’Black Mirror’s ‘Hang the DJ’ Ending Explained: Do Amy and Frank End Up Together?

Black Mirror released a twisty episode in 2017 that’s suddenly climbing in popularity. The Season 4 episode “Hang the DJ” is a nightmarish take on dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble, except in this world, there’s one respected dating app that puts an expiration date on all romantic partners to encourage people to find their true loves. Pretty crazy, right?

The episode follows two people, Amy (Georgina Campbell) and Frank (Joe Cole), who are matched by the app and hit it off on their first date, but later find out that they are incompatible. They go their separate ways and fall into short-term relationships with different people they feel less connected with. Amy begins to feel skeptical and thinks the app is just preparing them to settle.

Amy and Frank get matched again and meet up for a date. They agree to not look at the timer provided by the app. As they fall more in love, Frank grows fearsome of their potential break-up and looks at the timer in secrecy. The device reads “5 years” at first but then ticks down due to Frank’s betrayal. With tears in his eyes, he reads that he only has 19 hours left with Amy. 

Down to the last 15 minutes of the episode, what do you suppose happens next? The episode’s shocking ending is a confusing exploration through time and space as showrunner Charlie Brooker introduces a multitude of different realities. Do Amy and Frank end up together? Continue reading for everything you need to know about this Black Mirror episode. 

How Does Black Mirror “Hang the DJ” End?

Eventually, Frank reveals to Amy that he looked at their clock and she gets angry. When he says they only have an hour left, she accuses him of destroying their relationship. “I looked, but that’s not the issue here,” Frank argues. “What if we just ignore this? We just fuck the system.” Amy exclaims that “there’s nothing out there” and Frank “ruined” their relationship. She storms off and Frank follows.

Intense music begins to play and a man with a taser is shown standing behind them; all the people on the street stare at the arguing couple. Frank loses sight of Amy and is later seen crying over the heartbreak at home. He asks the device for guidance regarding the break-up and it responds that it has assessed his reaction to the termination of his relationship with Amy and will adjust his profile within the app. He begins to verbally question the app’s algorithm and expresses his want to disobey. The device says, “Failure to comply with the system may result in banishment,” and then asks him to vacate the apartment he shared with his former partner. 

Time passes and Amy is shown in a series of unfulfilling relationships while Joe overshares about his missed connection with his future prospects. His latest date and him both express that they are thinking about other people while they hook up, further insinuating the inaccuracy of the app. 

Back in Amy’s world, she idly takes note that every time she skips a rock across the pond, it has four jumps. Later, her device alerts her that they have found her permanent match, and prior to her pairing day, she can have a final farewell date with a former match of her choosing. She chooses Frank and the app arranges a meeting for the two. She tosses the device in her bath and finds that it skips four times, like the rocks.

Amy and Frank meet up and passionately kiss each other at the restaurant, and the device shows that they only have an hour. As they profess their love to one another, the device threatens to banish them from the system. The couple discusses how they both have no memories prior to the app and Amy says “it’s a test” and they need to rebel against the system. As they prepare to leave the restaurant together, they are stopped by a man with a taser; however, Amy touches the taser and it turns off. The people around them stop moving and the couple climbs a tall wall that separates them from the rest of the world. On the other side, they find a bunch of people with numbers above their heads. 

Frank and Amy are brought to another world where they are told they are a 99.8% match for one another. They make eye contact at a bar while “Panic” by The Smiths plays. The song contains lyrics that refer back to the title of the episode, “Burn down the disco / Hang the blessed DJ.”

Upon the episode’s release, Brooker elaborated on the ending and the fictional dating app in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying, “We decided it’s a cloud-based system that’s simulating 1,000 different run-throughs of yourself and a potential partner to see how many times you’d rebel against it.” He continued. “It deliberately is setting a tight framework. And if they do rebel, that means they’re destined to be together. So if you don’t rebel, the system has served its purpose and your reality ends.”

Well, looks like Amy and Frank are real soulmates.

Black Mirror is currently streaming on Netflix.