The most unrealistic thing in this episode is how you can bang in a fighting game I'm sure the devs would have thought of this and made a bunch of limitations.

MAN JUNIPERO

Kissing the homies: *Level 100*

Do you guys think it's intentional that when they were supposed to fight they kissed in the VR world and in the real world when they were supposed to kiss it ended up in a fight.

They took super smash bro’s to a whole new level

lmfao “smash bros”

The ending was so weirdly sad

What if he just had his wife play the game with him tho?

Bryce: does a video on striking vipers Me: I am once again asking for men against fire

I would have asked my wife to play the game with me. The roleplaying options are astounding. And playing as a woman sounds really exciting, I would want to try every character.

I don't think anyone who watched the episode can say whether or not for sure that Danny and Karl didn't feel anything when they kissed. I choose to believe they both did but Karl said he didn't feel anything because in the virtual world there are no consequences or commitment. When Danny broke up with him, Karl was saying "It's not cheating it's just like porn".

Nice to hear a straight guy expressly acknowledge that sexual and romantic attraction can be a lot more fluid than we assume on the surface.

I'm honestly not sure neither of the guys felt anything when kissing IRL. It does feel like there is *something* there but none of them is willing to admit to it

My only problem with this episode was the idea of Karl not being able to have the same feeling with anyone else - that it has to be Danny. To me that's where the logic falls apart because I'd argue that plenty of people inside an avatar could fulfill the same needs.

Viking snipers. Think about it. K bye.

the "I f***** a polar bear to get you out of my mind" FLOORED me! :')

Am I'm the only one noticing that Owen Harris directed *3 EPISODES* and that they are *3 YEARS APART* and how those episodes are based on *"DEEP" AND "FAR APART" RELATIONSHIPS.* Doesn't that sound Interesting?

It broke my heart to see Theo at that bar in the end. That’s no VR game. That’s reality.

My take on this was that Danny was not necessarily gay because he initially only desired other women and appeared to be straight. The game provided a weird but seemingly harmless outlet for that desire. A perfect "other woman" experience without exchanging bodily fluids. One could then make an argument that at the end of the day, it was still just porn, albeit a very highly sophisticated, realistic and immersive porn. None the less, Danny was disturbed at the same time because despite the experience feeling like real sex with a real woman, he still knew it was virtual sex and a man was behind that female game character named Roxi. This in turn made him wonder if he was somehow gay afterall. Karl on the other hand, I figure, was at least bisexual and loved the feeling of being in a womans body and having sex and being penetrated as a woman. My guess is Danny would probably not be comfortable being Roxi and therefore could only be the male game character named Lance but Karl was totally down with being Roxi and seem to be falling deeper in love with Danny inside and outside the game via just the sex within the game.

danny 100% had feelings lol, they fought because he was mad internally that carl didn't feel the same. Also it was 100% gay because they were having a full relationship in the game, having feelings and conversations like a couple would

I think another interesting element, which you touched on in mentioning nostalgia, is the use of repetition throughout the episode. Danny's son keeps reading the same monkey story over and over again and Theo wonders if he'll ever get bored of it. Likewise, Danny wants to know "where all this is going", but Karl suggests it doesn't have to go anywhere: they can keep playing forever. Heck, even the dishes needing to be washed twice shows repetition. We see how each character's happiness or gratification is influenced through consistency. Theo is hurt when Danny stops doing the little things that showed he loved her and Karl struggles with withdrawal from his addiction. A side of Striking Vipers few consider is how addiction/habits affect Danny's struggle to choose which dog to feed: a healthy relationship with his family or an exciting fantasy.

