Spoilers Unmarked!
The McCardles
Davis McCardle
Davis McCardle
- Played by: Samuel Blenkin
- Break the Cutie: The father he idolized and mourned for years is a fetishistic serial killer, his beloved mother was a more-than-willing accomplice, and his girlfriend died running away from said bloodthirsty mother. He didn't even want to cover the murders at first. Quite understandably, he ends up becoming extremely depressed by the end of the episode.
- Broken Pedestal: He idolized and mourned his dad for years and loved his mother and is understandably severely traumatized at finding out about their true nature.
- Generation Xerox: In the darkest way possible, and not by choice; His parents made Snuff Films, Davis unintentionally ends up making a documentary about the deaths of his girlfriend and mother. The lingering shot of Davis's BAFTA award at the end of the episode highlights this parallel, implicitly comparing it to Janet's carnival mask.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: He's a decent guy and a caring boyfriend who finds out he is the son of two sadistic murderers.
- Nice Guy: He's a sweet guy who loves his mum and girlfriend which only makes what happens to him even worse.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Ends up making the film that boosts his career, but at the cost of his girlfriend’s life and learning his parents were murderers.
- Trauma Conga Line: Not only did he find out that the people he idolized and loved his entire life, his parents, were sadistic serial killers responsible for the murders, but his girlfriend dies trying to escape his mother upon disvovering the snuff tapes. His mother also hangs herself leaving behind a suicide note saying "For your film, Mum" showing she still loved him in spite of everything she's done (though it's unknown whether he stumbled upon the scene himself or if law enforcement did). Regardless, it's no surprise at all he's completely broken by the end.
Janet McCardle
Janet McCardle
- Played by: Monica Dolan
- Affably Evil: Shows to be a kind and loving mother and genuinely polite person until it is revealed who she used to be.
- Big Bad: Turns out to be this as she was one of the two masterminds of the serial murders.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: At first glance, she's simply a kindly mother and widow mourning her lost husband. Beneath it, she's done some truly monstrous things with no hint of remorse.
- Depraved Bisexual: Tortured, raped, and murdered many men and women, as well as having hooked up with Richard one day.
- Dramatic Irony: She hangs herself under the assumption that Pia will expose her after she has escaped, not knowing that Pia died by tripping on the river bed and smashing her head while running away.
- Driven to Suicide: Hanged herself to make sure the cops don’t get to her when thinking Pia escaped.
- Dying as Yourself: A very dark metaphorical version. After decades of passing herself off as the grieving, kindly widow, she kills herself wearing the mask of the sadistic murderer she really was.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Genuinely loved Kenneth and mourned his death, and loved Davis so much she willingly helped in his film even when it would risk her getting exposed. When she is about to commit suicide, she gives Davis all he needs to boost his career.
- Foil: Interestingly, she is this in a way to Pia. She appears as an affable old lady who wouldn't hurt a fly and is seemingly disgusted at the murders that happened; Pia, on the other hand, is a Nightmare Fetishist who is fascinated by the murders, including the gorey details, and sees a goldmine in covering the story for her and Davis' documentary. However, upon stumbling upon the murder tapes of Janet gleegully killing the victims, Pia is absolutely horrified at this revelation and tries to escape the house she's stuck in with Janet. As an additional bonus, Janet is a born and raised Scottish woman while Pia is an America-born black woman.
- More Deadly Than the Male: While Kenneth was likely no slouch in this department, Janet is the one shown torturing and killing the couple on the tape.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Downplayed. She's clearly somewhat uncomfortable with her son dating a black woman, giving some ignorant comments to Davis's annoyance. However, she doesn't show any real malice towards Pia and tries her best to be accommodating. And besides, as you can see from the other tropes, it's not like slightly backwards social views are the main issue with her...
- Sadist: Like her husband, she gleefully tortured, raped and murdered innocent people for fun. She even keeps the old tapes to presumably rewatch and remember the awful things she did.
- They Look Just Like Everybody Else: The papers at the end remark on how normal Janet seemed and looked to everyone.
- Unholy Matrimony: With Kenneth.
- Villainous Parental Instinct: Janet is a sadistic serial killer and rapist, but she's shown to be genuinely affectionate towards Davis, and she writes him an affectionate note, giving him her snuff tapes, before she commits suicide. It appears that she knows she's genuinely helping his "film".
- Walking Spoiler: As one can see by reading the remaining tropes on this list, the episode's plot twist revolves around her, as she is the only perpetrator of the Loch Henry's murders left alive by the time the episode begins.
Kenneth McCardle
Kenneth McCardle
- Played by: Gregor Firth
- Archnemesis Dad: Posthumously is this to Davis after the reveal he was the true mastermind.
- Ax-Crazy: He kidnapped, tortured, raped and murdered eight people for fun so...yeah, it's fair to say that he qualifies.
- Depraved Bisexual: Tortured, raped and murdered couple of any gender along with his wife, and had sex with Richard at one point.
- Didn't Think This Through: In order to sell the framing of Iain, he shot himself in the shoulder, in which slowly killed him over the course of years.
- Even Evil Can Be Loved: Was extremely loved by Janet, his wife, although it’s unknown if he held the same love for her. Davis also cared about him although that understandably ceases as soon as he learns his true nature.
- Fat Bastard: Is very portly man and is a genuine sicko.
- Faux Affably Evil: He's very cheerful and friendly while brutally raping, torturing and murdering terrified people and enjoying every moment of it.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Is long dead by the time the story happened.
