they own a piece of her because she is famous.
Instead of finding another job, though, Bo wants to locate Mazey so she can take photos of her. This is an interesting and smart plot point that allows the show to examine the all-encompassing, sinister, and pervasive nature of the paparazzi/celebrity connection. At the end of the day, if someone has a job where they have to take photos of strangers and sell them, they’re going to have to ignore any real feelings that they have about that if they want to keep working in the field.
According to NME, viewers thought that the Black Mirror episode “Mazey Day” referenced Twilight because both the episode and the movie use the song “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse. When the song plays in Twilight, it’s during the infamous scene when the vampires play baseball. As showrunner and creator Charlie Booker explained to NME, “Somebody pointed [the link] out to me. They asked me if it was winking at [Mazey’s fate], which it wasn’t necessarily…”
How Does “Mazey Day” End?
The ending of the Black Mirror episode “Mazey Day” is what makes this episode so different from all the others. Mazey Day becomes a werewolf, which is definitely a shocking plot twist. When Bo and other paparazzi find Mazey in a rehab center, she and several goats are chained up together. Mazey’s werewolf form is shown.
Like underrated movies about werewolves, “Mazey Day” has as much violence as anyone would expect from a story that focuses on a monster. But it asks some big questions, too, like what would happen if a famous actor suddenly became a creature hell-bent on violence. It’s easy to sympathize with Mazey and feel that she has been mistreated for far too long.
Mazey’s werewolf form hurts all the characters, and Bo takes cop Clay’s (Corey Johnson) gun and aims it at the werewolf. When Mazey is a human again, she tells Bo that she should shoot her again. In a haunting final image, Bo is going to snap a picture of Mazey aiming the gun at Mazey’s head. The episode makes the point that Bo has been a part of Mazey’s self-destruction, and the ending is sad.
Some fans wonder if Black Mirror is too realistic. “Mazey Day” is a compelling episode because it is relatable and has real-world implications, but, of course, the werewolf plotline keeps it firmly in the fiction category. Without the werewolf storyline, the episode would feel a little dull because there are many TV shows and movies that examine celebrity culture. But like horror movies that tell unique werewolf stories, the Black Mirror episode “Mazey Day” is unique enough to stand out against other more popular episodes of the TV show. Love it or hate it, “Mazey Day” asks some tough questions about what celebrities really owe the public, and the episode has some surprising moments.
