生死搏击
《生死搏击》（）是英国独立单元剧《黑镜》第5季第1集，由查理·布鲁克编剧，执导。影片随第5季其他两集于2019年6月5日上线Netflix。
该集讲述好朋友丹尼·帕克（安东尼·麦凯 饰）和卡尔·霍顿在在虚拟现实格斗游戏中相迎，在线上发生性关系，影响丹尼在现实生活中与妻子泰奥（ 饰）的婚姻关系。本集角色均由黑人演员扮演，在巴西取景。剧情原型是两位不知道彼此身份的同事在虚拟现实艳遇。
剧评人认为该集的主题是性与性别的流动性、婚外情、爱情与友情，部分人怀疑丹尼和卡尔是不是同性恋，他们的关系算不算艳遇。至于影片是否利用有趣的手法探讨这些主题，剧评人的看法不一，部分人认为该集类似于第3季的《圣朱尼佩洛》，那一集也讲一对酷儿在虚拟世界的恋爱。演员及导演大体上受到称赞，但部分影评人认为影片缺乏角色塑造。
27岁的丹尼·帕克（安东尼·麦凯 饰）与女友泰奥（ 饰）一起去酒吧，但形同陌路人。回家做完爱，丹尼玩起格斗游戏《生死搏击》（"Striking Vipers"），开得很大声。线上的好友卡尔·霍顿（葉海亞·阿巴杜-馬汀二世 饰）和他分别选了各自喜好的角色兰斯（Lance）和罗克赛特（Roxette）。泰奥此时被吵醒。
11年后，丹尼和泰奥在家里举行烧烤派对，此时丹尼已经结婚，还有一个5岁的孩子。另一边厢，卡尔也正在和年轻女子玛丽拉（Mariella）恋爱，没在和丹尼联络。派对上，卡尔送给丹尼一份生日礼物，是《生死搏击》系列最新作《生死搏击9》（"Striking Vipers X"），以及用来玩这款游戏的虚拟现实设备。那天晚上，两人回到各自的家来玩这款游戏。戴上虚拟现实设备的两人在现实中一动不动，完全沉浸在兰斯和罗克赛特的全部感受中。经历一个回合的格斗，两人体会到货真价实的痛苦，累得靠着彼此瘫倒在地。突然，卡尔亲了丹尼一口，丹尼怔住几秒，将对方推开，随后离开了游戏。
接下来几个礼拜，丹尼和卡尔利用角色的身体，在游戏中做爱。泰奥发现丹尼正变得沉闷，不想和她做爱，虽然两个人很想要孩子。结婚周年纪念日当天，泰奥质问丹尼是否出轨，丹尼说自己没有，另一边跟卡尔说不能继续玩这个游戏了。
丹尼来年生日突然邀请卡尔一起吃晚饭。卡尔对丹尼说，他跟电脑控制的角色或其他玩家体会不到先前的那种感受。晚上，两个人又进入游戏，轰轰烈烈地做爱。事后，卡尔说了句“我爱你”，丹尼找他在现实生活中见面，两人抱着彼此的肉体热吻，但却体会不到任何感觉。卡尔说应该继续在游戏中见面，但丹尼不同意，结果两人打了起来，被路过的警车看见。泰奥从警察局借走丹尼，丹尼想到打架的原因，生气闷气。
7月14日那天，在达成协议的情况下，丹尼约卡尔一起玩《生死搏击9》，泰奥则摘掉了婚戒，去酒吧和陌生人约会。
《黑镜》第四季上线三个月，2018年3月，Netflix续订第五季。原本纳入第五季的互动剧集《黑镜：潘达斯奈基》后来扩大成为独立电影，从第五季分离出来，2018年12月28日首播。有别于包含六集的第三季，本集只有三集，创剧人查理·布鲁克认为只出三集可以在下一季播出前吊足观众的胃口。这三集分别叫《生死搏击》、《碎片》、《瑞秋、洁柯和小艾希莉》，于2019年6月5日在Netflix同步上线。由于《黑镜》采用独立单元剧体裁，各剧集之间没有联系，观众可以乱序观看每一集。《生死搏击》在《潘达斯奈基》之前拍摄。
本集由布鲁克与执行制片人联袂编剧。最初设想是一位办公室合伙人在虚拟现实模拟游戏中进行团建，为表演音乐剧《油脂》做准备。活动中，每位员工的身份都不向外界透露。这个想法是为两名员工在模拟游戏中外遇而构思的。剧情随时间推移不断变更，另一个灵感来源随之出现：布鲁克回想起1990年代与室友一起玩格斗游戏《铁拳》的经历，好像有“”之类的有趣事情在萌发，“十分狂野”。许多格斗游戏在《生死搏击》编剧阶段被用做参考，其中一款便是《生死格斗》系列，这款作品将游戏角色设计得挑起玩家性欲。
两位编剧还在剧中探讨色情主题。琼斯在剧中抛出疑问：“究竟什么时候，色情作品才会变成有益的干扰，而且实际上会引发一场婚外情？”布鲁克起的剧名“Striking Vipers”影射了毒蛇，或许是对性画面的隐喻，听起来像是似是而非的游戏作品。编剧过程中，布鲁克给该集取了个“圣朱尼佩洛男人版”（Man Junipero）的绰号，暗指第三季的《圣朱尼佩洛》。至于是不是真的要把丹尼和卡尔的关系写成同性恋，布鲁克很矛盾，他说这一集也讲男人之间的友谊，以及男人之间的沟通障碍。琼斯指出，丹尼的角色进入到游戏，会重现年轻体格，体现衰老这个更加广泛的主题，“没有从小吃到大的主食，你要认清自己的身份”。
