![]() ![]() Roxette’s cyberavatar, a peroxide-blond ninja, is played by Pom Klementieff Lance is an athletic karate expert played by Ludi Lin. The futuristic reimagining of the Striking Vipers game is the episode’s biggest technical achievement, a Scott Pilgrim–esque blend of cartoonish physics and reality. This time, though, they’re rendered in far greater detail. ![]() Karl reappears, gives Danny a gift of a new virtual-reality console, and the two do battle as Roxette and Lance again. Eleven years later, Danny and Theo have settled down into a relaxed suburban life. They bond over a Street Fighter–style video game called Striking Vipers, in which they each have a favorite character: Karl always plays as Roxette, and Danny chooses Lance. ![]() Soon afterward, viewers are introduced to Danny’s roommate, Karl (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a confident, hard-partying loudmouth who seems exceptionally secure in his identity. This innocuous moment sets the stage for Danny’s overall characterization-he’s someone who feels awkward as himself. But quickly, it’s revealed that they’re already dating and just pretending to be strangers to spice things up. At first, Danny acts like he’s never met Theo before and has somehow psychically guessed her drink order. “Striking Vipers” centers on Danny (played by Anthony Mackie), who first appears as a confident 20-something man hitting on Theo (Nicole Beharie) in a club. Still, I came to appreciate the episode’s weird, uncomfortable intimacy. The very, very slow-burning plot intentionally withholds answers for most of the questions it poses about how sexuality on the internet is continuing to evolve. At 61 minutes, it’s the shortest of Black Mirror’s offerings this year, and it’s easily the least action-packed of Season 5’s three episodes, even though it revolves around a high-tech fighting game. “Striking Vipers” was written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Owen Harris (who also made “Be Right Back” and “San Junipero”). It’s a story of sublimated emotions that spill out in the strangest possible context, and a rather intriguing consideration of how online worlds can change people’s self-image, for better and for worse. The way technology intersects with dating and love is at the center of some of my favorite episodes of the show, including Season 2’s “Be Right Back,” Season 3’s “ San Junipero,” and Season 4’s “ Hang the DJ.” Compared with its predecessors, Season 5’s “Striking Vipers” is a nervier, less swooning chapter, with neither the tragic tinge of the former two nor the rebellious fun of the latter. Romance is an underrated element of the Black Mirror multiverse. This story contains spoilers for the episode “Striking Vipers” of Black Mirror ’s fifth season. ![]()
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