Fans were upset when they learned that they wouldn’t be getting a full season of Black Mirror as usual this new year, but it seems there was nothing to worry about as what they got instead was much more interesting.
Yes, as you may’ve heard, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch has taken the internet by storm and people simply can’t stop talking about it, and for good reason. Set in 1984, the feature-length episode stars Dunkirk‘s Fionn Whitehead as a young programmer named Stefan trying to adapt a chaotic fantasy novel – the fictional Bandersnatch by Jerome F. Davies, who apparently killed his wife – into a video game, which makes him start questioning his own reality.
On its own, that premise might not sound like anything particularly special, but the hook in Bandersnatch is that it’s an interactive, Choose Your Own Adventure experience. Which means that as you watch, there are many different choices you’ll have to make and depending on which path you go down, you’ll get one of several different endings. Not to mention that the story will play out differently, too.
Overall, it’s a slightly flawed but very interesting little experiment by Netflix and understandably, viewers are feeling guilty about some of the decisions they’ve had to make.
https://twitter.com/bowergosling/status/1078592420374347781
https://twitter.com/Thilinio/status/1078736712078184453
https://twitter.com/nielsnable/status/1078614995414310913
I can’t believe I keep killing everyone, I’m so done with this I just want Stefan to be successful with his game #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/n3U6xmWDzO
— denisse (@cowboylikealu_) December 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/solaryeols/status/1078611360391618561
Me when I chose “FUCK YEAH” and the therapist and the dad started attacking Stefan #Bandersnatch #BlackMirrorBandersnatch #blackmirror pic.twitter.com/uwMeinuOMZ
— Lemongrabz (@mark_jayson13) December 28, 2018
I'm going to blame my bad desicions to me being tired bc its 5am so I won't feel bad about ruining Stefan's life #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/D6DjMNA2Zh
— mabi (@adasmercy) December 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/voidmemoria/status/1078567912175210496
THE FIRST ACTUAL CHOICE WAS SUGAR PUFFS OR FROSTIES AND IM STRESSED ALREADY #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/LSn2z6lM6F
— les (@unlitmemes) December 28, 2018
Did I just pick the cereal for this boy to eat?! 😧 BIH! #BlackMirror | #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/EMk4h1ZJnP
— ɳick 💆🏽♂️ (@Creat1ve) December 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/Shadowfishy/status/1078570293688446976
me, chooses what i know is a bad decision
stefan: #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/r6oAe9j9D7
— jess™️ (@plinys) December 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/kxty11/status/1078752876552429573
me: I just want to make Stefan happy
Netflix: pic.twitter.com/c4DolUMqhV
— 𓂺tation (@summerhtshello) December 28, 2018
These reactions are perfectly understandable of course, given some of the things Bandersnatch makes you do, but that’s all part of the fun. And besides, you can always go back and choose a different path for Stefan in the hope that things will turn out a bit better for the poor guy.
If you’re eager to know how exactly you can do that, a couple of folks over on Reddit have actually put together a pretty handy flow chart mapping out all the various decisions and choices, which you can view here. There are obviously a ton of possibilities for how things can play out in the story and suffice it to say, viewers will be having fun with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch for a long while.
