Black Mirror: The True Story Behind Playtest’s Heartbreaking Ending Twist

“Playtest” is one of Black Mirror‘s most heartbreaking episodes in recent date. But its final kicker didn’t originate in the mind of creator Charlie Brooker. Instead, the idea came from a slightly sarcastic tweet posted by a writer. The joke spurred a plot twist that was both devastating and all-too-relatable.

The episode follows an American abroad named Cooper (Wyatt Russell). While he’s traveling in London, he decides to partake in an experiment that will have him testing out an immersive augmented reality video game. The game specifically targets the player’s unique fears, causing a hyper-realistic immersive therapy situation.

Cooper dies in Black Mirror, “Playtest,” but it’s not in an expected way. He comes out of the other side of the video game only to be killed because of a phone call. He never turned off his phone, so an incoming call from his mom caused a fatal signal interference in the video game. It’s a tragic metaphor for the fact that so many people have greater attachments to technology than the real people in their lives. Fans can thank writer Mallory Ortberg for that idea.

According to Junkee, in 2015, Ortberg composed a tweet directly making fun of the show’s dark technological themes. She tweeted, “Next on Black Mirror: What if phones, but too much?” The tweet caught Brooker’s eye and he found it to be amusing. As the Black Mirror creator is known for his dark sense of humor, he decided to incorporate it into the show. Ortberg’s message became the foundation for “Playtest’s” twist ending.

The horror show typically tackles storylines about technology similar but slightly more advanced than what currently exists. “Playtest” does this with the video game that Cooper tests out. While augmented reality video games exist, they’re not as intelligent as portrayed in this episode of Black Mirror. That allows the audience to sigh a breath of relief — a situation like this probably would not happen at this moment in time. But that last-minute twist with the cell phone is a real punch to the gut. Most people who have cell phones have them on their person 24/7. So who’s to say a situation like this, in which cell phone interference causes a serious issue couldn’t happen in real life? It’s a prime example of when Black Mirror is at its best. The show is all about how technology will bring the downfall of humanity, so it’s meant to scare its audience a bit. There’s nothing scarier than realizing the dangers of a piece of technology people rely on so much. Brooker was able to tap into that by implementing Ortberg’s tweet into “Playtest’s” ending.

About The Author