
Many people have varying beliefs on afterlife and how we get to heaven. The afterlife to some could mean heaven, death where nothing else will happen, or several things. In “Black Mirror’s” San Junipero, the afterlife is shown as a beautiful place on the beach where people resort to before they go to heaven. However, the only way to get there is through Euthanasia. Euthanasia, like heaven, could have different meanings to people. To some it is a peaceful and a humbling way to die, to others it is considered assisted suicide. Euthanasia is a highly versed topic that can bring up debate through would do the same by raising moral questions in people’s lives and especially through religions throughout the country. Some have argued to get rid of the option of assisted suicide because of moral topics it can bring up. However, although it is a personal decision, taking control of your own life, I believe is not something we should be able to control.

In the show, we learn about the lives of two characters and get insight on how they met. As the episode opens we see how two young women who lead completely different lives meet. One is the more outgoing partying type and the other is a more humble and reserved type. When they meet, they seem to hit it off and become sexually attracted to each other. The more partying type character seems to be able to move on quicker while our other character seems to be hung up. However, all works out between them. The Euthanasia comes into play later in the episode. As our reserved character gets diagnosed as a paraplegic she is introduced to Euthanasia where she will later end up in the beach and “pre-heaven.” The controversy outside of the episode now begins because the show has now brought up moral questions revolving around what the characters and society in the show believes.

“In our post-Christian world we need to hold on to those values that extol the sacredness of life and the worthiness of persons to receive our protection” (Vaux 28). In the church taking oneself is something humans shouldn’t be able to choose. God is the right hand in deciding our path in life and we are put on Earth as a test to see if we can prove that we belong in heaven. To the church, suicide could be considered playing God which then results in blasphemy. “the faith community can and should have the moral courage not only to pray for good death, to faithfully attend those in terminal illness, but also to assist in the euthanasic act, at least in its passive form.” (Vaux 40).  Church leaders are expected to help those in need and to promote good healthy living. The church also should be a haven for people to come to find peace and to help with problems going on in their everyday lives. Church leaders respond with the stereotypical Bible quote however one that would sum up how the Church feels about life is: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die (Eccles. 3:12)” (Vaux 43).

The interesting part about this episode is that even with us knowing what the Church believes we still watch the show as if there aren’t moral issues. We watch what happens in the show and might think it’s strange but we are enthralled with the idea because death is not something we tend to look forward to. As we watch how the characters handle their situations we don’t think much of the moral and ethical side of what is happening in the plot. When a character moves on to the “Passover” stage they are waiting for themselves to accept the fact that heaven is their destination. In the real world “Under the present law, voluntary euthanasia would, except in certain narrow circumstances, be regarded as suicide in the patient who gives consent and murder in the doctor who administers” (Trowell 34). This shows the more legal side of the controversial topic. To tie this into the episode it shows us that even legally most countries don’t recognize it as normal or morally acceptable so the show flips it to make us think of what could be. 

The show climaxes with drama between our characters but at the end the two are together in the “Passover” land. The two celebrate and hang out and listen to music with no worries and can control what happens. They create their own heaven and live in it with all they have. However, as the Church has taught heaven is what we strive for. The ironic twist at the end of the episode while our characters drive off is the background music. The song being played is “Heaven is a place on Earth.” The irony behind this is that they are still on Earth and are living in their own heaven. On the topic of Euthanasia, if a patient is suffering from a terminal illness and are in pain the argument is to help them with the pain by taking them out of it. The Church’s response would be that this person was put in that position to be an example of God’s power. No matter how much pain or misery we are in our time will come where we can leave this world and experience the goodness God has to offer. The show puts a surprising twist on this to open our minds to see how people could envision heaven. We don’t particularly know what heaven will be like so to some this could be their mental image of it. It could it fact be a place of care-free living where we don’t have to worry about anything and get to choose how we live every day. Church officials would argue that the entrance to heaven should be opened by God and not by us. God created life so he can take life, we don’t have that option, as we live with morals it is a natural reaction that we would assume that assisted suicide should not be a thing of modern day or the future. However, this show opens us up into a completely different thought process that we may have never thought about.
