‘Please get actual Scottish people to play Scottish characters!’ Black Mirror episode Loch Henry is slammed for using English actors – as viewers call their Highland accents ‘cringe’
- The sixth series of Black Mirror was released on Netflix yesterday but the accents in one episode haven’t impressed
- Read more: Black Mirror fans praise return of the dystopian show labelling it ‘disturbing’, ‘thought-provoking’ and ‘brilliantly twisty’
An episode of the new series of Black Mirror set in the Scottish Highlands has sparked derision over its ‘cringe’ accents.
Loch Henry, the second instalment of Charlie Brooker’s sixth season of Black Mirror, released on Netflix this week, follows a couple – one half Scottish, one half American – as they film a nature documentary in the Highlands.
However, viewers admitted they were were more disturbed by the dodgy non-native accents than the dystopian plotlines.
In a tweet that’s been seen more than 500,000 times, Scottish comic Fern Brady led the criticism, writing on Twitter: ‘I’m 1 min into the Scottish Black Mirror and already had to pause to cringe at the accents, whyyyyyy can’t we be normal on TV? Whyyyyy can’t we be played by actual Scottish people?’
The episode’s lead, English actor Samuel Blenkin, plays filmmaker Davis McCardle, while his mother Janet Mcardle is played by Monica Dolan, also English.
Loch Henry, episode two of the new Black Mirror series, sees English actor Samuel Blenkin attempting a Highlands accent – for which he’s been given short shrift from some viewers (Pictured: Samuel Blenkin playing filmmaker Davis McCardle. Right: Myha’la Herrold as Pia)
Other viewers criticised the show for casting English actors – including Monica Dolan as Janet McCardle
Other Scots chimed in to say they very much felt the same, poking fun at the casting – one wrote: ‘The “Highland” accents in the Scottish episode of Black Mirror’ adding a face slap emoji.
Another added: ‘What even are the accents in Black Mirror’s Loch Henry? Certainly no Scottish. Please get actual Scottish people to play Scottish characters.’
Others felt that the script also played to Scottish stereotypes.
One penned: ‘Black Mirror Episode 2. They really worked with a Scottish Stereotype lol..They continue with these stereotypes and that’s how folk think we only have one accent or we are unable to say a sentence without swearing.’
Another added: ‘Hard not to like the vibe of a beautiful but clearly troubled little Scottish village in one of the new Black Mirror episodes but (and as occasionally funny as it was) the sweary Scot stereotype is needing a wee rest for a while.’
Viewers raced to watch the episodes when they were released on Thursday and already began taking to Twitter to share their thoughts – with Brooker’s latest efforts widely receiving praise from fans.
One person wrote: ‘The new season of #BlackMirror is a major step up from season five. Three of the five new episodes are the best of the best.’
Praise: Viewers raced to watch the show when it was released on Thursday and already began taking to Twitter to share their thoughts
‘Many have abrupt tone changes and twisty endings, requiring you to pay the utmost attention. A little goofy, a little scary & very thought-provoking.’
Another agreed, writing: ‘#BlackMirror is back! Demon 79 is one of my all time faves, Loch Henry is a brilliantly twisty take on true crime, and Joan Is Awful is wild in the best way.’
Loch Henry was singled out has having the ‘biggest twist’, which has become one of the most defining features of Black Mirror.
One viewer said: ‘Haven’t stopped thinking about Loch Henry. The episode has the biggest twist of the season and there’s no way to describe it without flailing your arms and screaming “this is so f****d up!”
While another echoed: ‘loch henry was disturbing as F***…it’s going in my top five episodes like???’
However they added: ‘Beyond the Sea doesn’t reach its full potential and Mazey Day is maybe the worst episode ever?’
The first episode of the sixth series, Joan Is Awful, drew the most attention, with fans calling it both a ‘complete mind f***’ and ‘hilarious’, while praising the performances of the cast.
It stars Annie Murphy as an average woman who discovers her life has been made into a Netflix-style TV show with Salma Hayek playing her.
It’s back! Black Mirror has returned for a sixth season on Netflix and fans are already praising the anthology series as ‘a major step up from season five’
Popular: The dystopian yet often darkly comic series takes a scathing look at modern society and alternative realities often relating to the overuse of technology
Dark comedy: The first episode of the sixth series, Joan Is Awful, drew the most attention, with fans calling it both a ‘complete mind f***’ and ‘hilarious’, while praising the performances of the cast
Shocking: Loch Henry was singled out has having the ‘biggest twist’, which has become one of the most defining features of Black Mirror
Sad: Beyond The Sea stars Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett as astronauts on a mission in space and was called out as ‘tragic’
Beyond The Sea stars Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett as astronauts on a mission in space and was called out as ‘tragic’.
One fan commented: ‘Beyond the Sea is an 80-minute film about a long space mission in an alternative 1969. An extremely useful tool for a crew isolated millions of miles away is going to cause tragedy. It’s creepy. It’s tragic. It’s sad. It’s Black Mirror.’
Zazie Beetz stars in Mazey Day, which tells the story of a troubled starlet being dogged by invasive paparazzi and which divided viewers.
Polarising: Zazie Beetz stars in Mazey Day, which tells the story of a troubled starlet being dogged by invasive paparazzi and which divided viewers
Scary: While Demon 79 has been billed as the scariest episode, with one person called it a ‘full-fledged horror’
One viewer gave their opinion, writing: ‘Not really sure what to make of “Mazey Day” as a Black Mirror entry, it has something interesting to say about our obsession to peer into the broken private lives of struggling stars but has one of the most unexpected twists so far, will be very polarising!’
While Demon 79 has been billed as the scariest episode, with one person called it a ‘full-fledged horror’.
They wrote: ‘An interesting full-fledged horror tale that will leave you kooky in the end.
‘Despite being a strong episode, it does feel so out of place considering its theme. Rather, it could be a perfect episode in American Horror Story.’
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