色情作品是编剧讨论的一大主题。琼斯表示这一集探讨“色情作品什么时候不再是有益的干扰，而成了实打实的外遇体验”这个问题。剧名“生死搏击”由布鲁克选定，暗指蛇和性意象，听起来有点像游戏作品的名称。布鲁克在编剧阶段给本集取了“曼朱尼佩罗”这个绰号，与第三季的《圣朱尼皮罗》相呼应。布鲁克对是否将丹尼和卡尔的关系确切描绘成同性恋感到矛盾，表示故事也提到了男人的友谊及男人之间沟通的障碍。琼斯指出，丹尼的角色在游戏中会获得年轻的体格，体现更为广泛的衰老主题，“在陪你长大的主要事物不在身边的情况下，找寻自己的身份”。
至于丹尼和卡尔在现实生活中亲吻，布鲁克认为两个角色的这个吻诉说缺乏兴奋感的真相，与在虚拟现实游戏中的吻不一样。琼斯说这个吻让丹尼释怀，证明他或许可以维持婚姻稳定，但卡尔担心这个吻影响到他们在虚拟世界中的关系。编剧最后安排泰奥、丹尼和卡尔一年见一次面。布鲁克和琼斯认为结局现实性和浪漫兼具。琼斯认为泰奥需要“感受到兴奋和被爱”，丹尼需要“逃避现实、实现愿望”，卡尔“非常孤独”，但这样安排“足以维持他的生活”。布鲁克的看法类似，认为卡尔的状况“最为凄凉”，丹尼和泰奥的婚姻关系在这种安排下“得到实际的加强”，尤其是两人开始从所未有地谈论“他们的幻想和需求”。他认为结局模棱两可，而非毫无保留的快乐。
《生死搏击》是第三次执导《黑镜》剧集，前两次是第二季的《》和第三季的《圣朱尼皮罗》。本集的三位主角都是黑人，其中安东尼·麦凯扮演丹尼，叶海亚·阿巴杜-马汀二世扮演卡尔，妮可·贝哈里扮演泰奥。贝哈里参演前就是本剧的头号粉丝。在《生死搏击X》中，丹尼选用的兰斯由林路迪扮演，卡尔选用的罗克赛特由庞·克莱门捷夫（Pom Klementieff）扮演。巧合的是，这四位演员都曾在漫改电影中担纲主角，麦凯扮演，克莱门捷夫扮演螳螂女，阿巴杜-马汀扮演黑蝠鲼，林路迪在《金刚战士》中扮演。剧本原本按要求设置在英格兰郊区，后改为美国。剧集于2018年3月18日至4月18日在巴西圣保罗拍摄。制作公司选取19处取景地，动用150名工作人员。末尾《生死搏击X》摩天大楼楼顶场景在科潘大厦附近取景，用电脑成像包装成废弃的希尔顿酒店。 Harris found it interesting that the bromance had not been subverted often in fiction, and enjoyed the question of whether society's views on monogamy and marriage might change, like how attitudes to dating changed with the prevalence of s. Harris said that the episode had a dark humour, and one of the lines which helped him understand it was Karl's "I fucked a polar bear and I still couldn't get you out of my mind", which became oft-repeated by fans. Mackie said that the filming of the scene with that line "took probably an hour longer than it was supposed to" because of how amusing the actors found it. When asked about fans, Mackie said that those who approached him would either be interested in a long conversation about the themes of the episode, or make homophobic and uninformed comments about it.
