Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Bandersnatch
Black Mirror's newest episode Bandersnatch is an interactive experience with five main endings and a dizzying array of possible choices and consequences. Bandersnatch follows Stefan, an amateur programmer who is creating a choose-your-own-adventure video game based on a choose-your-own-adventure book by famous author Jerome F. Davies, who was driven mad by his own work and ended up brutally murdering his wife. As the viewer controls Stefan's choices and shapes his story, Bandersnatch reveals its many layers and multiple possible outcomes.
It's natural to wonder what are the "right" and "wrong" choices to make in Bandersnatch, but we'd recommend not worrying too much about this. The game (since that's really what it is) naturally guides the audience towards playing through multiple times to get different endings, so if you make a "wrong" choice that leads to the equivalent of a Game Over screen, you will usually be taken back and offered a different path. Moreover, Bandersnatch is set up in such a way that making a wrong choice and failing actually opens up new pathways once you go back. If you choose to make no choice when faced with a decision, the time will run down and Stefan will choose for you.
Related: Watch the Trailer For Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
For those who are curious about the paths not taken, or who simply want a clearer picture of exactly how your choices affect Stefan's story, we've put together a guide to the major choices in Bandersnatch, their impact on the story, and the various possible endings that you can get.
- This Page: The First Day Choices
- Page 2: Follow Colin Or Visit Dr. Haynes
- Page 3: The Two Dreams
- Page 4: Communicating With Stefan, The Netflix Endings, & The Train Ending
- Page 5: The Murder Endings and the Pearl Ending
The First Day Choices
Bandersnatch starts off with a couple of easy choices to get you used to the way it works. You can choose either Sugar Puffs or Frosties for breakfast, and this choice will decide which cereal commercial you see at a later point in the episode. Then you can choose either to listen to either Thompson Twins or Now 2 on the bus to TuckerSoft, which will affect Stefan's answer to the later question of which music he prefers to listen to.
The first major choice occurs after Stefan has arrived at TuckerSoft, met pioneer game designer Colin Ritman and studio boss Mohan Thakur, and impressed them with his demo of Bandersnatch. Thakur will offer to let Stefan work on the game with a team at TuckerSoft, and you can choose to either Accept or Refuse.
If you Accept, you will reach the episode's first possible fail state. Bandersnatch jumps forward in time to the game's release, with Stefan watching a TV show that reviews video games. The critic says that the game is too short and feels like it was rushed to release, and gives it zero stars. At this point, Stefan declares that he has to try again, and the episode goes back to the start and replays the same day... with a few changes. Now, Colin recognizes Stefan when he enters the office and says that they've met before. Stefan is able to correctly diagnose a buffer error with the game that Colin is working on. Finally, whereas Colin previously said that he hadn't read Bandersnatch, he now says that he has read it and has played through to all of the endings.
If you Refuse the offer to work at TuckerSoft (either initially or after the replay), Stefan will seem surprised by his own refusal at first, but will then justify it by saying that he needs to work on the game alone - and Colin will back him up.
After going to TuckerSoft, Stefan next visits his psychiatrist, Dr. Haynes. She will ask if he wants to talk about what happened to his mother, and Stefan can say either Yes or No. If you choose No, Dr. Haynes will try to persuade Stefan that it's important to talk about his trauma, and you will be offered the Yes or No option again. If you choose No again, Stefan will refuse more firmly, and the episode will move on.
If you choose Yes, a flashback will reveal what happened to Stefan's mother. When Stefan was five years old, his father took his toy rabbit away and hid it, and searching for it made Stefan's mother late for the train she was supposed to catch. She asks if Stefan is coming or not, and only one choice is offered: No. Stefan's mother gets on the 8:45 train, which derails, killing her.
Following the visit to Dr. Haynes, Stefan goes to a music store with the list of recommendations that Colin gave him. He looks at two albums, and you can choose between either Phaedra or The Bermuda Triangle. This choice will affect which music plays during a later scene.
Page 2: Follow Colin Or Visit Dr. Haynes
Follow Colin Or Visit Dr. Haynes
Development of Bandersnatch proves to be difficult, and after long days of working nonstop Stefan becomes incredibly frustrated. His dad enters his room and tries to persuade him to go out to the pub. At this point, you are given a choice to either Throw tea over computer or Shout at Dad. If you choose Throw tea, the game will force you to go back and make a different choice - your first introduction to the idea that it's not actually possible to destroy Bandersnatch.
