Striking Vipers - 5x01

[Dee]

Striking Vipers

[Dee]

Hm. Having seen two of the three episodes of Season 5, I'm not quite getting the Mindblowing MF Black Mirror Vibe.

I actually liked the story. It was a really interesting idea and a great potential to explore the hidden depths of sexuality. But again, I felt that it didn't quite deliver. And this time, it was largely due to casting for me, as well as the writing shying away from going deeper.

I liked Theo's character and the actress was very believable in the role. But I didn't like either male characters. I couldn't engage or invest into their stories because I just didn't like either of them. The characters were emotionally underdeveloped, the acting was off. Danny was too wooden, Karl was too much. And I felt absolutely zero chemistry between them. Didn't even get why they would like each other as friends.

Then we are introduced to their video game alter egos: again, for me, two unlikable and unrelatable characters, and no chemistry between them either. So I'm not invested enough to want to try to understand their relationship, and how it relates to their real life relationship, (are they still suppressing their true sexual feelings for each other in their real life or they are just unable to have good sex because they are so fricking boring/selfcentred? Probably both.)

So the whole thing fell kinda flat for me, despite a potentially good story, because I just didn't care about the characters. I didn't sense any relatable vibe coming off them. The exploration into sexuality was not brave enough. Previous BM episodes did much better in this area. (Be Right Back, San Junipero). The testing of sexual attraction in real life was half hearted and rushed. There should have also been more exploration in the virtual world, such as experimenting with changing one or both alter egos in the game. The relation between physical fighting and sexual arousal was also left unexplored.

Also, the episode was simply not very Black Mirrory. There was nothing edgy-new-tech about it, nothing particularly controversial or thought provoking. And nothing left for us to figure out at the end. We were given the ending straight. Theo and Danny stayed together. To keep their marriage going, they decided to allow each other some wild cards. This worked out just fine for Karl too, who by the end evolved enough as a human being to ... get a cat, and devote himself entirely to his virtual lover. The end. It all just feels very ... empty.

[Lori]

Yes, you've put into words just how underwhelming it all felt. I found it laborious, though at times the video game scenes were a bit humorous. I agree the casting or at least treatment of the casting was off. They overdid the buttoned up grown-up versions and really it was hard to have sympathy for any character. Actually, we quit watching about 3/4 of the way through. Why bother?

It did ask the question was it cheating? Hmm. Not quite sure, but it sure was uncomfortable because they knew each other and ostensibly they were hetero men. Having said that, if my guy was meeting another person online and having cybersex, that would give me solid pause.

[Dee]

It was all very odd. And very unrealistic. Mostly because of the total lack of chemistry between anyone.

The cheating issue is handled rather interestingly. Danny obviously felt it was kind of cheating, that's why he wanted to stop. And then at the end, the deal was, he could have his once a year (month?) cyber fun, whilst Theo would go out and have a one night stand. In real life. The two were kind of brought onto a common denominator (infidelity allowed by both partners) by being in a trade off. You do this whilst I do that, and that's ok with both of them. Is it really the same? One is actually being intimate with a stranger, whilst the other is just happening in the mind accompanied by a physical sensation but no actual physical contact.

So what is the determining factor of being unfaithful? The body or the mind?

The episode didn't answer these questions at all. Just raised them.

[Lori]

Well, that is an interesting twist. Given the agreement, I would say the show determined both to be cheating. My guess is, due to this outlet, their own sex life began to revive. Yawn...

I wonder if...let's say in another life I happened to have a major crush on a TV character and met that character online and fooled around say in an interactive The Sims kind of way. I know, I know...would never happen. That 'interaction' is one-sided and my input (plus some algorithms) alone. Now, say the actor playing the character agreed to meet me online and it was spontaneously and gloriously two-sided with human responses. I could envision his hands on the controls...I would know the shape of his mouth and the way he held his lips in any given situation... That feels like another thing completely in a tingly overt sort of way.

Anyway. Now, if you didn't know the other person at all, would it feel once-removed and less intimate? Another set of questions, yes? Still, that might be similar to accessing a site where everyone has bunny or Snow White outfits and still fool around. The human to human element is looming. Such important contemplation at 8 am.

Spoiler:

[Dee]

Well, that is an interesting twist. Given the agreement, I would say the show determined both to be cheating.

Or maybe neither are? If it's mutually consensual, maybe we shouldn't treat it as cheating. It's now openly discussed and accepted by both. They've figured they both need this "thing" in their lives to make them happy, so they give each other the freedom to go and get it.

My guess is, due to this outlet, their own sex life began to revive. Yawn...

I don't think they've showed that. They've showed that their marriage survived, and they were on good terms. So this openness has worked for them.

I wonder if...let's say in another life I happened to have a major crush on a TV character and met that character online and fooled around say in an interactive The Sims kind of way. I know, I know...would never happen. That 'interaction' is one-sided and my input (plus some algorithms) alone. Now, say the actor playing the character agreed to meet me online and it was spontaneously and gloriously two-sided with human responses. I could envision his hands on the controls...I would know the shape of his mouth and the way he held his lips in any given situation... That feels like another thing completely in a tingly overt sort of way.

This made me smile first, but thinking more about it, it's terrifying, is it not? If something like this would be possible? The emotional implications are just too much to even contemplate.

Anyway. Now, if you didn't know the other person at all, would it feel once-removed and less intimate?

I think yes, definitely. That would be cyber sex through characters, where I guess you would need to be attracted to the video game character. The weird thing in this episode is that Danny and Carl didn't appear to have particular sexual attraction to the characters in the game, neither to one another in real life, so what the heck was all this about? Attraction to the craziness of the situation?

Another set of questions, yes? Still, that might be similar to accessing a site where everyone has bunny or Snow White outfits and still fool around. The human to human element is looming. Such important contemplation at 8 am.

Excellent work first thing in the morning, Mz L.

Spoiler:

In case I wasn't sure who you meant? Well, thank you for the clarification, Mz L. Suddenly playing video games might seem like kinda fun?

One possible explanation I've arrived at with trying to understand the relationship between Danny and Carl:
The only person who could get Danny lead astray (play games when he should have been sleeping) was Carl, and Carl enjoyed his corrupting power over Danny, the meek sensible and dependable one. And Danny could hide behind Carl's bad influence. How this translates into this sexual thing, I still think it's far too abstract for it to make real sense and feel genuine.