Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker is smashing open the Mirror-verse and giving fans an insight into the sometimes confusing ending of Season 5’s “Striking Vipers”.
In typical Black Mirror style, things are never as simple as they seem. Just like we’ve come to expect from Brooker, “Striking Vipers” leaves us with more questions than answers. Now, the man himself is attempting to clear a few things up.
Dubbed this season’s “San Junipero”, some have cutely nicknamed “Striking Vipers” as “Man Junipero”. Starring the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Anthony Mackie, the episode follows long-term friends Danny and Karl (Aquaman‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) as they head into an immersive VR experience known as Striking Vipers.
Effectively a hard-hitting version of Mortal Kombat, Danny and Karl kick the sh*t out of each other as avatars. Things take a turn when their relationship develops beyond the realms of a bromance, hinting that there’s more than just friendship between the pair.
The episode ends with Danny being given a free pass to head into Striking Vipers and continue his complicated tryst with Karl for one night only.
Speaking about the confusing ending and whether Danny and Karl were actually gay, Brooker told Metro: “I think there’s a bit of a porn analogy going on. There’s definitely a commentary on male awkwardness or trying to negotiate what this friendship is in this big curve.
“The big spanner goes in the works and they’re not quite sure who they are in a way and what they mean to each other and how they express that, and there is a way where you can communicate.”
He went on to explain how the problem also involves Danny’s wife, Theo (Nicole Beharie). “It’s not just between the men – the three of them, there’s a problem with communication, there’s some sort of block that goes on throughout the episode.”
As for the issue of their sexuality, it seems even Brooker doesn’t know. He added, “One of the things I found fascinating about writing it, is that I don’t quite know where I stand on a lot of the issues.”
“I don’t have an answer to that. Yes and No is the answer to a lot of those things. Is he being unfaithful? Yes he definitely is, but also no he isn’t because it’s not really happening. Then again, it sort of is really happening… Is this a homosexual relationship they’re having? Yes it is, but also no, it isn’t. So there’s all sorts of stuff going on.”
With Brooker already teasing possible sequels to some of his most popular episodes, could we see a return to “Striking Vipers”? Watch this space!