Mackie said that love was the important idea in the episode, and that the crew spoke about "what it means for people to truly care about each other". The script was written without the race of the male characters in mind. Commenting that masculinity in the black community was a contemporary discussion point, Mackie recalled that Harris talked with him very early on about the relevance of race to the characters. In response to whether Karl was gay, Harris said that sexuality is a spectrum "far broader and more complex" than "black and white". Abdul-Mateen thought that Karl felt "understood and... seen by Danny" and that it was this that he found attractive in the relationship. He said that Karl feels loneliness underneath his external personality. Abdul-Mateen made it ambiguous whether Karl was suppressing his sexuality or was simply finding himself in a new situation, and said that they "didn't want to define exactly" what underpinned Danny and Karl's relationship.
Jones said of Danny and Karl's real-life kiss that both actors aimed to be clear that the excitement from "Striking Vipers X" was "not being echoed in the real world", and that the characters were relieved by this. Abdul-Mateen thought the scene was important in its depiction of two black men with "a vessel to explore their sexuality and to understand who they are". Describing the filming, he said that "shooting in the rain is never easy" and estimated it took three to four hours. Harris saw the ending as "pragmatic": they considered showing more details about whether the arrangement was succeeding in practice, but chose to leave the ambiguity. Abdul-Mateen noted that Karl has a cat at the end of the episode, which means "he has something to take care of". He thought it could imply that Karl has matured, but is still lonesome.
The episode is a romance, where Danny, Karl and Theo are in a love triangle. Dan Stubbs of "NME" and Jim Vorel of ' characterised it as a "spiritual sequel" to "San Junipero". Stubbs saw that as in "San Junipero", the episode "finds the beauty and ugliness in a new form of romance". Writing for ', Alex Abad-Santos compared that in "San Junipero", Kelly and Yorkie "play semi-artificial, digital-only versions of themselves", like Danny and Karl. Stubbs and "Wired"s Matt Reynolds found that in "Striking Vipers", the technology is not the focus of the episode—instead its implications and the human stories are. Zack Handlen of "The A.V. Club" analysed that the episode has humour but it is "never designed to undercut the emotional development of the characters". Sexual and gender fluidity, infidelity and love and friendship are major themes, with "The Guardian"s Lucy Mangan writing that "every boundary is porous". Critics identified a large number of questions posed by the episode. Louisa Mellor wrote in "" that the episode initially asks about Danny and Karl's sexual activity: "Is it cheating? Porn? Love?" It also asks if they are gay or bisexual. Commenting in "Wired", Victoria Turk viewed the episode as making a case that engaging in virtual reality porn is infidelity. Tasha Robinson, a reviewer for "The Verge", said that Karl's attempts to persuade Danny to keep the relationship going is "needy and manipulative" and characteristic of an "imbalanced relationship", with Karl going back and forth between "defending their virtual trysts as meaningless fun" and "claiming they mean everything and are worth any risk".
Critics explored the implications of Danny and Karl's relationship. Vorel wondered whether it was a romantic or physical connection, how Karl's choice to play a woman related to his masculinity, and whether there would still be attraction if Danny and Karl swapped characters. He called the pair "two alpha males" who feel "shock and embarrassment" when made to confront their sexualities. Michael Ahr of "Den of Geek" suggested that the pair could be suppressing their homosexuality or "indulging in the objectification of their avatars' hyper-sexualized appearances". "Den of Geek"s Alec Bojalad gave a partial answer that "there is at least some homosexual energy" but "Roxette and Lance's bodies are an essential part of the equation". Bojalad found that despite uncertainty over their sexuality, Danny and Karl "needed each other in ways they didn't fully understand because they didn't have the language for it". Abad-Santos suggested that Karl enjoys "letting Danny take control sexually". He also recalled playing Li in "Street Fighter II", the only female character, as did lots of gay children because it gave them "the freedom to be someone... who [they] could never be". Handlen said that Karl could be interpreted as a "potentially closeted trans woman... but the text stops short of suggesting he's going to make any steps towards transitioning or understanding himself better". Vorel reviewed that the episode "chooses not to judge its characters", while "The Atlantic"s David Sims said it "withholds answers for most of the questions".