6:26 : Here's where I disagree. I think Danny DID feel something, but Karl was first saying he felt nothing, so he agreed with that. But his reaction was kind of giving away (at least to me) that he DID feel something, but since Karl said there was nothing, he didn't feel like saying "well for me there was something!", since that wouldn't help the situation one bit. So he then figures it's better letting it go then. edit: just rewatched it and i stand by what I saw, you literally see his face change when Karl says 'not a damn thing', and then he goes 'yeah no, me neither', but obviously there WAS something for him. edit edit: oh okay, so you DO come back on that point later on. Still gotta say I disagree. :D

"Striking Vipers" A guy's penis is sometimes described as his "Snake", a Viper is a Snake. Striking Vipers, 2 guys.... i don't know, Docking? (Don't search that up, i beg of you)... Yeah, This is why i play on single player...

“Broke black mirror” 😂😂😂

Danny wants to screw the video game character, not Carl

I think it’s funny that your videos are titled “the ending of _” but you actually analyze the entire episode

the unrealistic part is the wife allowing danny to continue playing the game after knowing the truth

This storyline can be intrepeted in many ways.For me,i see this as an addiction especially for Karl.He can't function normally after he got addicted to the vr games.The intense euphoria he gets from it.He even mentioned nothing can be compared and he did even tried to find a replacement for Danny role.I kind of like the character Danny cos he have intregrity.In the begining of the movie,he was the one who told karl that whatever happened during their first game it was his fault cos he was drunk from the party.Later on in the middle of the movie he called up karl to end it all.Later,he was the one who also asked to meet and to see if whatever they are going through is real.

I'm very glad to have watched this. It was a great episode & you brought up several points I hadn't thought of.

That was a mind blowing episode!!!!

I think Karl said "no" first because that's what he thought Danny wanted to hear, that way he wouldn't get scared and cut him off again. But by doing this he created an echo effect in which Danny felt forced to say no aswell, albeit he also had a family and it was just easier to denny his feelings instead of risking it all. That's why they ended up fighting, because for different reasons they weren't brave enough to express their feelings and they were mad about it. (The episode also hints this by how awkard they expressed their bro love and how it's an issue for most men) I'm sure if the cops didn't stopped them they would have ended up kissing just like in the game. Ending was sad for me, they never took the extra step and decided to keep playing it safe while Danny's wife went to actually fuck other dudes. Anyway this is me and my bro fr

*This is my opinion* :I'm not really a "huge fan" of this episode, but hear me out. This episode lead me to a lot of questions. One of them was when you say, "Are they gay?" I thought that it was for a little while, but then I was like, wait a minute, it's strange for me to think that it is. And I think that's what the creators of Black Mirror is trying to do. While most episodes have some blank spaces in them and leave you to a lot of questions, or how it can make you feel uncomfortable as most episodes are facing reality. Yeah, Carl plays as a women in the game and Danny plays as a man in the game and they make out, but that doesnt mean that this episode is considered gay. I mean, if you think about it. In real life, most men when playing video games play as females and females sometimes play as men in video games as well. And some people dont consider that a problem sometimes. Like I said, it leads me to a lot of question, same with a lot of Black Mirror episodes. But, there is one question I would like the answer to (not demanding one but) *If this new technology ever exists in the future, would it somehow effect our relationships in the real world, if so, how?*

Danny, Theo, and Karl... Honestly, this was a great episode. Black Mirror doesn't give us a lot of episodes that feel good

I swear I thought they were gonna have carl k*ll himself for the whole episode, I'm glad they didn't tho, AND HE GOTTA CAT!!!

