Netflix's not-so-distant dystopian sci-fi series Black Mirror dives headfirst into how technology intertwines with the human spirit. Three new episodes of the critically acclaimed series dropped today on Netflix and episode one, "Striking Vipers," took us on an unexpected exploration of desire.
Spoilers ahead...
Avengers star Anthony Mackie plays Danny, a suburban dad settled down with his wife Daisy, trying for a second child. When the two first began dating over a decade ago, they lived with Danny's friend Karl and the two stayed up til all hours of the night playing a Tekken-style fighting video game called Striking Vipers, much to Daisy's annoyance.
Over a decade later, the old friends aren't as close as they once were but when Karl shows up at Danny's birthday party, he gifts him the latest virtual reality edition of Striking Vipers.
That night, the two strap into their individual couches as the game whisks them into its arena. The two become their fighters, with Danny choosing the very fit martial artist Lance while Karl prefers the high-kicking bombshell Roxette.
"The game emulates all physical sensations," Karl warns.
The two fight and get all rough and sweaty with each other, and before you know it, they land in a position where Roxette is on top of Lance. They hesitate before they both lean in for the kiss.
Danny and Karl realize what they've done and promptly exit the game.
The next day the two men awkwardly wade into their virtual, but all too real, kiss. "Last time we played I was drunk from the party," says Danny, echoing a phrase many men grappling with their sexuality have heard and/or used before.
But as soon as they reenter the game, their characters cannot keep their hands off of each other.
The episode goes on to wade into the politics of adultery. Is it cheating if it isn't real? Is the visual stimulation simply a form of porn or something more? How does sex feel for Karl in a women's body? And if the two men are having intimate sexual moments in the game, does it change their sexual identity?
"Guess that's us gay now," Karl jokes.
"Don't feel like a gay thing," Danny replies.
As the two lose themselves in each other, spending their days only looking forward to reconnecting in the game, Karl loses interest in dating and Daisy begins to get suspicious of Danny's lack of affection. The two men role-playing as a male and female couple offers a safe way to wade into their feelings for each other, and it's all so very queer.
It reaches a head when Danny demands the two meet in real life and figure out if they have legitimate feelings for each other.
They both pull up in an alley, Karl looking ready for a throwdown. "We're not gonna fight," says Danny. "We're gonna kiss. We need to know."
Season 5 of Black Mirror is on Netflix now!
