Black Mirror has held every Netflix binge-watcher’s attention since it arrived on the platform in 2014. Its critiques on modern technology are as fascinating as they are unique, and each small season gives us a host of information, story, and world-building to explore and pick apart.
The most recent season, its fifth, gave us three new episodes to watch, including the season’s opener, “Striking Vipers.” Following two best friends who play a VR-esque fighting game and watch their relationship evolve into something much more complicated, “Striking Vipers” is a strange and captivating installment. And like any Black Mirror episode, it contains a ton of little details that may go unnoticed upon a first watch.
TCKR’s Reappearance
Toward the beginning of the episode, Karl gifts Danny a copy of Striking Vipers X and the VR system that it plays on. Not many viewers would look too closely at the actual system Danny is handed and later opens to play since it’s so small. But those who did notice that the name on the box looked awfully familiar.
The company name “TCKR” is used in a couple of different Black Mirror episodes. If these episodes all exist in the same universe, then TCKR developed the immersive VR world in season three’s “San Junipero,” as well as served as the neural research company in season four’s “Black Museum.”
Game Over
This detail may be a bit more blatant, but because it’s quite literally in the background, not everyone might have caught it. When Karl confesses to Danny in-game that he loves him, the background has a giant “GAME OVER” sign lit up in neon yellow. Even though the focus is on “Roxette” and “Lance,” it still looms over them both throughout the scene.
It’s simultaneously a joke that they’ve played past the end of the round and a comment on their current relationship status. Danny wants their affair to end, and it briefly leads to a, well, Game Over.
Roxette… Is Chun-Li?
This episode doesn’t make it a secret that it’s paying homage to the fighting games of history, including most notably Street Fighter and Tekken. Speaking specifically of Street Fighter, Roxette herself serves as a direct reference or homage to the character of Chun-Li.
While they may look very different at first, all of Roxette’s moves involve a LOT of kicking, much like Chun-Li’s signature moves in any Street Fighter game. Chun-Li’s “Lightning Kick” is the move that most closely resembles the kicks that Roxette implements throughout her fights with Lance.
Relationship Parallels
Within the episode, there are a host of parallels to be found, whether it’s the themes of relationships that overarch the whole plot or smaller motifs. This detail is a smaller one, making it a bit harder to spot unless you’ve rewatched the episode at least once.
At the beginning of the episode, when Danny and Karl end up having a friendly playfight on the couch, Karl is on top of Danny. This small portion of the scene is actually a parallel for the first time they play Striking Vipers X together. When they end up actually fighting, Karl still finds himself on top of Danny—this time, as Roxette.
Lacie Chocolate
After the seven-month time jump in the episode, Theo gives Danny a simple bar of chocolate for his birthday. If viewers look closely, they’d notice that the chocolate in question was called “Lacie.”
Black Mirror enthusiasts may recognize this name from season three’s opener, “Nosedive,” whose main character was called (you guessed it) Lacie! We’re not sure what happened to Lacie after the events of her episode, but maybe she went on to found a very successful chocolate business. Who knows!
Danny’s Jacket
At the very beginning of the episode, Danny is shown wearing a rather nice-looking varsity jacket. On the front are a pair of tigers over a navy background, while the back includes a stylized tower and the word “TOKYO” in all-caps in yellow stitching.
Alone, this makes for a great look, but it also mirrors the settings and stages in Striking Vipers X. They both have similar Japanese-inspired styles, as many of the stages could be argued as taking place in Tokyo. A similar tower to the one on Danny’s jacket even appears in the background of the very first stage Danny and Karl try out.
Pastels Everywhere
The visuals of Black Mirror’s episodes are always something to behold, even if there are no crazy effects happening on-screen. “Striking Vipers” does have some amazing effects when it comes to portraying the world of Striking Vipers X, but those bright colors contrast sharply with the real world’s more calm pastels.
Those pastel colors feel familiar, but why? Maybe it’s because a similar palette was used in season three’s “Nosedive,” where almost everyone in that episode wore soft colors. If the parallel was intended, then that scores another reference to “Nosedive”!
A Sneaky Stage Reference
Black Mirror loves to include the tiniest details in everything they do, and this detail is nothing if not tiny! In the scene where Danny and Karl are playing the original Striking Vipers, they have to choose a stage. Many of those stages are references to real places, but one of them is named “Saito Helipad.”
This seems like a direct reference to the company named SaitoGemu, featured in season three’s “Playtest.” The reference does make sense, too: both episodes prominently feature video games at the heart of their narrative. The only difference is that one turns to horror, while the other turns to romance.
The Final Confrontation
This one isn’t quite a direct reference to any particular game or episode of Black Mirror, but it could be another piece of homage to fighting games themselves. During what may well be Danny and Karl’s final confrontation of sorts, they decide to meet up in an alleyway, where it happens to be raining.
This kind of setting—a dark city street at night with rain—is exactly the kind that could be used in a fighting game as well. Usually, these sorts of dramatic settings are perfect for a final confrontation, so it makes sense that Danny and Karl would have theirs here!
The Ultra Move Strikes Back
Yet another reference to Street Fighter is here! This time, Street Fighter IV, in particular, is paid homage to in the form of an Ultra Move. These types of moves are first featured in the fourth game in the franchise, and they’re usually used late in a match as a comeback.
Roxette pulls off Ryu’s familiar Ultra Move during the first fight in Striking Vipers X: “Shoryuken,” or “Rising Dragon Fist.” That uppercut to the jaw definitely had to hurt when it landed on poor Lance!
