‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’ Viewers Are Overwhelmed While Navigating A ‘Trillion’ Permutations

(Spoilers for Black Mirror: Bandersnatch will be found below, as silly as that sounds in this context.)

The Black Mirror: Bandersnatch movie has arrived as (last-minute) projected, and indeed, Netflix has delivered a choose-your-own-adventure as forecast. Wired reveals that the movie took 18 months of blood, sweat, and tears to pull together, and the end result is inevitably mind-blowing. As the trailer indicated, Fionn Whitehead stars as a video game programmer, Stefan, who’s adapting his favorite fantasy novel. Along the way, viewers select from an endless stream of choices (both seemingly trivial, like selecting cereal or music, and more shattering, like whether to jump out a window). The experience of watching the movie, while novel, is a bit exhausting, which comes together with Variety‘s revelation that over a “trillion” permutations exist to complete Stefan’s story.

The movie should take viewers an average time of 90 minutes to complete, although some routes can take as little as 40 minutes, and one can easily imagine people swallowing up entire days (or weekends) while attempting to circle back and experience every speck of the footage.

— Shail (@shailpatels) December 28, 2018

The choices #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/BGQauCNKDI

— Bandersnatch (@Avengerscomic) December 28, 2018

Needless to say, people are slightly overcome by all the possibilities while reacting on social media, especially regarding those Sugar Puffs.

— danielle (@queernaya) December 28, 2018

me watching Stefan’s life spiral out of control and thinking I should’ve chosen those Sugar Puffs instead #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/kjjUW3kZjy

— (@callyj__) December 28, 2018

Me immediately after I had to make a choice #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/KO8W6MRRaF

— Shuj (@Chocmilksheikh1) December 28, 2018

me thinking this all happened because i picked the wrong cereal #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/nCbHbeeur7

— ᵂᴵᴸᴸ (@williambuhayo) December 28, 2018

Residual Bird Box anxiety didn’t help matters, not at all.

Me: pic.twitter.com/ZWf9QdCAaE

— Mesut (@Tvvittergod1) December 28, 2018

Basically, the anxiety was palpable while people (pretended to) feel awful for ruining Stefan’s life with choices from the future.

— Chlo (@chloejeggo) December 28, 2018

#Bandersnatch

Stefan: Who's doing this to me I know there's someone there!

Me: pic.twitter.com/bUufgVqbct

— Mesut (@Tvvittergod1) December 28, 2018

Black Mirror making us decide for Stefan like… #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/CmGr4lFG3m

— Krojacica Sudbine (@MonaLisa_1797) December 28, 2018

stefan sweetie I am so sorry , I’m making your life a living hell but I swear, I. AM. TRYING. #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/61BJL2DuJ1

— shianna (@theyluvshii) December 28, 2018

In the end, however, it may become apparent that, like Stefan, Netflix was giving viewers “the false sense of control” while engineering the story’s endings.

stefan: "I was giving them too many choices…so I gave them the false sense of control, when in reality I chose the ending"

Me: pic.twitter.com/iedi4Ystf8

— Mesut (@Tvvittergod1) December 28, 2018

me making decisions for stefan knowing that black mirror is actually controlling me and none of the choices i make are actually mine #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/r6creV3Mye

— apryl (@bluapryl) December 28, 2018

When you choose to not take the drugs Colin offers you but he slips it in your tea anyway #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/N797Fz0xgi

— Dan (@TCEL_Danzter) December 28, 2018

And doing the same thing over and over, while expecting different outcomes is … possibly the definition of insanity, right

— Vi (@o_victoria_a) December 28, 2018

Yes, Bandersnatch is a gleefully insane adventure. So bleak (see below), but so worth watching (for at least 40 minutes).

Stefan : Dies

Me : #Bandersnatch pic.twitter.com/jSC8zoQ1RV

— sinead (@sineadnelson_) December 28, 2018