As usual, you've managed to pack in an enormous amount of stuff to think about in a very concise video. So thanks for that! I just wanted to touch on a few things you mentioned, and something you didn't. Out of all the season 5 episodes, this one was my favorite, yet every time I've talked to someone about it, they've said it was the worst. Now, I don't mean to be judgemental, but I get the strong implication that the "gayming" aspect is what turned them off. The thing is, I completely disagree with that takeaway, I don't really think that what transpired was gay. I really liked the moment when they kissed in real life. It was definitely under less-than-ideal circumstances, but regardless, there was an extreme level of tension and emotion, and both characters (IMO) left feeling that, no, there was so physical connection there. They were not doing this because they were in love with their physical selves, this was not a homosexual relationship. The attraction, IMO, was 50% the in-game characters and 50% the personalities behind them. Karl chooses Roxette, because he enjoys the experience of feeling sex from the female perspective, something that probably any guy has at least once wondered about. I think this is kind of another indication that Karl is more adventurous and free; not only does he choose the female fighting character in his youth, but he also dares to choose and experience her on another level in the virtual world. Danny chooses Lance because he's an idealized martial artist guy, and a safe character to choose in nearly any fighting game ever made (he's basically Tekken's Marshall Law). Both characters are extremely attractive either way. The emotional connection is the main draw here. Anyone can play with anyone else as any of these characters, but much like how online play with random people, who sometimes act like assholes, can never match the same fun and connection of playing in the same room with a good friend, these virtual interactions are never personal enough without the two of them playing each other. In that way, they are definitely in love, but it's the same love that long-time friends experience with each other by having a relationship that is unique from every other relationship they have with anyone else. Simply put, they can't get the same kind of fulfillment by spending time with other people as they can by spending time with each other. In their youth, it was simply playing video games. As adults, it's their interactions, which turn sexual, in the virtual world. But the sex is simply a byproduct of the simulation delivering realistic impulses, the time spent together is what really matters. I think I had a few more things to touch upon, but this is already way too long, so I'm going to bring up what you didn't, and that's the name "Striking Vipers." I really would love to know where this came from, primarily because as soon as I heard it, I thought of the Sega 3D fighting game Fighting Vipers. And the reason why this intrigues me so much is that while I love the arcade game (and its sequel) and I own both the Sega Saturn version of the original game and its Dreamcast sequel, Fighting Vipers was not a very popular game outside Japan, and not very many people seem to remember it. So I'm not sure if it was just a riff off of that game's name or not, but either way I find it odd, because Striking Vipers (the games within the episode) seem very much more heavily influenced by Tekken than anything else. I would have expected them to name it something that riffs off of Tekken or other much more widely known 3D fighting games, like Virtua Fighter. Anyway, great video! Thanks for reading my comment if you bothered!

It's crazy how thorough you are with these Analysis! Great work bro 👏

ahhh i haven't watched season 5 yet but i saw a notification from bryce so this is just me dropping in and pausing the video just in time to give it a like already

The X on the calendar for their once a year anniversary - it's the same way it was used in White Bear. Refer back to the calendar. This is an amazing, too scarily realistic harbinger of what we are soon to learn. Excellent analysis. Subscribed & looking forward to seeing more of these, Westworld (which I also think has more truth than we might want to know) & others you've done.

3:10 Just like how Robert had to take off his glasses in USS Callister, a little small detail to miss.

Oh my god your videos are so well-done and funny! Great work as always (:

The headpiece being in so many episodes is probably my favorite little detail in the show

this episode gave me a new level of insecurities i didn't even know i could have

I would love to see a Black Mirror episode where this concept is commonplace in society (like Ark Angel being the predecessor of The Entire History of You’s society). The potential stories would be both entertaining and philosophical.

Finally!!! I've been waiting for this video

You deserve so many more subs for some reason your just perfect for this it kinda reminds me of game theory

I feel like for the one playing as the woman, he might be more leaning gay, while the married one is probably more straight. Their chemistry and bond translates that way when they become attractive to each other.

