7 mind-blowing theories about Black Mirror's 'Bandersnatch'
The Black Mirror creative squad surprised us all with their one-off Christmas special 'Bandersnatch'. In this ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ episode, it’s down to the viewer to decide the fate of the lead character, Stefan, leading to ten main endings with numerous variations along the way. (And of course, dozens of references and Easter eggs.)
If your brain isn’t already frazzled enough from working your way through the macabre maze, then we’ve got some fan theories for you that’ll send you even further down the rabbit hole. Get your speculative caps on, people – it’s time to look at some of the best 'Bandersnatch' theories doing the rounds right now.
1. The Russian Bots are coming
One of the endings of 'Bandersnatch' features a newspaper headline that reads: “Senate committee grills Smithereen CEO Billy Bauer over Russian bots.” Any Black Mirror fan worth their salt will know that we’ve never seen or heard anything in the show relating to Billy Bauer or Russian Bots. They’ll also know that no detail in Black Mirror is unintentional, leading many to believe this could be the plot for an episode in the forthcoming season five.
Adding to the theory, one of the paths presented in Bandersnatch involves Stefan dialling a number to call his therapist, which was figured out to be 20541 based on a montage of cutscenes. This figure is also featured in the URL of the interactive Tuckersoft website, showcasing games included in the episode such as Metl Hedd and Nohzdyve.
One Redditor noticed that 20541 is the postcode for Washington DC, which adds another juicy layer to support the Russian Bot theory. This one seems likely – watch this space.
2. The PACS conspiracy is linked to the Janus experiment in Utopia
Spoiler alert for anyone who’s not seen Channel 4’s dystopian drama Utopia.
Now that’s out of the way, we can get down to business. A select number of eagle-eyed viewers have drawn parallels between the bold, distinctive worlds drawn out in Dennis Kelly’s Utopia and Black Mirror. While the latter is an anthology and therefore unable to continue the rather unsatisfying finish to the former – which was tragically cut in its prime after just two seasons – there are distinctive echoes played out in 'Bandersnatch' that allude to the sinister workings of Utopia’s shadowy organisation, The Network.
Anyone who’s studied the various endings will know that if you choose for Stefan to enter the password ‘PAC’ into the safe, the character discovers the Program and Control Study files demonstrating how he has been monitored by his “father” for many years. As one Reddit user pointed out, just like Peter experiments on Stefan, Utopia’s Philip Carvel tests the sterilisation serum Janus on his reticent son Pietre.
Here’s where it gets really weird. In Utopia, Philip conducts a macabre experiment on Pietre’s pet rabbit in an attempt to get a response from his child. In Black Mirror, Peter uses Stefan’s stuffed rabbit as part of his experiments to test the effects of trauma. Another Redditor went on to state, “The repeated dashes of yellow (the Volvo; the inside of the bus; etc) also added to that similarity.”
Although these similarities are speculative, it’s safe to say that just as there was no defining end to Utopia, there’s more than one way to reach a conclusion to 'Bandersnatch'.
3. 'Bandersnatch' is set in the real world
Thanks to some craftily placed Easter eggs, it’s obvious by now that the Black Mirror universe is connected. This idea was bolstered further in season four with the episode 'Black Museum', in which we’re shown a museum featuring artifacts that originate from the show’s various stories.
All episodes from the fourth series are referenced in this finale – not to mention hints to previous seasons such as the Cookie eggs from White Christmas and the hunting mask in White Bear – giving us more than enough clues that this instalment ties all of them together.
In the same vein, a number of fans have suggested that Bandersnatch is set in the real world and every episode of the show (even Black Museum) is a video game created by Tuckersoft. This would explain the not-so-subtle Tuckersoft creations Metl Hedd and Nohzdyve aka Metalhead and Nosedive.
Yes, 'Bandersnatch' in itself is a game played by us – but up until this point, could it be that we were mere viewers of a game played by Colin and his gang of game developers? One Redditor hopes we’ll find the answer to this question in the form of a Colin Rickman special: “My guess is it's not standalone and we will get [an] episode for Colin. It's all going to be intertwined on one main story line.”