Some reviewers drew meaning from the technological aspect of Danny and Karl's relationship. Sims analysed that the episode raises questions about "how sexuality on the internet is continuing to evolve". Stubbs queried whether the "meat person or the avatar" is the real version of us, when "we spend our leisure time in a virtual world and our real lives wearing our work masks". He also suggested that a "virtual/real life balance" could be as fundamental as a work–life balance. Hugh Montgomery, writing for the BBC, found a "pornographic quality of computer game violence" and Abad-Santos saw "Striking Vipers" as serving to connect "video game addiction and porn addiction" as well as "violence and men's sexuality". Another perspective came from Bojalad, who wrote that the episode sees video games as "a safe, consequence-free simulation space for little boys and eventually little men to work though the complex feelings they've so often ignored". Ahr similarly described that "Striking Vipers X" lets the characters "shed their culturally ingrained male inhibitions and admit their devotion to each other in a way that society discourages in real life".
Critics found that Danny and Karl's sexual activity gave them what they were lacking in their real lives. According to Bojalad, Danny and Karl's younger selves have a "classic and recognizable college student dynamic". Ahr wrote that the "sudden" time skip creates an "atmosphere of disillusionment", with a "contrast between the party atmosphere of the intro and the mundane backyard barbecue". While Danny lives an "idyllic suburban life", as Stubbs put it, Vorel and "Vulture"s Charles Bramesco said he has a mid-life ennui. His sex with Theo is for conception, not enjoyment. In contrast, Stubbs called Karl a "rich executive living the bachelor dream"; he fits the trope of a "ladies' man" and dates younger women. Bojalad believed that Danny and Karl each wanted what the other person had: Karl's freedom or Danny's security. Mellor wrote that Danny gets "energy, abs, joint mobility" and "virility" when playing Lance, which he has been deprived of through ageing and parenthood. Additionally, she wrote that Theo has a "need for excitement in the desert of adult responsibility".
Some critics noted foreshadowing in the initial scenes, eleven years before the main story. Bojalad and Ahr both commented that Theo is aroused by Danny treating her like a stranger, a sign of her later desires to meet strangers at a bar. Reynolds interpreted that the roleplay "sets up this idea that the desire to be someone a little different is a completely human thing". Additionally, Karl's mock-humping of Danny while playing "Striking Vipers" was seen by Bramesco to indicate homoerotic tension. Ahr stated that early on, Theo tells Danny he should talk "more openly and frequently" to Karl, and communication between them is a central tension in the episode. The episode also makes reference to other "Black Mirror" instalments: it shows products made by SaitoGemu, of "", and TCKR, of "San Junipero"; and Karl's pinball machine has different gameplay modes that can be seen to reference locations from past episodes.
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the episode holds an approval rating of 73% based on 37 reviews. The website summarises that critics found it "well-produced and thought-provoking", but that "holding back its emotional punch" makes it less powerful than similar episodes. Out of five stars, the episode received ratings of five stars from the BBC, four stars in "The Independent", two stars in "The Telegraph" and one star in "Vulture". It also attained a graded rating of an A in "The A.V. Club". In positive criticism, Stubbs said it was "one of the most sensitive, emotionally affecting" instalments, with Mangan concurring that it was "one of the most tender", and Vorel opined it to be "among the series' most pitch-perfect achievements". Ahr wrote that it had a great "level of literary merit, allowing for all sorts of analysis for those willing to plumb its depths". However, in "The Telegraph", Ed Power panned the script as "listless".
