Do [SPOILER] die in Black Mirror season 6 episode 3? (“Beyond the Sea” ending explained)

A new season of Black Mirror has finally arrived on Netflix and as expected, it’s another twisty, entertaining ride. The Charlie Brooker sci-fi series has been wowing audiences since its debut in 2011, making viewers scratch their heads, question technology, and ask all the existential questions about life.

Black Mirror season 6 is five episodes long and follows the anthology format the show’s known for. That means just as you’re starting to come to terms with the shocking events in one episode, it’s on to the next!

You might feel this way when you finish the third episode, titled “Beyond the Sea.” This one stars Josh Hartnett as David and Aaron Paul as Cliff, two workers on a mission in space who, through advanced technology, are able to visit their loved ones on Earth whenever they please. It sounds like a good deal, but tragedy strikes multiple times in this episode.

Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead for Black Mirror season 6 episode 3.

In “Beyond the Sea,” David and Cliff use a device called a “link” to transport their consciousness to a replica of themselves on Earth. So that means while their real bodies remain up in space, they have fake machine bodies on their home planet that they can inhibit through their link. Trippy, I know.

When David’s family is murdered in a home invasion, in which his replica is also set on fire, he’s left with nothing. He no longer has his loved ones, and he can’t go back to Earth without his replica. As Cliff explains to his wife Lana, there’s no way for a new replica of David to be created with him up in space. So while Cliff visits Earth and spends time with his family, David is all alone. It’s extremely sad.

Wanting to help, Cliff and Lana come up with a plan to allow David to use Cliff’s link and replica body to visit Earth once a week. This way, he’ll be able to experience fresh air and all the beautiful things in the world to balance out how lonely space can be. This is a slippery slope as David becomes attached to his new life on Earth, but Cliff and Lana will do anything to help.

As David spends more and more time with Lana, he falls for her. They almost kiss during one scene, but Lana then realizes it’s wrong and tells him they can’t. David doesn’t seem to understand, telling her that Cliff would never find out. Lana sends David back to space and soon after, Cliff discovers drawings of Lana naked in David’s room.

Cliff confronts David, who doesn’t see it as a big deal, and when he asks Lana about the whole thing, she admits that David made her feel seen. She feels lonely even when Cliff’s home, and she says she felt like she had her husband back when David used Cliff’s replica body.

“Beyond the Sea” ending explained: What happens to Lana and Henry?

Cliff and Lana end up making up, and understandably, Cliff doesn’t want David near his wife. When David asks if he could visit Earth one last time to tell Lana goodbye, Cliff refuses. He lies and tells him that Lana sees him as a snake and a con man, and that even the idea of him returning makes her sick. David is upset by this and commits a terrible crime.

While distracting Cliff by staging an emergency on the spaceship, David uses Cliff’s link and kills Lana and their son Henry. Although we don’t see their bodies, when Cliff is able to get back home there’s blood all over his hands and the wall. As he walks down the stairs he discovers a big pool of blood. We don’t see what he sees, but whatever it is makes him fall to the floor and sob. We can assume that it’s Lana’s and Henry’s bodies.

The episode ends before we can learn more about what happened on Earth, but we’ve seen enough at that point.

Why does David kill Lana and Henry in Black Mirror season 6 episode 3?

It definitely seems like an impulsive decision for David to kill Lana and Henry, so you might be wondering why he would even do it. Well, there’s absolutely no way to justify murder, though we can come up with an explanation as to why David might’ve snapped.

David is still mourning the loss of his wife and children, a trauma he’ll likely never get over. Losing his family left him alone, and when he feels betrayed by Cliff and Lana, he takes it out on them.

He feels like he has a connection with Lana, and to hear all of those things she supposedly said about him deeply hurts him. Now that Cliff’s lost his family, too, they’re in this together. Cliff no longer has any reason to live a life on Earth, so he’s stuck with David in space.

It’s an absolutely terrible thing for David to do, and I can’t even imagine where his relationship with Cliff goes from here.

For more Black Mirror, be sure to check out all five new episodes of season 6 on Netflix right now.