After choosing the option to Shout at Dad, Stefan will be forced to go out to lunch. However, upon waking up in the car he finds he has been brought to Dr. Haynes' office instead. Stefan's dad tells him he needs to talk to his doctor, but Stefan sees Colin passing by. At this point you are given the option to either Follow Colin or Visit Dr. Haynes. If you choose to Visit Dr. Haynes, Stefan will attend a therapy session during which he talks about his recent anxieties and struggles with the game. This option also means that Colin will appear later in the episode, and opens up different choices in the long-term.
If you choose to Follow Colin, Stefan will be invited back to Colin's apartment, where he meets Colin's girlfriend, Kitty, and his baby daughter, Pearl. Colin offers Stefan drugs as a way to open up his mind and break through his mental block, and you can either say Yes or No. It doesn't actually matter how you answer: if you choose Yes, Stefan will take the drugs voluntarily; if you choose No, Colin will slip them into Stefan's tea.
Following a wild drug trip and a conspiratorial rant from Colin about how the whole world is a game with many parallel timelines, Colin offers to prove his theory. He takes Stefan to the balcony and says that one of them will jump off to prove that their choices are immaterial. Stefan is given the choice of who jumps: Stefan or Colin. If you choose Stefan, he will jump to his death and the episode moves forward in time. Bandersnatch is released, having been finished off by someone else (probably Colin). The critic on the video game TV show mentions that Stefan died in an accident, and gives the game a poor review, with this storyline ending on him rattling off a long list of adjectives (weird, creepy, bleak etc.) before an option appears to go back.
If you choose Colin, he will jump to his death as Stefan watches. Kitty comes out to see where he is, and is horrified by the sight of his body. Colin then turns around and sees the monster from Bandersnatch, Pax, before waking up in his dad's car on the way to Dr. Haynes' office. It's unclear if this is a reset, or if the visit to Colin's apartment was merely a dream. However, choosing to let Colin jump means that Colin will mysteriously disappear, and will not be present in later scenes.
Page 3: The Two Dreams
The Two Dreams
At Bandersnatch's midway point, Stefan begins to become aware that his choices are being controlled by someone else, and starts to fight back. In Dr. Haynes' office, the player is given the option to make Stefan either Bite nails or Pull earlobe. Regardless of which one you choose, Stefan will resist the order, physically restraining himself.
At home, Stefan prepares to take his usual dose of pills. At this point, you may be given a choice to either Throw pills away or Take them (depending on your choices so far, the second option may be Flush them). If you Take them, you will reach another fail state. The narrative jumps forward four months in time, to after Bandersnatch has been released. The critic on the video game TV show gives it a paltry two and a half stars, commenting that it feels like the creator simply gave up halfway through and went on "auto-pilot." You are then forced to go back and make different choices. If you refused to talk about what happened to your mother to Dr. Haynes earlier, one of your options is to go back to that point and experience the flashback this time. Otherwise, you are taken back to the pill choice.
If you choose to Throw pills away or Flush them, Stefan will continue to work on the game. On the date that the game is due, he takes it into TuckerSoft. Due to an additional path that he added at the last minute, the game is broken, and an angry Thakur gives him the weekend to finish it. If you chose to visit Dr. Haynes instead of following Colin earlier, Colin will be present, and he will personally give Stefan a documentary on Jerome F. Davies to help inspire him. If Colin jumped, he will be missing, and a junior employee will give Stefan the documentary tape instead, saying that Colin left it for him.
Back home, Bandersnatch continues to experience game-breaking bugs. You are given the choice to either Destroy computer or Hit desk. If you choose to Destroy computer, you will be forced to go back and make a different choice. Once you choose to Hit desk, Stefan will look shocked by the fact that his hand moved without his conscious will. Getting up from the computer, he will look around the room and you will have a choice to either Pick up family photo or Pick up book. This will decide which of two dreams Stefan has after lying down on the bed with the chosen item.
