BLACK MIRROR: BANDERSNATCH. All Endings Revealed

Regardless of which side of the fence you’re on, you have to admit that Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is an incredibly complex and intricate creation. If you still don’t know this, just take a look at the text below. What do you choose: READ ON or WHAT NONSENSE! BACK TO HOME?

WARNING! THE TEXT CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Shortly after the premiere of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, it circulated on the Internet that the film had several official endings, and its creators had shot up to five hours of alternative material. However, anyone who had the pleasure of watching Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and thus enjoying its interactivity has likely noticed that David Slade’s film is a virtual labyrinth. We are dealing with dozens of paths, dead ends, secret passages, several main exit gates, and a few holes in the hedges that also allow for exit. Exploring every corner of Slade’s and Brooker’s labyrinth takes a lot of time, so for the impatient or those who just want to know the possible versions of Stefan’s story without the necessary effort, I present below something like a walkthrough of the game—all the possible endings of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Well, almost all of them.

A dead-end is not the end of the game

During the interactive fun with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, it sometimes happens that the decisions we make lead us to some sort of dead-end. However, the creators of the advanced, segmented Black Mirror: Bandersnatch designed it in such a way that reaching these so-called dead-ends doesn’t have to mean the end of the fun and the need to restart the film. They were well aware that such “endings” would surely bore most viewers. To avoid rejection by the viewer—because they would have to repeat the screening from time to time to reach the point where they hit a dead-end and make a different decision so that the story can continue—they devised that after displaying the scene announcing a dead-end, we return to the moment of choice that led us to this unsatisfactory and premature end. Thus, we remember what mistake not to repeat and make decisions that allow Stefan’s story to develop.

DEAD-END #1 Working at a desk at Tuckersoft is evil

The first dead-end in the Bandersnatch labyrinth reveals itself quite quickly, after just three decisions. So regardless of which cereal we eat for breakfast and what music we listen to on the bus, we will arrive with Stefan at Tuckersoft, where we will meet Mohan Thakur (Asim Chaudhry) and Colin Ritman (Will Poulter). The first of the mentioned characters, interested in Stefan’s idea for a game based on the book Bandersnatch, will offer him a job and ask if he would like to work at a desk prepared for him at the company’s headquarters. Unfortunately, agreeing is the wrong path, as Colin immediately reveals. The Bandersnatch game is released, but the reviewer Robin pours scorn on Stefan.

DEAD-END #2 Don’t spill tea on the computer

Since we have decided to work independently in our room, to the soft sound of the vinyl record previously selected at the music store, we would definitely prefer that our father doesn’t enter this temporary office and ask hundreds of silly questions like: are you eating something?, are you going with me? etc. Unfortunately, parents are like that, they don’t understand anything, and as a result, an argument breaks out. If you decide to spill tea on the computer as a result of it, you will find yourself at a dead-end and return to the therapist to talk about your deceased mother, or the argument with your dad will repeat, and this time you will have to tell him bluntly to “sod off.”

DEAD-END #3 Are you tripping? Avoid jumping from balconies

Stefan’s father knows how to get his way, so our hero quickly realizes that shouting doesn’t impress his dad. The consequence of Stefan’s outburst is therefore a visit to Dr. Haynes. We can talk to the therapist or continue to rebel and follow Colin, who is passing by. He will invite us to his place, where—whether we want to or not—Stefan will take LSD, then end up with his new buddy on the balcony of his apartment. Being high, we feel invincible, but even so, the jump proposed by Colin from several floors up will end in death, a dead-end. Stefan’s game will be developed by others. So let Colin jump himself.

DEAD-END #4 Don’t take so many pills

Here’s one of the dead ends, whose discovery depends on previously made decisions. The option to take an increased dose of pills prescribed to Stefan by Dr. Haynes will be active only if we haven’t met with Colin earlier. In case of visiting the new friend at his apartment, we will find dead-end number 3, but later we will only be able to flush the pills down the toilet or throw them in the trash. Taking an increased dose of medication will mean that Stefan’s game is released by Tuckersoft, but the game reviewer will find it disappointing, rating it two and a half stars out of five. Ambitious Stefan will decide to try to create the game again.

DEAD-END #5 Control your frustration

The deadline for Stefan to submit the stable game to Tuckersoft has arrived, but a crucial path added at the last minute causes Bandersnatch to hang and crash. The main character thus needs more time, and Colin, under the pretext of inspiring his friend, gives him a documentary about the author of the book on which the game is based. A commercial for the cereal chosen for breakfast is aired before the documentary, which only confirms that practically every decision in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch has its minor or major consequences. Anyway, the film from Colin, instead of inspiring, frustrates, and again we should manage Stefan’s stress so that he doesn’t destroy the computer and end up in another dead-end.