Good video and very good explanation. I think the idea of it being taboo is what makes it enjoyable, similar to kinks. Kinks allow us to fulfill fantasies we may have in a safe and controlled environment where we are able to control the scenario and outcomes. It's similar to how people enjoy violent video games but are not violent themselves. It allows us to give in to the thrill of shooting and blowing up people and buildings without actually engaging in it and no repercussions actually happening. And yes, fantasy can correlate with reality as Danny is shown to freak out the first time they kiss but it's not always the case. They two can exist separately but the choice becomes ours as to whether or not we can see and define those lines and cross, or not, at our own discretion. However, I do believe Karl and Danny are in love with each other. As mentioned, the scenario can be thought of as the Jaws Effect. Society has taught many people of what is socially acceptable and what isn't. It kind of makes sense how Karl is only able to function as a woman because you see a lot of ignorance when it comes to gay relationships. People always having to ask who is the man and who is the woman in a same sex relationship or marriage. Failing to realize two men or two women can function normally without them having to change or be different. Karl and Danny seem to both have this type of thinking but Danny is the one who is a little more keen to explore the possibility when they kiss in real life and has the hesitation afterward, especially with Karl's words. But I think Karl could be just saying he didn't feel anything to save himself from being disappointed or sad if Danny wasn't able to return his feelings. The ending seems to tie in to this idea as Theo and Danny remove their wedding rings to indulge themselves in their pleasures. Theo could be the one to honestly ruin the marriage as she is meeting men in real life at bars to get hit on and possibly sleep with. But Danny also invites the possibility of Karl and him working together in the end. I have read some see this as an open marriage which makes sense completely but the remove on the rings doesn't make sense if there isn't something to hide. It could be symbolic to add more thrill to their desires but I think there is something more. Karl still doesn't seem interested in anyone else and it would be a little far fetched to say he patiently waits all year for Danny. But if he does, Karl could be waiting for the opportunity to develop their relationship into something more. Once he is able to discover and learn about his own feelings, and Danny would do the same, a relationship and marriage in the future wouldn't be just a fantasy in a video game.

wow that's a very interesting episode ! thanks for making this video.

This episode was so hard to grasp by the ending. Is it sad? Happy? Ok? All that matters is that the episode highlights how sexuality and relationships are very loose, and with technology it becomes even more loose

I was thinking that White Bear might as well represent an ilusion of what other people expect to see from what their minds might imagine in that moment , even the expectation of something unrealistic to happen in their lives or an ilusion of one’s most fearful, horrible, happy, etc. moments in life. But at the end, that mind ilusion becomes something disappointing or even real that it eventually leads the characters to make bad choices or eventually dying because of the consequences of their actions. That’s what breaks them from the inside. 🤔😳

I've watched every episode of Black Mirror and This is my favorite episode so far. OMG! It literally just makes me think about what the Metaverse is going to be like. This is the future. Man, This was so crazy. I didnt expect that turn of events at all. Im Usually good about knowing what's coming next but, I genuinely didn't see that coming. No pun intended.

One of the best Film/TV breakdowns I've ever seen! Subsribed.

hands down best analysis of this episode

OMG I love your videos! I just subscribed so hard!! 😂👍🏿

I would definitely consider what they were doing cheating because it’s basically the equivalent of your partner sexting someone else. If there were doing this stuff with a fake character that wasn’t another person then it’s still a little uncomfortable but not really them connecting with someone else in the way you connect with a partner. It’s not really like cut and dry and I don’t think it’s the type of cheating to end a relationship completely but it would bring up a lot of questions. Cheating isn’t all sexual/physical emotional cheating can be just as painful.

I don't think Danny is disappointed with the kiss: he was more disappointed with Carl's realisation that that kiss did nothing for him.

I've watched all your vids on Black Mirror, and I loved them. Wish you could do one on Dark and try to make sense of all the layers. Great show if you haven't checked it out yet.

am i the only one that felt like this was a happy ending? like we all crave new things at some point or another and end up suffering if we're just stuck in the same routine

How do get license to post this on youtube without getting sued??

So his wife lets him play only on his birthday.

The thought that as the future goes on we'll need an outside vice to cling to monogamy is depressing...

I just started watching black mirror 2 days ago. This was the 1st episode I watched. My brain melted. This show is insane!!

