Black Mirror S6: Demon 79 ending explained

Here’s a breakdown of the ending of Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 5, ‘Demon 79’, as we explore the question: did the world end, or was it all in the main character’s head?

It’s been almost five years since we last got a batch of Black Mirror on Netflix. The fifth series, while perhaps not as universally loved as earlier seasons, still left audiences wanting more of its dystopian sci-fi stories.

So with Season 6 of the anthology series now here, fans have been busy enjoying the new episodes, includes the season finale, ‘Demon 79’.

This episode takes place in northern England in 1979, where a meek sales assistant is told she must commit terrible acts to prevent disaster. But does this disaster actually happen? We’ll explain, but first: Major spoiler warning for ‘Demon 79’!

What happens in Black Mirror’s Demon 79?

‘Demon 79’ begin as somewhat of an underdog story. Needa is a shy sales assistant, living by herself with seemingly no friends of family in Northern England in the late 1970s.

Political tensions are rising, as the Conservatives and the National Front are set to take power in Parliament, and are graffiti-ing her front door. This racism is even effecting her at work, as when she’s not being hit on by wife-stranglers, she’s being talked down to by her co-worker (a co-worker that she fantasises about smashing their head through a glass counter) and forced to eat her food in the shop’s basement, due to its “smell.”

In said basement, she finds some alarming newspaper cut-outs, along with an odd talisman with a symbol on it, which she accidently gets her own blood on. This activates the talisman, which starts speaking to her at home.

Turns out that this talisman is the home of Gaap, a demon, who then appears in her flat as a dancing man from Boney M. Don’t worry though, he’s friendly, and only she can see or hear him, making any communication she has with him appear mentally worrying to the people around her.

According to Gaap, they now have to work together, as “You’ve gotta carry out three human sacrifices over the next three days, or else the world’s gonna end.” She must murder three people before May Day, or else it’s “burning skies time,” akin to a nuclear bomb disaster, with a “scorching wall of flames.” He even shows her visions of this apocalypse to convive her.

Needa reluctantly takes on this task, choosing to kill people who “deserve it.” Her first victim is a man who molests his own daughter, though his death gets the police of Needa’s trail.

She then attempts to seduce and murder the previously seen man who strangled his wife to death – who lets her kill him – and then kills a by-stander. While she feels guilty about the by-stander, Needa becomes more confident as the episode continues, becoming sure of her own actions.

But are these actions enough to save the world?

Does the apocalypse actually happen in Demon 79?

Yes, as Needa fails to get three sacrifices in time. However, it could be argued that Needa is just imagining said apocalypse.

While Needa does kill three people, a rule is that she can’t murder a murderer, so only two kills are valid. And she fails to kill her third target by the time May Day arrives.

See, she sets her sights on Michael Smart, who is running for Conservative power in Parliament, with a plan to push the party more towards Alt-Right and National Front Tendencies. Gaap discourages her from this, as Smart is set to win the election and create a lot of suffering, which demons are always fond of.

Instead, he suggest killing the policeman on her tail, as he’ll die next year from a heart attack anyway. But Needa doesn’t listen. She runs Smart of the road with her car, and attempts to bludgeon him to death with a hammer. But the policeman stops her before she can finish, hugging her, as he believes she is in mental distress.

At the police station, it certainly seems like Needa may be mentally disturbed. Turns out the talisman isn’t real, but a domino piece. Obviously no one believes her, so all Needa can do now is wait for the end of the world. May Day arrives with her still at the police station, and sirens start ringing. From the window, fireballs and explosions can be seen – unlike the domino talisman, everyone else can see it – until a cataclysmic explosion ripples throughout the entire town, destroying everything, and ending Black Mirror Season 6.

Gaap appears to Needa in the interrogation room as the destruction begins. Turns out that, for failing to help Needa, Gaap is being casted out into eternal oblivion. He asks her if she wants to join him there, as human companions are allowed. She agrees, and a somewhat happy ending is reached for our protagonists, as they walk away from the end of the world, hand in hand, as Bright Eyes by Art Garfunkel plays.

But as shown in the episode, this ending may not be a straight up biblical apocalypse. It could have been inevitable, even without any demonic interference. See, this rain of fire also be warfare from the rising political tensions that had been brewing over the episodes, as far-right riots and Cold War talks had been portrayed on Needa’s TV during key scenes, along with the threat of Russian Nuclear attacks in the newspapers. As Gaap says, “This is how it’s manifesting.” But if we were to take Needa as someone insane, she could just be interpreting the rising political attacks as something demonic. No doubt this would come from a place of fear and paranoia, as her race has forced her to become a pariah in her small town.

Either way, the world has fallen apart by the end of ‘Demon 79’. And if we were to look at Needa’s life beforehand, perhaps a hellish apocalypse was already there.

Black Mirror Season 6 is now available to view in full on Netflix. Check out our other Black Mirror coverage below:

• Black Mirror S6 review 
• ‘Joan is Awful’ explained | Episode 1 cast
• ‘Loch Henry’ explained | Episode 2 cast
• ‘Beyond the Sea’ explained | Episode 3 cast
• ‘Mazey Day’ explained | Episode 4 cast
• ‘Demon 79’ cast
• Black Mirror S6 soundtrack
• Black Mirror Season 7
• Black Mirror S6 Easter eggs
• What is Red Mirror?
• What is the Waltonville Claw?