Critics identified various parts of the plot to be weak. Power criticised the occurrence of virtual reality "as a plot device" as overused in "Black Mirror". While Vorel saw Danny and Karl's reactions to be "profoundly well-earned", and Bojalad saw their sex scenes as "surprisingly raw and powerful", Bramesco did not see a "foundation of desire" leading to the first kiss. Vorel and Robsinson wanted further information about how or why people are using "Striking Vipers X" as a sex simulator, or why it was designed to have this functionality. Contrastingly, Stubbs opined that the initial in-game scenes were "incredibly funny" and the rest were "brilliant". Turk criticised Roxette's description of sex as "the full orchestra" for women to be "awful" and "corny", and Bramesco and the "Digital Spy" critics Ali Griffiths and Morgan Jeffery disliked Lance's "don't feel like a gay thing" line. Sims said that the ending was "odd" and "slightly melancholy". Turk thought Danny, Karl and Theo's once-a-year arrangement is a dated solution because it maintains Danny and Theo's "traditional hetero monogamous marriage with two kids and an annual family barbecue", rather than meaningfully integrating any change into it. Similarly, Bramesco thought that the supposedly happy ending works by "gracefully eliding" every day of the year but one. Comparisons to "San Junipero" based on quality were largely unfavourable, such as that of "The Guardian"s Guy Lodge, who saw "Striking Vipers" as "hollow by comparison". Reynolds thought that the episode's themes were "explored in a more gripping way" in "San Junipero". Similarly, Bramesco reviewed the episode as a "dunderheaded thought experiment" which was like "San Junipero" but where "everything that could have gone wrong... does so". Sims found it "nervier" and "less swooning" than the other romance episodes, lacking the "rebellious fun" of "San Junipero" but also the "tragic tinge" of "Be Right Back" and "". Similarly, Power critiqued that "San Junipero" and "Hang the DJ" had "something genuinely profound" to say about love, but "Striking Vipers" does not. As such, only the former two episodes "earned" their happy ending. Griffiths and Jeffery criticised that "queerness is always neatly hidden away in virtual worlds" in "Black Mirror", both in "San Junipero" and "Striking Vipers". They stated that "Striking Vipers" did not address its themes deeply enough, such as by not showing on-screen the conversation Danny has where he confesses the situation to Theo. However, Montgomery dissented, writing that "Striking Vipers" was similar to "Be Right Back" and "San Junipero" as three of "the finest and most soulful" episodes.
Critics were divided on whether the episode addressed the questions it raises to a sufficient degree. Griffiths and Jeffery said that it "never really gets to the crux of what it means for Danny to be attracted to Karl" as Roxette, and does not show enough of Karl's perspective. Lodge argued that there is a "frustratingly regressive tone" as the episode is "embarrassed and coy about its subject matter". However, Turk said that "enough was shown... to raise the most interesting theme": that Danny and Karl are attracted to each other only when Karl is a woman. Vorel, Mellor and Robinson commented that the episode was surprisingly mature, with Bojalad summarising that it "presents a stunning example of reckoning with technology and one's own wants and desires in a mature, adult fashion". Montgomery thought it was a good premise for the show as it is "both technologically plausible and richly philosophical". Jon Paul of "Syfy Wire" found the topic of how black men "struggle with the energy that comes with exploring intimacy" and "suppress themselves" interesting, along with how men behave "relatively distant and neutral". He linked this to toxic masculinity. Lodge criticised that "queer desire is treated... as a disorienting byproduct of alien technology rather than a matter of the heart" and that the implications of Karl enjoying sexual experiences in a woman's body are "glibly grazed over".
Some reviewers found the characterisation to be lacking. Reynolds wanted to "understand the characters a little more" and Handlen said the episode "never quite gets under the surface" of them. Abad-Santos went further, saying that Danny and Karl seem to "exist just to raise points and get us to the end of a thought-provoking argument, rather than as people in a meaningful story". Bramesco and Power said that, respectively, the pair had "zero demonstrated chemistry", and are not convincing with their "supposed transcendent charge". In contrast, Fiona Sturges of "The Independent" praised the "nuanced depiction of marriage, parenthood" and their consequent "erosion of spontaneity", and Handlen saw Danny, Karl and Theo as being given "a measure of dignity and compassion they might not have found on other shows".
Critical comments about the acting and directing were positive. Stubbs reviewed the all-black cast as further establishing "Black Mirror" as "a bastion of diversity... not as a box-ticking exercise". Handlen and Mellor found the performances "solid" and "strong", respectively, with Mellor praising Danny and Roxie in particular. Handlen wrote that Abdul-Mateen "is terrific as Karl, selling the character's charm and enthusiasm and just absolutely landing the heartbreak". Ahr said that Beharie's acting was "as expressive as they come". Vorel also praised Mackie, Abdul-Mateen and Beharie. Handlen praised Harris's direction, analysing that the shots often position Danny and Karl in "traditional fighting game poses". Mellor and Sims praised the filming style and scenery of the in-game scenes, with the former commenting that Harris "successfully created two totally different textures for each world".
"Striking Vipers" ranked as follows on critics' lists of the 23 instalments of "Black Mirror", from best to worst:
"IndieWire" authors ranked the 22 "Black Mirror" instalments excluding "Bandersnatch" by quality, giving "Striking Vipers" a position of 14th. Instead of by quality, Proma Khosla of "Mashable" ranked the episodes by tone, concluding that "Striking Vipers" was the third-least pessimistic episode of the show.
"Striking Vipers" was nominated for three awards: an , a and a .