4. We are Netflix, and Netflix is Pax
Like we needed even more nightmare fuel, Bandersnatch presents us with the Pax demon – a monstrous creature who haunts Stefan as he descends into the trippy tale of author Jerome F Davies, who believed his wife was controlling him with drugs at “the behest of a demon called Pax, a sort of lion figure”.
Stefan starts to see the same terrifying creature throughout the episode, most notably after urging Colin to jump from the balcony of his flat (if that was the path you chose) – leading to the assumption that Stefan is suffering from the same murderous paranoia as the author whose book he’s developing.
A separate path of the episode breaks the fourth wall when Stefan’s computer system explains the outside force controlling him is Netflix – an extremely meta commentary on the way we watch TV today.
Linking these plot points together, it could be argued that we’re Netflix and the demon, all in one, since we are the deciders of his destiny. “I think we are pax,” wrote Reddit user Ficenane. “They called him the stealer of destiny, which is essentially what we are doing. So I guess whenever Stefan sees Pas (sic) it’s his representation of us.”
Going deeper still, Pax is portrayed as a type of demon that gives you the illusion of free will even though you don't have any. And in this sense, that’s what Netflix is to us when it comes to 'Bandersnatch' – we’re given choices, but they all lead to a premeditated path mapped out for us by Brooker and co.
Mind = Blown
5. Stefan is stuck in a cookie prison
There’s a lot of talk about Stefan being made to endure some sort of punishment, particularly since this is a theme featuring in numerous Black Mirror episodes. Just like the Christmas special before it, it could be that our protagonist is a digital, conscious copy who undergoes an ongoing chastisement just like Potter (Rafe Spall) in the 2014 episode 'White Christmas'.
“But instead of being given drugs to remove memories he is just reloaded at the beginning of each ‘session’ with a present memory,” wrote one user. This explains why Stefan repeatedly jolts awake with a gasp of breath. “Each time someone starts 'Bandersnatch' on Netflix, it's bringing a copy of Stefan to ‘existence’ for that session.”
6. Bandersnatch is a 'White Bear' sequel
Continuing the theme of punishment, the theory with most legs reckons that the film is a sequel to Brooker’s 2013 episode 'White Bear', which was sparked by the couch detectives when they spotted the ominous upside-down letter Y peppered throughout. The glyph – within 'Bandersnatch' – is a visual representation of a flowchart and echoes how you can make different choices during the 'choose your own adventure' episode. It’s also the logo of the White Bear Justice Park and has served as an unofficial Black Mirror logo.
Ultimately this was the key that linked the two episodes and led to one of the most talked-about fan theories so far. Here’s what redditor Bakelywood had to say: “'White Bear' turned punishment and torture into entertainment for the masses through a theme park designed specifically for optimised torture to fit the crime committed by Victoria Skillane. Having filmed the torture of her victim, she herself was chased down and filmed whilst being tortured.
“In 'Bandersnatch', the interactive ‘choose your own adventure’ is a designed torture device for Stefan as punishment for a crime he previously committed (presumably the murder of his father).
“Users log on, make cruel choices and force him [to] relive his crimes over and over again. Trapped, Stefan is aware of the choices happening against his free will, struggling to fight against them, which adds to his torture as he loses his mind, again, and again, and again.”
The theory goes on to state that there’s no big reveal like there was in 'White Bear' because WE are the faces behind the phones. “Free will is an illusion and we've just been forced to participate in the torture of a psychologically damaged protagonist.”
It’s also worth noting that in 'White Bear' Victoria wakes up gasping each time her ordeal is “reset”, just like Stefan. Convinced yet?
7. 'Bandersnatch' is a 'Playtest' prequel
For more meta madness, let it be known that Bandersnatch could very well be a prequel to the season three episode Playtest, in which a thrill-seeking traveller tests a terrifyingly advanced video game.
While 'Bandersnatch' is set in 1984 (a nod to George Orwell, but also the year a videogame of the same name was developed by a UK studio), 'Playtest' was set in the tech-laden future. And as one Twitter user excitedly relayed, the game was referenced as a review on the front cover of the gaming magazine in 'Playtest'.
This suggests Pearl Ritman’s modern remake of 'Bandersnatch' actually made it onto the shelves after all…
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