Characters / Black Mirror: Joan is Awful

Characters from Fictive Level 1

Joan Tait

Played by Annie Murphy

• Adaptational Villainy: Implied and Downplayed. Although more sympathetic than the nearly Card-Carrying Villain 2-Joan (Hayek), even this version of Joan appears to be easily influenced by her most selfish impulses. But however Unintentionally Unsympathetic she may appear, we can probably assume that 1-Joan (Murphy) is also an exaggeration of 0-Joan's/Source Joan's worst traits, and the “real” person isn't even as bad as that.
• Betty and Veronica: Joan is the Archie to Krish's Betty and Mac's Veronica. Joan is in a relationship with Krish, a man that she finds kind and safe, but kind of bland, in contrast to her ex-boyfriend Mac, that had a very good chemistry with her, with great sex, but with whom things didn't work out.
• The Generic Girl: Mona Javadi's explaination to why Joan Is Awful portrays her life: Streamberry was just looking for an average nobody to test the system and see how it would work.
• Identical Stranger: Played with, and possibly averted. When the Streamberry technician explains to Joan that she is in Fictive Level 1, and that she is just a version of the real Joan made to look like Annie Murphy, Joan is just confused and has no idea who Annie Murphy is, which leaves it ambiguous if Annie Murphy exists in Fictive Level 1 and Joan just doesn't know who she is (which would mean this trope is played straight in Fictive Level 1), or if Annie Murphy doesn't exist in this reality at all (which would avert it).
• Mean Boss: Downplayed - she really does not like that she has to fire a worker whose project is vital to the company's goals, but has to do what her superiors tell her. That said, this seems to be more because of the discomfort the situation causes herself, rather than her sympathy for the worker.
• Tomato in the Mirror: When she finds out she's actually a simulation based on the Source Joan and modeled in the likeness of Annie Murphy.

Salma Hayek

Played by: Herself

• The Last Straw: Salma was fine with her image being used for most things... except defecating in a church.
• Spicy Latina: Invoked, since she's a simulation of the real life Salma.

Streamberry

Mona Javadi

Played By: Leila Farzad

• Adaptational Villainy: This is a given, as she is not the real Mona, and is portrayed more as an overtly amoral person.
• Big Bad: Played With. While the main threat of the majority of the story, as she’s the CEO of Streamberry, she turns out to be simply a simulation of the actual Mona Javadi, who is probably a more complex person than the simulation version.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: She's the CEO of Streamberry and is willing to exploit other people's lives and several actor's images without their consent to get more views on her streaming service.
• The Ghost: Her original version, who is not shown.
• Greed: Her main motivation is more watch time and views.

Krish

Played By Avi Nash

• Betty and Veronica: Kind, safe, but ultimately "vanilla" Krish is the Betty to Mac's Veronica and Joan's Archie.
• Disposable Fiancé: He's in the story basically to dump Joan when a show about her life premieres on Streamberry.
• Flat Character: He has very little characterization beyond being Joan’s disappointing fiancé who leaves when he discovers the truth between Joan and Mac.
• The Generic Guy: How Joan feels about him, stating to her therapist that he is "vanilla", and that even the food he cooks is bland.
• Jerkass: Has shades of this. When Joan claims that she didn't say to her therapist what Salma Hayek!Joan told her own therapist about show!Krish, he demands Joan to tell him what she actually told to her therapist, and gets mad when she doesn't. Regardless of Joan's feelings about Krish, this demand could be seen as a violation of Joan's privacy.

Mac

Played By: Rob Delaney

• Betty and Veronica: Being the ex Joan is still pretty much attracted to, despite the fact that their relationship didn't work out, makes him the Veronica to Krish's Betty and Joan's Archie.
• The Loins Sleep Tonight: Has a bit of erectile dysfunction going on. He feels embarrassed by how his TV show self will be depicted as not being able to get it up for the Joan played by Salma Hayek.

Characters from Fictive Level 2

Salma Hayek-Joan

Played By: Salma Hayek

• Adaptational Villainy: She is more of a jerk and mean-spirited than the Joan she portrayed and is absolutely more of one than the original Joan.
• Dawson Casting: In-universe example, as Salma Hayek is 20 years older than Annie Murphy, who portrays Joan in Fictive Level 1. Either that, or Joan got an Age Lift for the show.
• Hotter and Sexier: The version of Joan portrayed by Salma Hayek is made to be sexier than the one portrayed by Annie Murphy, and even more so than Source Joan, as displayed in scenes like the one where Salma Hayek!Joan kisses Mac.
• Race Lift: An in-universe example, as this portrayal of Joan is made by a Mexican-American actress of Spanish and Lebanese ancestry, while Joan is a white woman, and the original Joan is also white. This also happens in the Joan Is Awful version played within the show, where Joan is played by Cate Blanchett, which means that, from Salma Hayek!Joan's perspective, she is an Hispanic person being portrayed by a white actress.

Characters from Reality

Source Joan

Played By: Kayla Lorette

• Earn Your Happy Ending: Manages to destroy the Quamputer and gets her life in order, getting her own coffee shop.
• The Generic Girl: See Joan Tait's entry above. This is the reason why she was chosen to test Streamberry's system: prior to the show's premiere, she was just an average nobody.
• Greater-Scope Paragon: Ends up being this, as she’s the main Joan that the other Joans follow.
• Nice Girl: From what we see is a sweet and down to Earth girl.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Somehow managed to sneak into Streamberry’s headquarters and destroyed the quantum computer with Annie Murphy.

Annie Murphy

Played By: Herself

• Earn Your Happy Ending: Teams up with Source Joan so Joan can destroy the Quamputer.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Same as with Source Joan. She helps her sneak into Streamberry's headquarters so they can destroy the Quamputer.