One of the best Black Mirror episodes of all time is undoubtedly the queer romance San Junipero, and now, season seven has offered us a new episode with the same flavour, Hotel Reverie.

Starring Issa Rae, Hotel Reverie sees her actress character Brandy Friday star in a remake of a classic black and white film. Of course, this is Black Mirror we’re talking about, so there’s a technological twist. Rather than just recast, refilm, and redistribute Hotel Reverie, Awkwafina’s Kimmy and Harriet Walter’s Judith employ a nifty gadget to recreate the movie in its own private dimension. Brandy is then placed in said dimension where she is expected to act out the scenes, but after some technical issues, she unintentionally falls for her long-dead co-star Dorothy Chambers, played by the ever capitving Emma Corrin.

You go through a rollercoaster of emotions watching Hotel Reverie, and it ultimately ends with Dorothy’s untimely death and Brandy being left utterly heartbroken. Right at the end, and to give us emotional viewers some semblance of closure, Brandy is given another device that allows her to talk with Dorothy over the phone.

But amidst my tears, I didn’t notice just how dark the ending was.

I didn’t clock how dark the ending of Black Mirror’s Hotel Reverie was

When she was trapped in the pocket dimension with only Dorothy to keep her company, Brandy fell in love with what is essentially the real actress. They spend days together mulling about the black and white hotel as Dorothy accepts that she’s an AI construct, but their relationship is starkly different in the ending scene.

The AI Dorothy isn’t aware of her nature and is trapped in a single room with just a telephone. Sure, Brandy could tell her the truth like in the hotel, but that would just leave Dorothy fully aware of her situation and STILL trapped between four walls.

Things aren’t much better for Brandy either because she’s left to exist in the real world without her love. We don’t get to see what happens next, but presumably, Brandy is left chasing what can never be, and Dorothy is blissfully unaware of her predicament.

It’s not quite the devastating full-circle moment we thought it was, and now I’m crying all over again.

Issa Rae explained it best

Speaking to ScreenRant, Issa Rae said the ending felt “bittersweet” to her because Brandy is left in self-imposed isolation if she wants to continue her relationship with Dorothy.

“To me, personally, no. It’s not a happy ending. It’s sad; it’s bittersweet. Yes, you get this connection, but for me, so much of falling in love with someone is sharing those memories together; being able to recall when it happened for me and when it happened for you,” she explained.

“It was such a special time, but even if they do reconnect, it’s still so isolating for Brandy because you can’t tell your friends without sounding bats**t crazy. ‘You guys will never believe what happened. Yeah, that’s my girl.’ That’s really sad to me, in a way. But I do think the beauty of it is Brandy understanding that the love that she felt was real and the experience she had was real, and understanding that she has a template or a mold for the connection that she can try to find in the real world.”

I loved the ending of Black Mirror’s Hotel Reverie, but I now need a bottle of wine.