Black Mirror Season 5 is here with a stack of easter eggs and shared universe connections
to many previous episodes including San Junipero, 15 Million Merits, Bandersnatch, and White
Christmas.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan and today I'm revealing all the crucial details you
might have missed in the fifth season and my theory on how all the episodes connect
together.
Obviously, Black Mirror spoilers ahead so take care.
The Striking Vipers episode examines what happens when two old college friends Danny
and Karl reconnect later in life.
When Karl buys Danny the new Striking Vipers X video game, as Danny goes to open the box
with the VR add-on we can see that it's manufactured by TCKR Systems.
TCKR is the neural technology company responsible for the simulated reality tech in San Junipero
and is also the company which conducted medical experiments out of St Juniper's Hospital in
the "Black Museum" episode.
The way that the Striking Vipers X game emulates physical sensations means it could also be
linked to another piece of TCKR tech, the Symphatic Diagnoser that Dr Peter Dawson used
to experience his subjects' pain and pleasure in "Black Museum".
"Turns out, we haven't discovered how to share knowledge..."
"But physical sensations."
"Bingo."
Now, even though Karl and Danny experience the pain from the sensations in the game,
there isn't any lasting physical effect on them or their game characters.
"Don't worry, it resets.
No harm done."
It's very similar to how whoever wears the Symphatic Diagnoser doesn't suffer any lasting
injury either: "And even nutsier s-, Hector felt the burn,
but took no damage at all.
All of the experience, none of the physical cost."
And there's even a parallel to how Karl feels as a woman when he's in the game with how
Dr Lawson experienced both male and female orgasms when he used the Symphatic Diagnoser
with his girlfriend.
"How does it feel?
Being in a woman's body?"
"Like, one's a guitar solo, the other's a whole f- orchestra."
The Striking Vipers game also gets referenced in the "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too" episode
of season 5.
During a news report about Ashley O's coma, a ticker on screen mentions that SaitoGemu's
shares have jumped after the release of Striking Vipers.
SaitoGemu is the company first seen in the "Playtest" episode which hired Cooper Redfield
as a video game tester, and their work on augmented reality games ties back clearly
to Striking Vipers X.
"What we're working on is an interactive augmented reality system."
"Like VR?"
"More like layers on top of reality."
The little round headpiece that Danny and Karl wear to play Striking Vipers isn't totally
dissimilar to the mushroom SaitoGemu implanted in Cooper either.
That mushroom malfunctioned though leading to Cooper's death and it looks like that tech
from Playtest may have been replaced with the little button that Danny and Karl use
in Striking Vipers.
That little disc made by TCKR for Striking Vipers X may also be a version of the devices
used in San Junipero.
And the way Striking Vipers X brings old friends Danny and Karl back together in an unconventional
way may also fulfil the Edge magazine headline in "Playtest" that TCKR would turn nostalgia
into a game.
It's a humorous moment when the Ashley Too doll has her four percent brain limiter erased
and the full unfiltered consciousness of Ashely O is unleashed.
We next learn that the little doll actually has an entire digital copy of Ashley's mind.
This isn't the first time we've seen consciousness replicated on Black Mirror, and Ashley Too
may be an early form of the cookie technology we see in White Christmas where Greta has
her mind copied into a cookie so that it can perform her household chores.
In fact, the robot believes she's a real version of Ashley much like Greta's cookie did too.
"So, you're really Ashley O?"
"Oh, yeah, of course I am."
"Really, really?"
"Well, OK, a synaptic snapshot of me, if you wanna get technical about it."
The way Ashley argues over whether Ashley Too is really an individual character is an
early indicator of how cookies in other Black Mirror episodes are treated as slaves without
any rights and are even horrendously tortured.
"Most people would say, 'She's only made of code, she's not real.'
F- her."
"I can't believe there's two of you."
"That thing isn't all of me.
I'm all of me."