"Living in a sweet apartment by himself." Yeah man. My apartment is a blast haha I'm so lonely guys

Oh man an upload on a Saturday? This is going to be a good day ♥️🤗 It's pretty interesting to recall USS Callister while watching this video, because both of them take place in a mostly alternate reality. Except in Callister everyone but Robert Daley use it as an escape from his shitty life, while Danny used it (well I guess in the beginning) to escape his work life and knee injury and Carl was to fulfill himself sexually. San Junipero I want to also think is a virtual reality, much like that news story recently of a mom being able to say goodbye to her deceased daughter using VR. This "old people being uploaded to the cloud" gives them another chance to relive their lives without limitations. 3 times Black Mirror visited VR, but in 3 incredibly different perspectives. Also Danny totally felt something in that kiss but didn't admit it and they could have been gaymers for life but noooo

2:56 "...he's driving a rad vintage car, living in a sweet apartment by himself, and dating younger women." I have one of those three things in my life, if you count my 1995 Mazda Miata as a "rad vintage car". Also, TCKR Systems? More like FCKER Systems from all the action we've seen that happens while people are uploaded to their server or whatever it's called.

Something I find interesting but don't see discussed very often is the fact that it's not just about whether it's cheating or whether it's gay, but how much those things matter and why. To some people finding out you're gay or bisexual completely changes your life, to others it's like "huh okay cool" and that's the full extent of their caring. Similarly with cheating, I see a lot of people getting caught up in whether it's TECHNICALLY cheating without considering the fact that he's doing it in secret because his wife doesn't like it. I've seen a fair few relationships blow up because one person wants to argue that their behaviour is TECHNICALLY permissible without understanding that the behaviour is hurting their partner. I think that a lot of their hand-wringing is kind of meta... they worry about whether it's okay or not because society tells them, this is how it should be, this is what X means, this is what it means if you do Y, and so on. If it was just the three of them living their lives without society telling them how they should feel or define themselves, there'd probably be a lot less anguish.

I love your channel!!

I swear to god the black mirror team needs to add you to the payroll cause even though I'm one of the many people who didn't like this season AS COMPARED to previous ones, watching all your analysis makes me think huh maybe I liked it more than I thought or maybe I'm being too harsh. You are the best spokesperson forreal! So watching your analysis got me thinking about when I play GTA or games that allow you to "interact" with sex/escort workers and I find myself always wanting to be a man or being bisexual in the game--despite being a straight woman in real life...It's like a ooooh i can try this out with no real-life consequences and it's oddly freeing despite me knowing I am definitely heterosexual. Then why is it freeing???? I guess cause for the most part society doesn't allow us to freely explore sexuality without trying to categorize/pigeon hold us even with the strides being made. I can definitely see the appeal of striking vipers. When you made the comment about "brah" if you were a woman I'd be with you I RELATED SO HARD. I would literally be happily married to my best friend but alas she is a woman. I could imagine playing striking vipers with her and it going the same way as it did for these two.....anyways great vids as alwaysssss.

All I thought watching this was the cute Asian dude lol 😂

Missed these vids

Ooh Thank You, I requested this awhile back. I enjoyed this episode.

I think they were gay, but they were in the closet. Karl said that when she’s a woman he felt better. The wife noted that both of them don’t open up in their feelings, that they don’t talk. In real life, they kissed but probably they were denying it. After the kiss, they held hand but it lingered, maybe their bodies know but they were still denying it. If it’s just sex, fantasy or just physical, Karl would have find enjoyment with anyone else. Karl and Danny had the connection they aren’t acknowledging. TLDR - they were in confused, in the closet and only in the game that they are free.

The wife is legitimately getting an eye for an eye. Any sexual gratification outside of your relationship from someone else IS cheating, point blank period. It doesn't matter which "physical plane of existence" it's on. It's cheating, and both Danny and Theo are guilty of that for one night a year. One is no worse than the other, and to villainize her for indulging when she found out that her husband was not only indulging, but indulging with the same sex is utter blasphemy.

