drm2642 Review of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)

String Theory/Parallel Universes

[9/10 · 29 December 2018]

Reading reviews on here I'm noticing two trends. People are either blown away and praising "Bandersnatch" because it is new and different, or they hate it because they think it is boring and doesn't really give them actual choices. For the later this is somewhat true, but there is are symbolic reasons for the character getting a do over every time the viewer 'kills' him. I'm curious what would happen if instead of picking a 'bad' choice, I picked the good one first. I would imagine some of these 'good' choices would create a similar loop, which is kind of the point. I also want to note that I've only watched the episode/movie/entertainment event once. So if I'm missing a few things, apologizes. I think a lot of people are missing the point of this episode. It's not about the game Stephan is making. Nor is it about the choose your own adventure style that the episode presents to the viewer. This episode is about parallel universes and string theory. Particularly the aspect of string theory which theorizes that there are an infinite amount of parallel universes where EVERY possible outcome to EVERY choice we make exists. This is why after the first 'reset' (the one where you decide to work at the company instead of working from home) Colin suddenly has read the book Bandersnatch, where as the first time through he says he has not. Other evidence that points to this are all the Easter Eggs in the episode. The dogs from "Metalhead" or even the symbol that Stephan keeps seeing (this was the tattoo/symbol from "White Bear"), are examples of parallel worlds bleeding through. The best evidence of this though is close to the end of "Bandersnatch". When Stephan goes to retrieve his rabbit from dads special safe, if you choose to put the code PAC in instead of TOY you get two very different outcomes. PAC makes it so dad is really a government agent studying Stephan. Everything in his life is false, even the memory of his mother leaving, which is shown to be an elaborate set up with an actress pretending to be his mother. TOY on the other hand makes it so you have to option to go back in time and place the toy under the bed after dad takes it away. This will ensure it to be there when mom comes to get Stephan for the train. Now think about this for a moment. In one instance mom is a plant and Stephan's life is a lie. In the other instance his mother is real and as far as we can tell dad is certainly NOT a government agent. Which is real? Both. Because with parallel universes there are an infinite amount of universes with an infinite amount of Stephans leading every possible life they can. In some Stephan's mother is alive and dad is dead. In some both parents are alive, while in others both are dead, etc. Every possible outcome is out there. For some reason Stephan is in touch with these other versions of himself. I believe it has something to do with his intimate understanding of the book "Bandersnatch" and his transference of the book into the video game. This is allowing him to see and in some cases interact with other realities, but keep in mind these are other realities not his own. If you choose to have Stephan jump off the building while on LSD for example, yes the loop resets and you, the viewer, start over, but the Stephan in that reality is dead. The story continues with a Stephan in another reality who did not make that choice. This episode is a lot to take in, so I can see why some people don't like it as much as others. My suggestion would be to go back and try it again. Make some different choices.