That issue was later addressed in the "Hated in the Nation" episode where a news ticker
announced that cookies have been declared to have human rights.
The drugs that Ashley O's aunt and managers give her to keep her docile and stop her from
acting up could be what's in the Cuppliance drink that the contestants on "Hot Shots"
in the "15 Million Merits" episode are made to drink before going on stage.
"Cuppliance?
No, thanks.
A-ha.
Yes, thanks!
It's compulsory for all contestants."
And Abi's Khan's song "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is" which she sings on Hot Shots pops
up during the exclusive report on Ashley O to demonstrate how her aunt and managers are
using voice mimicry software to vocalise Ashley's voice recordings into brand new songs.
And after Ashley is deliberately poisoned by her aunt, USN reports that she's been rushed
to St Juniper's ICU.
St Juniper's has come up a few times in Black Mirror.
It's the hospital from "Black Museum" where Rolo Haynes used to work.
And in Bandersnatch, Stefan visits a different Dr Haynes at the St Juniper's Medical Facility.
The name St Juniper also likely links back to the fan favourite episode San Junipero
which, fittingly for Ashley's story, features people who are dead in the real world while
they're alive in their own virtual reality.
Earlier in the episode, an eerily familiar ad plays on the TV in Rachel and Jack's bedroom:
"Live.
Breathe.
Smell."
"Live.
Breathe.
Smell."
Willow Grain were the manufacturers of the memory recording neural implants that featured
in "The Entire History of You" and which allowed people to replay memories either on screens
or in front of their own eyes.
"Because memory is for living."
After the ad, the Funtertainment Daily show comes on and the host mentions a Sea of Tranquility
reboot.
"Sea of Tranquility" is the Black Mirror universe HBO show that was mentioned in the very first
episode of the series "The National Anthem": "Noel won an Emmy by his effects work on that
HBO moon Western thing."
"Sea Of Tranquillity."
And cosplayer fans of that TV show also appeared in the "Nosedive" episode of season 3.
The Funtertainment presenter also talks about Tusk making a "boo boo" on a British TV show
and a scene taken directly from the "Hated In The Nation" episode appears on the TV screen.
In that scene, the rapper Tusk went on a rant and insulted a young fan of his on the programme.
And this news report suggests that both Black Mirror episodes probably take place around
the same time.
The USN news tickers in the Ashley Too episode also help establish where the events may occur
in relation to other Black Mirror episodes.
For example, one headline reads "museum owner's body found in smoking ruins" referring to
the end of the "Black Museum" episode where Rolo Haynes and his museum are burned down.
Another ticker announces an architect has been "arrested on multiple murder charges".
This likely relates to Mia Nolan, the architect from the "Crocodile" episode who was about
to be apprehended by police at the end of that story.
Colin Ritman, the game programmer played by Will Poulter in Bandersnatch, also gets a
shout-out in the name of Rachel's school "Ritman High".
As for Smithereens, well, it's absolutely loaded with easter eggs and references to
other Black Mirror episodes.
If we examine the rideshare app's map on Chris's phone more closely, we can see that the Smithereen
UK office is located near Fence's Pizza which previously appeared in the episodes "USS Callister"
and "Crocodile".
"Welcome to Fence's Pizza.
Your pizza is ready for collection."
And there's an empty Fence's pizza box at Chris's house when the police visit to investigate.
Back on the map of locations, near Smithereen's UK office is the Medina Plaza Hotel, which
is where a Fence's Pizza driverless vehicle was involved in an accident in the "Crocodile"
episode.
Black Mirror's bank, National Allied, also has a branch nearby and the bank has appeared
previously in both "Shut Up and Dance" and "Playtest".
And, appropriately enough, the video game company SaitoGemu has an arcade nearby.
Other location easter eggs in the area include Blestow Park, a reference to actress Alice
Eve's character Naomi Blestow from "Nosedive";
Redfield Theatre, a nod to actor Wyatt Russell's character Cooper Redfield from "Playtest".
