The sapphic Black Mirror episode was definitely one of our favourites
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY NETFLIX
Charlie Brooker’s anthology series, Black Mirror, has had some incredible episodes, but San Junipero has to be one of the most touching. In season three, the sci-fi show known for its twists, delighted sapphic fans with an Emmy-winning episode about Yorkie and Kelly, two women whose lives are forever changed when they fall in love.
It’s been eight years since this episode aired and it still has to be one of our favourites. In typical Black Mirror fashion, the cast were filled to the brim with stars. Let’s see what they’ve been up to!
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Kelly)
Kelly, the party girl of San Junipero, was one half of the first same-sex couple to appear on Black Mirror. She and Yorkie fall in love quickly after meeting in a nightclub. Just as quickly, we all fell in love with Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Mbatha-Raw already had quite the career before doing Black Mirror, and she continued to amass a long-list of credits afterwards. She voiced Plumette, the maid turned feather duster, in the live-action Beauty And The Beast and played Jennifer Hosten, the first Black woman to win Miss World, in Misbehaviour. On the small screen, she joined the MCU as Judge Ravonna Lexus Renslayer in Loki.
Mackenzie Davis (Yorkie)
Yorkie was a shy girl who broke through her social anxiety to search for Kelly after the latter runs away from their budding relationship. It was through her that the audience explored the world of San Junipero.
Davis is also one of the leads in Terminator: Dark Fate and the upcoming horror Speak No Evil. But most excitingly for sapphics obsessed with Christmas, she is Harper in Clea Duvall’s lesbian holiday flick Happiest Season. As Harper, Davis played a lesbian who brought her girlfriend (Kristen Stewart) home for Christmas, only to reveal that she is not out to her parents.
Denise Burse (Older Kelly)
Known for its twists, Black Mirror could hardly give us a straightforward sapphic story. As part of the journey, we meet elderly versions of Kelly and Yorkie, both of whom are facing death and must choose whether or not they want to live in a virtual reality world after they die.
Burse, who played the older version of Kelly, is best known for being Claretha Jenkins in Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne. But since Black Mirror, she has guest starred in a number of shows, including New Amsterdam and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Annabel Davis (Older Yorkie)
Since playing the older version of Yorkie, Annabel Davis has appeared in a number of TV shows and radio series, including The UNIT tapes, a Doctor Who spin-off. In this six episode series, Davis voiced both Kate Stewart, the head of UNIT, and Missy, the Doctor’s arch nemesis.
Raymond McAnally (Greg)
Greg was a nurse to Yorkie in her later years and agreed to marry her so that he could sign off on her euthanasia, despite her family’s disapproval.
McAnally has had a number of cameos in long running TV shows, including Better Call Saul and Chicago Fire.
Gavin Stenhouse (Wes)
The first time we met Wes, he was hitting on Yorkie and was quickly rebuffed. But as the episode continued, Wes gave Yorkie (and therefore us) important information about how San Junipero worked, eventually leading the woman to Kelly.
Since Black Mirror, he played a similar font of knowledge in 911. As the priest Bobby Nash continually reaches out to when he’s about to fall off the wagon, Stenhouse was the vehicle through which we learnt more about the troubled fire captain.
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