‘Orange is the New Black Mirror’: Taystee Dreams Up the Perfect Netflix Mash-Up — Watch
[Editor’s note: Spoilers for “Orange is the New Black” Season 4, as well as the “Black Mirror” episode “San Junipero,” follow.]
After the tragic death of Poussey (Samira Wiley) at the end of last season, you might have thought that we’d never see her and best friend Taystee (Danielle Brooks) hanging out again. But thanks to this new short film released by Netflix, heaven is a place on earth — a place called San Junipero, to be specific.
READ MORE: ‘Black Mirror’: How ‘San Junipero,’ Season 3’s Sweet Love Story, Came to Be
Mashing up “Orange is the New Black” with the Netflix anthology series “Black Mirror” (an idea so self-evident we’re shocked it took so long), “Orange is the New Black Mirror” recasts the “Black Mirror” episode “San Junipero” with Wiley and Brooks, their wardrobe echoing that of characters Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis).
In “San Junipero,” Kelly and Yorkie meet in a ’80s-esque world we come to discover is a virtual reality simulation for the elderly and deceased, who wish to travel back to the eras of their youth. Poussey and Taystee’s situation is a little different, but that doesn’t keep them from getting their groove on.
“San Junipero” was a love story — one that creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones very deliberately focused on two women as opposed to a man and a woman, as they explained to IndieWire last fall. But while Poussey and Taystee were never lovers (as Taystee is straight), there’s no denying that they were full of love for each other, helping this mash-up work on a number of levels.
“Orange is the New Black” Season 5 premieres Friday, June 9 on Netflix.
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