San Junipero

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Lore & Background

San Junipero operates as a digital sanctuary where users inhabit younger versions of themselves during time periods of their choice. The simulation allows the living to test the waters before death, while the deceased can reside permanently. Yorkie's backstory reveals she was paralyzed at 21 after crashing her car when her parents reacted negatively to her coming out; she has remained in a coma for 40 years in Santa Rosa, California. To join Kelly permanently, Yorkie intends to marry Greg, her nurse, so he can consent to her euthanasia, though Kelly ultimately authorizes the procedure by marrying Yorkie first. The setting shifts through decades, featuring specific details like arcade games Time Crisis and The House of the Dead, which hint at the plot's twist regarding death and consciousness.

In Their Own Story

In 1987, shy Yorkie meets outgoing Kelly at Tucker's nightclub in San Junipero. After an initial rebuff, they reunite in a bathroom kiss and eventually have sex at Kelly's beach house. Yorkie reveals it is her first time; Kelly admits she was once married. When Yorkie searches for Kelly across decades, finding her in 2002, Kelly initially rejects her but later confesses she is dying and feared falling for Yorkie again. They argue over Kelly's plan to die without uploading, a choice made because her husband chose the same fate after their daughter died before San Junipero existed. After Kelly intentionally crashes her car in the simulation to end her visit early, time passes. Kelly eventually decides to enter permanently, is euthanised and buried with her family, and happily reunites with Yorkie in the simulated town.

Reader's Guide

Visitors experience San Junipero through a specific set of rules established by Charlie Brooker's script. The simulation relies on nostalgia therapy, immersing users in music and fashion from their youth, specifically 1987 for much of the narrative. Music plays a critical role; the soundtrack interweaves original scores by Clint Mansell with licensed tracks like Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" and The Smiths' "Girlfriend in a Coma," though one Prince song could not be cleared. Filming occurred over several weeks in London and Cape Town. Brooker noted that the twist ending, featuring a bank of computer servers with flashing lights, was inspired by hearing the title track while writing. The episode stands apart from the series' usual tone, with Brooker stating he changed it to prove uplifting Black Mirror episodes are possible.

Did You Know?

• The episode was originally written with a heterosexual couple and an unhappy ending before being changed to focus on a lesbian couple for extra resonance regarding same-sex marriage laws in 1987.
• Brooker wrote the script in four days, but the final scene showing computer servers was inspired by hearing "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" off a streaming playlist while writing.
• A draft included a scene where Kelly visits a kindergarten full of children who had died, but it was removed because it was deemed too sad and poignant for the story.
• Director Owen Harris chose 1987 "fairly arbitrarily," though he specifically noted very specific movie posters in the script to establish the era.
• Every song in the soundtrack was successfully cleared for roughly 15 years except for one track by Prince.