DEAD-END #6 Paranoia and mysterious symbols

It sounds strange, but the real fun begins after watching Colin’s documentary. Tired of failures, Stefan decides to take a break and lie down. If we talked to the therapist about his mother, who tragically died in a train crash, then by deciding to take a family photo to bed instead of a book, we return in a dream to childhood times. After waking up, the main character will sit down to create the ill-fated game and will be frustrated again. This time, however, he will reject the viewer’s decision on how to destroy the computer, because after watching the documentary and listening to Colin’s visions while on acid, he will think someone is controlling his life. By pointing out the characteristic symbol (White Bear) to Stefan, which he had the opportunity to see earlier in the documentary, we will lead him to paranoia and a loss of control over himself. Stefan will wonder about killing his father, and if we spare the old man, we will find ourselves in the last dead-end. Interestingly, reaching this dead-end twice will unlock a code that will later lead us to a surprising ending.

Almost all endings

Someone might say that the above dead-ends are nothing more than endings of Slade’s film. There is much truth in this, as how to explain that the film’s plot continues even though the main character jumped out of a window from a height of several or a dozen floors? However, the true endings of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch are signaled by the end credits, and supposedly there are five of them.

Death during the search for the rabbit

Stefan was a charming child, and charming children have their sweet toys. He had a plush rabbit, which his father once hid from him. It is a dramatic and traumatic moment for the young boy because, due to the lack of his beloved toy, he didn’t leave home with his mother, who never returned, as she died in a train crash that same day. One of the endings of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (the one that requires acquiring the code TOY) allows viewers to slightly change the course of events, and thanks to finding the rabbit, little Stefan can leave home with his mother. Nevertheless, the disaster occurs, and the 5-year-old boy dies along with his mom. Since he died “then,” he can’t be “now,” and so after the train sequence from the past, we move to Dr. Haynes’s office, where we find the deceased Stefan. A great, bittersweet ending.

The creator of the game Bandersnatch convicted of murder(s)

Slade’s film offers viewers the possibility for Stefan to murder one or several people. This is not surprising, considering the main character’s traumatic childhood experiences, growing frustration with the difficulties in creating the game, failure to follow the doctor’s advice, and the suspicion that he has been part of a secret mind-control program conducted by his father since childhood. The possibility of killing his father thus appears after indicating the mysterious symbol mentioned in the context of the sixth dead-end, which essentially awakens Stefan’s killer instinct. Depending on the decision about how the young computer game creator should dispose of his father’s body, i.e., whether to bury it or cut it up, the possibility arises of killing additional characters. Besides the father, we can also kill Colin, or even Mohan Thakur (if we bury the father’s body three times). The crime, however, always comes to light, and our hero ends up in prison. This murderous ending and playing with it seem to highlight the dark nature of humanity.

The Curse of Bandersnatch

This ending is linked to the murder of the father, but to achieve it, you need to cut his body into pieces. By doing so, the neighbor’s dog won’t dig up the body buried in the garden, and Stefan will have a moment of peace to finish the stable game. In this ending, Bandersnatch is appreciated by the game reviewer already known to the viewers—it receives the highest score. Stefan’s crime nevertheless comes to light, and as in previous scenarios, he ends up in prison. The end credits appear, but during them, a girl named Pearl flashes on the screen. She is Colin’s daughter, whom we have already seen in the film as a baby. However, we are in contemporary times, and Pearl, fascinated by Bandersnatch, wants to translate it into the language of the streaming platform. As a result of recurring errors, however, she falls into frustration similar to that experienced by Stefan almost 35 years earlier, and the horror repeats itself.

Netflix Controls My Life

You will reach this ending if, instead of the characteristic symbol choice in the scenes before the sixth dead-end, you decide to select the Netflix logo. The main character will thus learn that he is being controlled by us, the viewers (remember that in Stefan’s calendar, it is the year 1984), and will therefore go to Dr. Haynes to discuss this matter with her. The therapist will not believe what Stefan says and will assure him that he is not interesting enough for someone from the future to be controlling his fate. The difference in opinion will lead to an impressive fight. The 19-year-old will defeat Dr. Haynes, but at this point, Stefan’s father will appear on the battlefield. Ultimately, the main character will be dragged out of the therapist’s office, accompanied by his screams about Netflix.

It’s Just a Movie

The last ending of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is connected to the one mentioned above. However, before the fight between Stefan and Dr. Haynes begins in earnest, the boy will try to escape through the window. At this point, someone will shout “cut!” and it will turn out that we are on a film set and Stefan is actually Mike, although he won’t be able to believe it.

The complexity of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is perfectly illustrated by the diagram below, which clearly reflects the multitude of available paths and choices.