- Hate Sink: Is one of the most disgusting villains in the Black Mirror lineup.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Shooting his shoulder to incriminate Iain for the crimes they commited together (plus Janet), gets him a bacterial infection while he's being treated at the hospital and dies because of it.
- Killer Cop: He was a local police officer and a vicious serial killer.
- Laser-Guided Karma: While he's never arrested for his crimes, after shooting himself in his shoulder in order to frame Iain, he gets a bacterial infection at the hospital and dies what was implied to be a slow and agonising death a few years later.
- Posthumous Character: He's been dead for decades by the time of the episode.
- Sadist: He didn't have any motivation for the depraved things he did beyond sheer enjoyment of hurting others.
- Serial Killer: He and his wife Janet were really the ones behind Iain Adair's murders.
- Unholy Matrimony: With Janet.
- Villain with Good Publicity: He's remembered years after his death as a brave and noble police officer and a loving husband and father when he was really a monstrous serial killer.
Pia
Pia
- Played by: Myha'la Herrold
- Alone with the Psycho: She finds out the truth about Mrs. McCardle when Davis is in the hospital and she's home alone.
- Death by Falling Over: During the episode's climax, Pia ends up suffering a rather mundane and anticlimatic death: while running away from Janet (that isn't even going after her anymore), she trips and smashes her head in the river bed, and dies either from the head injury of from drowning.
- Death by Irony: Pia convinces Davis to do a true crime documentary because she (accurately) tells him that everyone wants to know those details, the gorier the better. When she sees the McCardles true colors in the snuff tapes, she runs away in fear and dies by accident.
- Dramatic Irony: She dies by tripping and smashing her head (or by drowning as a result of her being unconscious) while crossing the river to run away from Janet. She does this under the assumption that Janet will chase after her, but she actually gives up on the chase quickly and goes home to hang herself, believing that Pia will expose her crimes when she reaches the town. Had Pia remained hidden behind the wall, she would've been fine.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Ends up dying abruptly by slipping on a rock when crossing a river to escape Janet and smashes her head, getting picked up by the river to drown.
- Foil: Interestingly, she is this in a way to Janet. Janet appears as an affable old lady who wouldn't hurt a fly and is seemingly disgusted at the murders that happened; Pia, on the other hand, is a Nightmare Fetishist who is fascinated by the murders, including the gorey details, and sees a goldmine in covering the story for her and Davis' documentary. However, upon stumbling upon the murder tapes of Janet gleegully killing the victims, Pia is absolutely horrified at this revelation and tries to escape the house she's stuck in with Janet. As an additional bonus, Janet is a born and raised Scottish woman while Pia is an America-born black woman.
- The Lost Lenore: For Davis by the end of the episode.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Pia is the main person driving the creation of a documentary but she's intrigued by the violence of the murders, even going so far as to call Iain "hot". It gets deconstructed when she sees the snuff tapes and is completely repulsed and terrified.
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Happens some times in front of her boyfriend's mother. At the beginning of the episode, she talks negatively about the police in front of Janet when her late husband was a police officer, and when Davis tells Pia about Janet's favorite actor she responds by saying that she doesn't want to imagine Janet getting wet thinking of said actor... one second before she enters in the living room.
- Trashy True Crime: She immediately becomes fascinated with the tale of Iain Adair and decides that would be a much better topic for their documentary than their initial plan. Sadly, she is completely right.
- Twofer Token Minority: Being African-American in a quiet Scottish village.
Others
Stuart King
Stuart King
- Played by: Daniel Portman
- Bait-and-Switch: When Davis and Pia enter the pub, he shouts at Davis, claiming he never wanted him to show his face again. Davis calmly calls his bluff and Stuart drops the act accordingly, welcoming them in.
- Big Fun: Is loud, large and is extremely friendly person.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Ends up being one of the only ones to actually get a good ending, getting tourism in his town and saving his father’s failing bar again.
- Missing Mom: When Pia asks if it's okay to borrow the material Stuart's mom reunited about the Loch Henry's murders, he says that she wouldn't care because she died four years before the events of the episode.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Downplayed. He mocks Davis' hair by asking about his pronouns and makes a crack about diversity quotas to Pia. Other than that, however, he's entirely friendly and welcoming throughout the story.
Richard King
Richard King
- Played by: John Hannah
- Addled Addict: Drinks all day and is rarely sober enough to even listen to Stuart's bitter recriminations.
- Ambiguously Bi: He apparently spent nights having sex with Kenneth and Janet.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Spends his time drinking every day and night due to the failing business, and due to knowing about Kenneth and Janet’s true colors.
- Questionable Consent: It's not clear how consensual his hookups with Kenneth and Janet were. He alludes to seeing their darker sides in that process, and it's known they raped their victims, so it's possible that it may be an Implied Rape situation.
Iain Adair
Iain Adair
- Played by: Ian Crowhurst
- Ambiguously Evil: Unknown how truly he was involved with Kenneth’s and Janet’s murdering and torturing spree, as he seemed detached and disturbed, seemingly like he was out of it. He's still shown participating to some degree through filming the crimes, but just how willing he was is up for debate.
- The Pawn: Ends up as this as he’s killed by Kenneth to be framed as the true murderer.
- Sadist: Called this in universe by Stuart, and shows to be true in the videos and photos.
- Self-Made Orphan: Subverted. For years, everyone thought that Iain killed his own parents, but by the end of the episode it's uncovered that who really killed the entire Adair family was Kenneth.
