Warning: Spoilers for Black Mirror: Bandersnatch below!
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch [1], the long-rumoured interactive episode of Charlie Brooker's sci-fi series [2], is now streaming on Netflix, which means fans need to dust off their red conspiracy-theorist string and start connecting the story to the rest of the show's universe [3]. Of course, that's easier said than done given the sheer amount of detail that has been packed into each and every episode over the last four seasons (with a fifth on the way [4]). Fortunately we decided to sit through all five endings Bandersnatch has to offer, picking out the most important details that pop up as Stefan morphs from an ambitious video game programmer to a murderous young man with a penchant for flow charts.
Saint Juniper's From "San Junipero"
"San Junipero" is one of Black Mirror's only uplifting episodes, and is also one of its most popular. That's why it's not surprising to see a nod to it in scenes when Stefan goes to visit his psychiatrist, Dr. Haynes (Alice Lowe), who happens to work out of a medical practice called Saint Juniper's.
If you recall season four's "Black Museum" episode, there's a vignette that centres around a man's wife who gets hit by a van and ends up in a coma. The hospital where she's staying, which is also where other people are eventually duped into volunteering for dubious neurological experiments, is called Saint Juniper. This was likely ground zero for the development of the "Cloud" in "San Junipero," which we know was definitely created by the organisation TCKR in the Black Mirror universe [6].
In "Black Museum," museum proprietor Rolo Haynes describes Saint Juniper as "like" a university hospital, but never fills us in on who is at the top of the company (whether they're a government operation or private). Judging from this glimpse into the past, it seems the organisation has been around for quite some time.
R. Haynes = Rolo Haynes?
Speaking of Rolo Haynes, the name of Stefan's psychiatrist is "R. Haynes," which is far too obvious to be a coincidence. Is she actually related to the ruthless museum proprietor we meet in season four — given the '80s era of Bandersnatch, she could be his mother — or is that some sort of code name Saint Juniper assigns to "doctors" working on their projects?
The "Metalhead" Robots
Season four's grim-as-f*ck "Metalhead" [7] follows a woman as she struggles to survive in a dystopian setting all by herself, while bloodthirsty, dog-like robots track her across the barren countryside. The robots pop up in Bandersnatch on the posters for Colin's best-selling video game, which is stylised as "Metl Hedd." If you buy the theory that all the episodes in Black Mirror take place in the same universe [8], maybe the robots in Colin's game inspire someone to actually build them decades later.
A Nod to "Nosedive"
In addition to "Metl Hedd," another popular game at Tuckersoft is "Nohzdyve," also created by Colin. This is undoubtedly a nod to the season three episode "Nosedive," which stars Bryce Dallas Howard, though Colin's game sees its hero literally nosediving through an adventure as they fall.
The Symbols From "White Bear"
The true source for Stefan's spiral into madness is up for debate — the pills he's taking? The P.A.C. influence? A lingering curse from Jerome F. Davies (Jeff Minter)? — but it seems to be sparked by an obsession with the shape of the flowchart that helps him organise the story of his game. After a few scenes, the thinly-lined chart begins to morph into more of a glyph, made up of thicker lines (which you can see above). What's more, is that it very closely resembles the symbols drawn on the masks of the attackers in Black Mirror's "White Bear" episode.
The Origins of "Be Right Back" and "Hang the DJ"
One Bandersnatch ending sees Stefan murdering his father, and then chopping up his body, which naturally makes front-page news. In addition to the main story in the Sun, however, are a few other nods to different Black Mirror episodes. The first two are to season one's crushing "Be Right Back," and season four's "Hang the DJ," both of which feature futuristic ways of connecting with loved ones. The description of a "love machine" being developed so that people can find "their perfect match" is likely the "Coach" device that we see in "Hang the DJ," while the company BRB is the same one which will later have a hand in creating the robot in "Be Right Back."
The Series That Inspired "U.S.S. Callister"
Before Jesse Plemons turns into a full-on nerd nightmare in the brilliant season four episode "U.S.S. Callister," he shares that he's obsessed with a vintage, Star Trek-like series called Space Fleet (which serves as the inspiration for the high-tech digital prison he locks his coworkers up in). The show appears twice in Bandersnatch, once on the Sun's front page (above), and again on a cable news banner decades later in a present-day flash forward announcing that Space Fleet stars will reunite at the Emmys.
The Reality Competition in "Fifteen Million Merits"
In the third and final exclusive from the Sun, there's a blurb that features an Easter egg about season one's "Fifteen Million Merits," starring Daniel Kaluuya. The headline reads "15 Million Talent Team," and goes on to say that "Hot Shots talent show to start a new series in the beginning of 1985. If you think you have what it takes, see Page 10 for details." Hot Shots goes on to become a key part of a dystopian set-up where people can only escape their indentured servitude by competing — and winning — the reality show of the same name.
The Birth of the "Hated in the Nation" Drones
Remember that Black Mirror episode all about the bees? Well, we get to see when the idea for those pesky pollinator drones first began thanks to a TV news banner, which reads: "Granular to Unveil Prototype Pollinator Drone." Welp, we all know how that ends.
An Update on Prime Minister Michael Callow From "National Anthem"
Another lower third graphic on a news program shouts out one of Black Mirror's very first episodes, "National Anthem." (Yes, the pig one). As much as it pains me to recall what former Prime Minister Michael Callow endures with that pig, it seems that his story ends on a somewhat happy note. In one of Bandersnatch's flash-forwards in time, we see Colin's now-adult daughter, Pearl Ritman, trying to resurrect Stefan's failed game in modern day for none other than Netflix (hah). Fortunately this glimpse into the future also reveals that Callow has just won a "celebrity bake off." Hopefully he didn't have to make any pork pies!
An Update on Liam Monroe From "The Waldo Moment"
Before he starred on Outlander [9], Tobias Menzies was getting shoes thrown at him in Black Mirror's "The Waldo Moment" as political hopeful Liam Monroe. It certainly seems like things are looking up for the politician judging from a news blurb that crawls across the screen during the interview with Pearl, which reads "Liam Monroe Enters Buckingham Palace." Now, is this before or after that cartoon bear that looks like an animoji became a dictator? Hmm?
The "Crocodile" Memory Machine
Yes, yet another cable banner coming at you! This time around, the Easter egg is for season four's third episode, "Crocodile" — "UK Police Test Groundbreaking Memory Recall Device." If that doesn't ring any bells, the episode stars Andrea Riseborough as a successful architect who finds herself getting caught up in violence as she tries to cover up a hit-and-run from years earlier. The police are able to nab her in the end thanks to a device that can look at peoples' memories, which has apparently been around the Black Mirror universe since the '80s.