Written by Tom Moore
One of the biggest fears that people have as they get older and start to settle down is that their partner won’t love them the same anymore or that they, themselves, will no longer love them. There’s that worry that the spark is gone and that your partner is interested in someone else. Some begin to question if something has changed about them physically or emotionally or even if there was anything to this relationship at all.
Ugh, I get gross chills just thinking about it.
Black Mirror touches on this exact fear in the first episode of its latest season, ‘Striking Vipers.’ This episode’s tech spin on this fear leads to some interesting new territory as we’ve seen stories about deteriorating relationships and affairs before. ‘Striking Vipers’ takes this tried and true story and inserts a technological element where there’s real fears of people preferring the virtual world over the real world.
At the pinnacle of these fears is Danny (Anthony Mackie), a husband who has settled into the family life with his wife Theo (Nicole Beharie). At one time, Danny and Theo went out their way to spice up their relationship, but now their relationship has started to lose its luster. However, things being to change when Danny’s old college friend Karl (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) gives him the newest version of a fighting game they used to play in college called ‘Striking Vipers.’
The new version of the game is virtual reality-based allowing players to feel every sensation their characters do. Eventually, Danny and Karl begin acting out sexual fantasies with other characters —  Roxette (Pom Klementieff) while Danny plays as Lance (Ludi Lin) respectively. Being unable to fully reintegrate themselves into the real world, the Danny and Karl must face the consequences of their actions and see how it changes their lives forever.
What really surprised me about ‘Striking Vipers’ was Mackie’s performance. Generally, I’ve only seen Mackie have a cool, tough, and dominant personality in most of his roles, but that’s not the case here. Mackie feels vulnerable and brings a strong complexity to Danny. While Danny enjoys what he’s doing with Karl in the game, it’s easy to see that he still feels bad and still loves Theo enough not to want to hurt her. This complication with Danny actually creates some interesting situations that I was invested in and it actually lets viewers get to know Theo and Karl better because of their reactions.
Theo is clearly frustrated that Danny has lost interest and this perfectly exemplified in a restaurant scene letting her voice her thoughts and issues with their relationship. Beharie’s stellar performances allows Theo’s frustrations to come off as real and relatable. As Karl, Mateen does a strong job portraying his complicated feelings towards Danny after they start doing more than just fighting in the game.
Director Owen Harris does a great job using the environment and other small details to show the different places Danny and Karl are in life. For example, Danny’s house has an older, but fuller look to it, the job he has is more traditional, and even the games that he has are a little blander and seem older. Not that Tetris Effect, what I assume he’s playing, is an old or bland game, but compared to Karl’s holographic pinball table, it definitely comes off as a little outdated.
Honestly, everything that Danny, Karl, and Theo feel and do, after everything begins to go awry, is logical and is portrayed in a realistic way. They always feel like real people so it’s easy to connect with them. The messages of the episode leave an impact because of the realistic way they are presented. Perhaps the only time the realism of the episode was lost was when we’re within the game. When the episode first shows the world of the fighting game, I though it looked a little cheap and cheesy. However, the performances from Pom Klementieff and Ludi Lin capture the complex feelings of Karl and Danny and help blend the virtual and real world effectively.
Stories about deteriorating relationships, as well as people’s desire for the virtual world over the real world have been touched on before. However, the way ‘Striking Vipers’ blends the two feels fresh. Combined with the stellar performances, ‘Striking Vipers’ messages are elevated and leaves you thinking. Watching everything unfold, you can feel the slow, penetrating desire for Karl and Danny to spend time in the virtual world as well as their struggles to return to reality. This struggle to connect in the real world is something that most people can recognize. With its connections to deteriorating relationships, the virtual aspects of the story heighten the real fear these character, and real life people have about connection and technology. Karl and Danny’s desires and concerns are fully fleshed out with no stones unturned and when the episode wraps, you’re left with a sense of satisfaction as well as the haunting images of Danny and Karl going into the virtual world. They literally look dead and it’s super creepy.
As someone who just came off a mixed bag season of the revival of The Twilight Zone, ‘Striking Vipers’ shows what that series should’ve been and why Black Mirror has truly outclassed one of the greats. It contains all the ingredients to the series’ success: fantastic performances, themes and ideas that play off horrifyingly real fears, and entertaining premise that truly blend sci-fi and reality.
Review Score: 9 out of 10
Black Mirrors, ‘Striking Vipers’ is now streaming on Netflix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bVik34nWws&t=6s
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