season-6

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"Black Mirror" Creator Explains Why Season 6 Hasn’t Started


“Black Mirror” creator Charlie Brooker has put his beloved series on the backburner, citing the global state of affairs.

Sometimes, art can imitate life a little too closely — and it would appear that Black Mirror has reached that point for series creator Charlie Brooker. Though sometimes television can be an escape from life’s little miseries — or large ones, as appear to be the 2020 norm — Brooker recently opened up about Black Mirror’s notoriously depressing tone and the impact it has since gone on to have on his creative process. 

"Black Mirror" Creator Explains Why Season 6 Hasn't Started

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While it’s that very tone that originally drew people to the series in the first place, it would appear that it’s currently the very reason Brooker has taken a break from working on the sixth season. “At the moment, I don’t know what stomach there would be for stories about societies falling apart, so I’m not working away on any of those [Black Mirror episodes],” he explains to the UK Radio Times. “I’m sort of keen to revisit my comic skill set, so I’ve been writing scripts aimed at making myself laugh.”

With that in mind, it’s likely that Black Mirror’s sixth season will take a little longer than expected. Especially given that film and television production in general has all but halted with no sign of an imminent return. Though it’s uncertain whether Brooker’s assessment that people lack the appetite for macabre takes on dystopic fiction holds true, the man has earned to right to take whatever time he needs — do you think you could stomach some new Black Mirror right about now? 

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"Power" Recap: Rashad Tate Receives An Immense "Reversal Of Fortune"

One step closer to the answer.

This week's episode of Power, entitled "Reversal Of Fortune," presented viewers with the calm before the storm. After the violence and the emotional ups and downs of last week's episode, Courtney Kemp slowed things down a bit. Hopeful politician Rashad Tate took the mainstage in "Reversal Of Fortune." The clock rewinds back to the moment that St. Patrick and Tate split ways, and we witness the enraged politician have a night out on the town. In a drunken stupor, he puts a hit on Ghost which leads to a guest-starring role for Cedric the Entertainer. Viewers saw Cedric (who is named Croop in the show) get killed by Tommy before the mid-season break, and now Power illustrates how it reached that point. 

After his night of drunken bliss, Tate wakes up in his brother Kamal's home. Kamal is a cop, and is both supportive and wary of his brother. It's in his brother's home that Tate gets the news of Ghost joining rival Loretta Walsh's campaign. The family dynamic between Tate, his brother, his nephew, and sister-in-law is on full display here. Kemp does the same thing here that the show did with Paz two episodes earlier. Tate is given a solid family background that helps make his character more relatable. He loves his nephew and plays the supporting uncle role. As interesting as it is, it's also strange to see a show devote so much time to a supporting character that is presumably at the end of his run. With the amount they've invested into his backstory this late in the game, it could just be an indicator of Tate's involvement in a spin-off show.

Tate tries to plead his case to the DNC after Ghost and Loretta team up, but they advise him to concede. That isn't an option for Tate though and he storms off only to be greeted by Croop and his son. The young politician tries to call off the hit on Ghost, but Croop wants his money. He gives Tate an ultimatum: tell him where to find Ghost or die. The obvious answer is given and Croop is on his way to tail Mr. St. Patrick. 

This could have been a game-changing moment. Ghost has a chance to save his own life here, but he lets his pride destroy him. Tate heads to Truth to speak with Ghost and warn him about the hit, but the former drug kingpin's arrogance causes Tate to rethink his strategy. If Ghost had just been humble, Tate would have warned him about the hit and he would have beefed up his security. Instead, Ghost allowed his power trip to consume him to the point of letting his guard down. Tate becomes even more determined to take Ghost down, and later, Dre gives him the ammo he needs. The treacherous thug mentions Tariq suspiciously, and Tate then tries to use that information to agitate Tasha. He tells Tasha that Ghost is planning to get his son locked up for the murder of Raymond Jones, but she doesn't buy it. Something tells me this piece of information is crucial though, and may have been heard or passed to Tariq at some point. None the less, Tate leaves empty-handed. Viewers are treated to a repeat of the scene where Tate hires Dre to kill Ghost out of desperation, but we all know how that one turns out. 

Later, while Tate is taking out the trash, he is approached by Croop's vengeful son. Before Tate can meet his doom though, Kamal kills Croop's son, which ties up that loose end nicely for the councilman. It seems like Tate is in the clear at first, but his brother is rightfully suspicious. Kamal takes Tate down to the station to file a report, and this is where they learn that there was a shooting at Truth. Now, Tate has an alibi and we know he didn't kill Ghost because he was already at the police station at the time of the gunshot. Tate rides along with Kamal to the crime scene, and begrudgingly admits that Dre might have killed Ghost and he may be implicated. Kamal's suspicions grow even more when they are informed at Truth that Ghost is dead. 

Tate spins the story of Ghost's death into a beautiful press moment and wins back the hearts of his constituents. Slick work for a man who was desperate just hours before. The next day, the DNC comes crawling back to Tate and Kamal informs him that Dre was killed in prison. "Reversal Of Fortune" is true to the title: Tate goes from political homicide to earning the Democratic nomination in a matter of days. To cap things off Tate sullies Romona's career by telling the press that she was sleeping with Ghost. Once again, this move implies that there is more story to tell in regards to Tate. It would be pointless to show Rashad still creating enemies if the show didn't plan to explore these relationships at some point. Before the episode ends, Tate is enjoying the spoils of his victory when the local news announces Ghost's killer. Tate is in shock, and the audience is left clueless. I believe the most important part of this episode may be Tate telling Tasha that Ghost planned to let Tariq go to jail. That has been an unresolved plot line for most of the season, and Ghost at one point did consider letting his son take the fall to learn a lesson. Could that have motivated Tasha and Tariq to kill Ghost? We'll see next week. 