I think it has to do with consequences of being addicted to porn. At the end, Danny and Theo seem to make a trade off in their relationship: Danny wanting pure Esex with karl but sacrifices intimacy with Theo. Theo wants to be wanted, feel wanted - which is why she end up at the same bar that guy hit on her. Note in the beginning they were roleplaying as strangers

IV BEEN WAITING FOR THIS

omds your back! nice

What I really want to know is this: okay, so we established the game and VR submersion technology mimics the physical sensations from the game, right? IE, we see their “comatose” bodies IRL react when they get hit in the game by slightly moving and swaying in reaction to the punch or kick. So do those sensations actually translate to the physical being? In other words, when these two are going at it, are their bodies also reacting... or is it all in their heads? I guess what I really want to know is, when they’re banging in the game, do their bodies on the couch have hard-ons? And more importantly, when they drop a load in the game, do they have a mess to clean up in their pants when they END GAME and come to..? Yeah, this is where my mind wanders to.

These videos always get recommended to me but I never watch them because I find black mirror ending very straight forward and understandable if you just watch it: but for this episode I’m really interest on your thoughts.

bro you are the best explainer i love your content But please explain men against fire and love death and robots

Ole’ Falcon be getting it in, down in the avengers guest lounge at SHIELD lmao 🤣

I never thought of this as gay. The main thing a thought about was is this Karl and Danny's feelings or is this the feelings of the video game characters. When you think about it, if your transforming into the characters themselves your going to take on there thoughts and feelings if you assume that they are alive. Think back to USS Callister, those people weren't real but they had real feelings and thoughts to the point where they over powered him and got out of there. I know the difference is that in that episode they were clones but I'm sure you can program personalities.

At first when I watched it I was like no they both cheating but then I was like even if she did catch feelings for someone els an left she'd still get what she wanted and hed get what hed wanted. Am I wrong or did I miss anything???

Great comments and theories. But im gonna break it down real easy: Danny is in love with his friend Karl. He's not in love with the physical Karl. Danny is not in love with the virtual Karl. No. Danny is in love with the SOUL of Karl. He likes the inner him. The game was just a way for Danny to act on his love and feel comfortable acting on his love for him because it was a woman in the virtual world. But Danny is emotionally in love with his friend. Now, Karl on the other hand loves his friend too but not as much. Karl loves his friend but loves his virtual woman body MORE. He loves what he experiences in that woman body. He loves being a woman. What better person to share that with than with your friend? Danny was obsessed over his friends soul (emotionally) and Karl was obsessed with the game allowing him to be a woman. They loved each other but for different reasons. Dannys love for Karl was more emotional. Karls love for Danny was more "physical AS a WOMAN". Youre welcome. The end.

They took Jumanji to a whole new other level

This episode was sad for me. To me it was an episode that attempted to explore even empathy behind others who may have a different sexual orientations that you, but then didn’t. When the two guys meet in real life to determine if they had feelings for each other, it looked like one was still not sure. One of the guys seemed to have tendencies toward bisexuality, while the other, just might be trans, but psyche but not so psyche I guess. That the married couple gets a “cheat day” is also disturbing to me.

This is what men want... a man who understands him and is a Woman

You hit the nail on the head!

“Ikr...what kinda future is this?”

They have an open relationship and that's it😺

4:30 his voice change was so cute

You should do a video on The Great Gatsby!

You forgot to put this in black mirror playlist folder

You know, he could have just invited his wife into the VR game and have some fun. What a simple man.

Please review "Black Mirrors: Men Against Fire" episode !!!

Love the details

We will probably one day get an episode of black mirror with this level of VR to experience it with 😧 that’s mad to think about

I just noticed that saying “striking vipers x” fast enough sounds like “striking viper sex” and I’m disappointed that it took me this long to notice. They were basically telling us.

A nice thing to wake up to. Thanks

This episode was sooo good.

I honestly thought this was gonna end like Uss Callister, where they both get stuck in the game 😂