There's a Dawson Burger Bar, a reference to Dr Peter Dawson from "Black Museum";
Numerous characters from "Men Against Fire" also get a shout-out.
There's Atelier Arquette, a nod to the antagonist Arquette, who's played by actor Michael Kelly.
Stripe's Cocktail Bar references actor Malachi Kirby's character Stripe.
And Raiman's tips its hat to actress Madeline Brewer's character Raiman, aka Hunter.
The street outside Smithereen's office is called Skillane Street, an easter egg to Victoria
Skillane from the "White Bear" episode.
Opposite the office is the Bandersnatch Theatre, a hat-tip to the interactive choose-your-own-adventure
episode.
And Smithereen was itself referenced in the "Pearl Ritman" ending to Bandersnatch, where
a UKN news ticker stated that a Senate Committee was grilling Bauer over Russian bots.
This ticker also refers to real-life events in 2018 where the heads of social media companies
testified before the US senate about Russian interference in US elections and the fake
accounts being created on these platforms.
And although Billy Bauer, the head of Smithereen, isn't supposed to be based on any specific
real-life person, Charlie Brooker, the creator of Black Mirror, told EW that he thought it
was interesting that last year Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter had tweeted he'd gone "on
a 10-day silent retreat."
Inside the Smithereen UK office is a huge screen packed with headlines and hashtags
referencing numerous other Black Mirror episodes and moments.
First up, there's a headline that Prime Minister Callow is meeting with EU negotiators, and
on the hashtag wall there's some related trending topics such as #oinkoinkcallow referring to
"The National Anthem" episode where the PM Michael Callow was blackmailed into having
sex with a pig.
Related to that is the snoutrage hashtag which refers to the uncannily similar real-life
allegation that the former British Prime Minister David Cameron placed a "private part of his
anatomy" into the mouth of a dead pig during an initiation ceremony for an Oxford University
dining society.
Snoutrage was one of the hashtags among others which trended on Twitter when the allegation
became public.
The SaitoGemu trending hashtags may refer to the company's release of Striking Vipers
or it could suggest a collaboration with Netflix which was hinted at in the "Pearl Ritman"
ending to Bandersnatch.
#AshleyOWembley obviously refers to Miley Cyrus's character Ashley O who's probably
playing a concert at Wembley at the time of this episode.
And #SeaofTranquilityReboot relates to that entertainment news announcement in the "Rachel,
Jack and Ashley Too" episode.
#Tucker is also trending which could have multiple meanings in the Black Mirror universe.
There's Tucker's bar from San Junipero; the software company Tuckersoft from Bandersnatch;
and Tucker may also be a popular way of reading the acronym for TCKR Systems.
#StJunipersStrike is another St Juniper's reference.
And the other two hashtags are BargainHunt and gogglebox which, for any non-Brits watching
this video, are two real-life British reality TV shows.
After Chris demands to speak to Billy Bauer, one of the Smithereen managers in London goes
to call the US office, and as she scrolls through her phone it reveals a huge list of
other Black Mirror characters.
A few that I spotted are Bing from "Fifteen Million Merits", Cooper from "Playtest", Dudani
from USS Callister, Greta from White Christmas, Hector from "Shut Up and Dance", Lacie from
"Nosedive", Liam from "The Entire History of You", and Nish from "Black Museum".
There's a lot more to discover and the phone basically looks like the IMDB page for the
whole Black Mirror series!
And there's a fun little meta easter egg when the phone call is patched through and Smithereen's
US HQ is revealed to be in Los Gatos, California, which is also the location of Netflix's headquarters.
So, did you spot any other interesting details, easter eggs or connections in the new season
of Black Mirror?
And which was your favourite episode in season five?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
For another shared universe video, tap left to learn exactly how Jordan Peele's Us and
Get Out movies are connected or tap right for another video you're sure to like.
Thanks for watching and see ya next time.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!