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"Power" Recap: "Still Dre" Eliminates Two Suspects In Brutal Season Premiere

The death toll rises.

SPOILERS FOR LAST NIGHT'S "POWER."

After a brief break, Power is back to wrap up the sixth and final season of the series. Creator Courtney Kemp has promised the fans some plot twists that will shake the universe up, and we begin with a Dre-centric episode. Still Dre follows the widely despised character on the day that Ghost is shot. Two big revelations arise, the first being the fate of Ghost. Before Kemp gives fans that nugget of information though, we get to see if Dre was actually involved in the shooting at Truth. 

The episode begins with a Gospel hymn and carries a heaven-and-hell theme throughout. Dre gets done promising to his daughter and baby's momma that no one will ever hurt them again when he sees Ghost on television. Mr. St. Patrick has been announced as a running mate to become lieutenant governor, something that shakes Dre to his core. He goes to visit Saxe, another suspect in the shooting. Dre puts pressure on Saxe before leaving to attend to business as usual. The square-jawed thug is ambushed by vengeful Serbians and barely escapes with his life. Remember, the Serbs believe Dre killed Jason, although it was really Ghost. This prompts Dre to take his lover's advice to get out of town. But first thing is first, he needs money. 

Dre goes to his mother for help, and she appears to be the only person he's really scared of. He cries and sells his sob story, but the devout elderly Christian maternal figure shrugs him off. There remains deep trauma between the two of them, something that pushed Dre to stay away from his own mother for years. After she denies Dre any money, he goes on an extortion tour. Dre threatens Tasha, who then grabs Tariq, who then leads Dre to Ghost. Here viewers get to see the same office scene where Ghost berates Dre and the aftermath, which is Dre falling into Ghost's trap and getting locked up. 

Once in jail, Dre runs into his old pals 2 Bit and Spanky. The two henchmen are tipped off by Ghost that Dre is in their prison, and he offers them lifelong compensation for their families if they murder Dre. 2 Bit is more than down-- he hates a snitch-- but Spanky is a little more calculated. Loyalty isn't a concern for Spanky, who snitches on Tommy in order to gain freedom. Meanwhile, Dre escapes the prison by doing some snitching of his own, which keeps him alive for a moment longer. Slowly but surely, 2 Bit realizes that Spanky is up to no good.

After getting released from jail, Dre immediately goes to rob his mother. This leads to another deep moment between the two characters, and we really get to see Dre break down here. Dre's mother finds him rummaging through her closet, and she approaches him with a gun in her hand.  Before she can pull the trigger though, Dre snatches the pistol from her and flips the script. He blames his evil ways on his mother, who called him a demon child since he was six. His lack of motherly love turned him into a monster, or so he claims. Before dropping the pistol and leaving the home, Dre tells his mother than she will never know Heaven, his daughter. The ongoing Shakespearean theme of family and the consequences of father and child (Tariq and Ghost, Proctor and Elisa Marie, Kanan and Shawn, Tommy and Kate) are highlighted here. 

After leaving his mother's home, Dre heads to Tate's office. The corrupt politician agreed to bless Dre with a new identity IDs and a license plate in exchange for information on the St. Patricks. Dre used snitching to get ahead once again, but gets greedy when granted with another proposition. Tate offers Dre $100,000 to kill Ghost, which effectively takes him off the suspect board. Although we did see Tate with a gun in episode 10, it appears he may have been heading elsewhere. There is no point in hiring a killer and then going to kill Ghost himself. Dre takes the money from Tate and talks things over with his lover. She suggests that the two of them skip town with the money, and forget about Tate's proposition. Dre can't help himself though, and he heads to Ghost's club to finish the job. He finds himself at Truth in time to hear Ghost get shot once. He then runs to leave, knocks out Rodriguez in the act, and heads to a gas station for some much-needed stress snacking. On his way to the gas station, Dre spots Tommy near Truth. The haunting moment will surely be explored later, and it seems like Tommy may have something to do with the shot heard at Truth. Surely, Tommy's episode will be near the end, if not the last. 

Dre enters the gas station, and this is where viewers get their first bombshell of the episode: the nightly news announces Ghost as dead. There is no body, which makes me suspicious of the death, but as of right now the news is our only source of information. Dre seems pleased with the news, until cops show up and the gas station and arrest him on the spot. The arrest places Dre right back in prison, where 2 Bit and Spanky make quick work of him. They burn him to death while he's in solitary confinement, a painful and fitting death for one of Power's most hated characters. Within the few final scenes, 2 Bit learns that Spanky snitched on Tommy and informs Mr. Egan of the betrayal. Meanwhile, fans get the nod that Paz will be the focus of next week's episode. With both Dre and Tate off the suspect table now, only Paz, Saxe, Tasha, Tariq, and Tommy remain. Expect Courtney Kemp to pull something tricky here: my guess is that Ghost steps in front of a gun and takes a bullet that was meant for someone else. Since there are more suspects than episodes, viewers should also expect two or more of them to be taken off the table next week. Who shot Ghost? Only time will tell.