The Twilight Zone on Steroids
Black Mirror has stepped up Netflix’s TV show game by a landslide, becoming the talk of the town recently. With its modern twist on what resembles the Twilight Zone, Black Mirror has allowed creative directors to display their work, which has been catching people by surprise. I recently watched the episode San Junipero, written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Owen Harris, and my mind was constantly trying to break down the plot from start to finish.
Starring a shy young lady named Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and an outgoing party girl named Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) , the two create a strong bond in the seaside town of San Junipero. They start out as strangers, and soon create a young, intimate connection in this small bar full of people trying to have fun. The curious personality of Yorkie is soon brought out by Kelly as they meet every week in San Junipero, living a free lifestyle. As the plot progresses at first, everything seems normal. San Junipero seems like a normal town with normal people, but soon things start to come together. Without spoiling anything, the two girls somehow end up playing with time and decide whether or not they want to continue their life, or die off like everyone else.
By keeping the complex plot of the story limited throughout the beginning of the episode, the viewer thinks the story is straightforward, however there is a major twist that comes to throw off the anticipated plot. The director does a really good job of adding hints of the twist that the first time viewers don’t think much of, which resulted in me watching it a second time because it was that interesting and I picked up many of the hints after rewatching it. The show uses two very different characters that bond very quickly to almost distract from the main components of the episode, and the characters act normally to also add onto the well hidden twist. The nostalgic setting, intertwining different themed decades into each week the characters spend at San Junipero provides another interesting aspect of the episode that the viewer does not see coming. It also shows the viewer how important a time period molds each of the characters. By seeing the characters start out as strangers, establish a relationship, deal with a conflict, etc; it is easy to see their personalities change over the course of the episode.
There are multiple themes that go along with this episode as well, and they are packed into such a short amount of time. It is hard to explain how these themes come into play without spoiling anything, however they do play an important role with how the episode progresses. One theme comes with the idea of living life to the fullest, and accepting your fate rather than never being satisfied. This is a subtle theme, however it is present toward the end of the episode, and the characters do a good job of explaining how it is important. Another theme comes with the idea of stepping out of your comfort zone, and that goes perfectly with the way Yorkie changes from a shy girl to an outgoing one who loves San Junipero and the fun it brings. This episode also touches upon letting loose and going with your gut. There are many moments where the characters hesitate on something, however they end up choosing the thing that they believe is right. The episode is also filled with other smaller themes however those were the main ones I noticed.
Overall this episode provides an analogy on what life represents and how some choose to go about living it. It starts with a nostalgic feel and shifts into a futuristic setting that basically represents society in a new way that has not been seen before. Now, the overall plot was pretty confusing to follow, however it keeps the viewer engaged and the director did an amazing job of leading up to the main shift in the plot. The plot also makes the audience think of what they would want to do at the point of death in their lives. There is so much depth within the episode it might as well be its own TV series. I ended up watching it a second time to capture the true craft of how Brooker wrote the story and how Owen Harris strategically directed it. I would definitely recommend watching it and I would rate this a GOOD GOOD television episode.
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