Striking Vipers

Wow a lot of whiny uncomfortable reviews... get a grip people, this is 2019, get over it! Brilliant writing, directing and casting. And I don't get why people don't understand the ending... y'all never heard of a "hall pass"? Brilliant, just brilliant all around. It's an honest and well deserved 9/10 from me!

I've read the reviews complaining about it not being black mirror or the episode being boring. What were you watching? Black mirror is all about technology affecting our lives in the near future and showing us paths that may be trodden. This is about the perils and highs of immersive gaming, this is about better than life (thank you Red Dwarf), this is about boundaries being blurred, relationships being blurred, life being blurred. Nothing in this episode couldn't happen and very likely will happen. The cast was strong, the writing and direction both strong, ending strong. This had it all. Writing this review I changed my score to a 10 from a 9 as I couldn't see what was dropping the point whilst I wrote. I've intentionally not put any spoilers and the hints I have given were in the trailer. It's a great episode. I have no idea what the negative reviewers were watching to be honest.

For me this was one of the sexiest, least depressing and highly underrated episodes. It's unpredictable and actually quite moving. The whole idea of questioning your own sexuality and how it relates to emotional attachment is quite fascinating. Definitely worth watching!

There are good ideas within Striking Vipers, and there is a bravery to it too in terms of its content and its bigger budget. Those ideas suggest the idea of online relationships providing something real life does not, of breaking down barriers (even gender), or just of them being an escape from the real life as those relationships are totally untethered from it. The starry cast and high production values added to the feeling that this could be good - but it was only okay.

The energy of the delivery helped it, but fundamentally it didn't feel like the characters made a real connection, and the episode felt very event driven rather than character so. The performances were decent, but too much was telegraphed and/or presented without nuance or detail. The writing is surprisingly lacking though; the whole thing concludes in quite a small way, there doesn't feel like a warning here, or some sort of chill that this will be coming - instead it feels like a decent compromise. All told, while there are ideas in here, nothing really seemed to take off in it.

I definitely wouldn't say it's a favourite, but it does have a very profound message, can you fall in love with more then just the physical. It has you confused at times, as you question sexuality, love, romance etc.

Some people do genuinely live in a cyber reality, where life can perhaps seem a little simpler, this episode certainly looks into the divide between real life and cyber reality.

Very well acted, and well produced, I'd argue the most bizarre episode to date, but it's certainly enjoyable.

It's always great to see a new episode of Black Mirror. 7/10.