If you Pick up family photo, Stefan will have a dream in which he crawls through a mirror and emerges on the other side as a child, the night before his mother died. This time, he will be awake when his father comes into his room to take away his toy rabbit, and he will hear his father going next door and locking the rabbit in the safe. It's necessary to experience this dream if you want to get to the Train Ending.
If you Pick up book, Stefan will have a dream in which he goes into his father's room and finds a safe. In this dream you will be offered a number of different safe codes that vary depending on what choices you have made so far and whether or not the story has already been reset. Entering PAX will not unlock the safe, and will cause Bandersnatch's monster to appear behind Stefan, scaring him and waking him up. Entering JFD will not unlock the safe either, but will lead to Jerome F. Davies appearing behind Stefan, scaring him and waking him up. Entering TOY will unlock the safe and allow Stefan to retrieve his toy rabbit and return it to where it belongs, thereby opening the path to the Train Ending. Entering PAC will unlock the safe, and it will contain reams of research material that reveal Stefan has actually been the subject of an experiment called the Program and Control Study. His father and Dr. Haynes have been drugging him and watching him closely, and his memories of his mother's death were faked.
Page 4: Communicating With Stefan, The Netflix Endings, & The Train Ending
Communicating With Stefan
After the dream, Stefan returns to working on the game. As it continues to experience bugs, you are given a choice to either Throw tea on computer or Destroy computer. Whichever one you choose, Stefan will refuse to do it, and will start yelling that he knows someone is there, demanding that you give him some kind of sign.
If you haven't yet experienced the dream where you unlock the safe and discover the P.A.C.S. documents, you will be given two options: Netflix, or Glyph. If you have discovered the documents, you will be given the options of P.A.C.S. or Glyph.
If you choose Netflix, you will tell Stefan via a message on his screen, "I am watching you on Netflix. I make decisions for you." He will ask what Netflix is, and you can elaborate, explaining that it's "a streaming entertainment platform from the early 21st century," and "it's like TV, but online. I control it." At this point Stefan's dad comes in and asks who he's talking to, and Stefan replies that he's being controlled by someone from the future - which earns him a trip to the psychiatrist's office and opens up the Netflix Endings.
Related: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch - All 5 Endings Explained
The Netflix Endings
If you choose to tell Stefan that you are watching and controlling him via Netflix, there are two possible endings. Stefan goes to see Dr. Haynes and explains that he is being controlled by someone from the 21st century through a streaming entertainment platform called Netflix. In an effort to probe this "delusion," Dr. Haynes will ask why - if this if supposed to be entertainment - it's so boring, simply showing two ordinary people sitting in a room and talking. She will suggest that there should be a little more action, and you are given a choice between Yes and F**k Yeah. Whichever you choose, Stefan will throw tea in Dr. Haynes' face and begin destroying the office. Dr. Haynes will get out twin batons and invite Stefan to fight her, at which point you are given the option to either Leap through the window or Fight her.
If you choose Leap through the window you will get the Sound Stage Ending. The window will not open, someone will yell, "Cut!" and it is revealed that the entire scene is playing out on a set, with Stefan's dad as the director. The assistant director tells Stefan (referring to him as "Mike") that he has gone off-script and that the window doesn't even open. Stefan is confused by the situation, and insists that his name is Stefan - at which point the assistant director looks concerned and calls for a medic.
If you choose Fight her you will get the Fight Ending. An epic fight plays out between Stefan and Dr. Haynes. Stefan's dad rushes in and starts fighting him as well, and you are given the option to either Karate chop dad or Kick him in the balls. Whichever you choose, Stefan's dad will ultimately drag him out of the office with Stefan yelling crazily all the way, at which point the story ends and you are given the option to go back to Stefan asking "Who's there?" and choose a different sign to give him.
The Train Ending
If you choose to respond to Stefan with Glyph, the glyph signifying branching paths will appear on his computer screen. Stefan's dad walks in and asks who he's talking to, and Stefan replies that he's being controlled. A confrontation with his father occurs in which Stefan spots an ash tray and you are given the choice to either Kill Dad (leading to one of the Murder Endings) or Back off. If you choose to Back off, you will be given another set of choices: Get rabbit from Dad or Kill Dad. If you choose to Get rabbit from Dad, you will go to the safe dream and have the option of entering TOY or PAC as the code.
If you choose TOY, Stefan finds his toy rabbit in the safe and retrieves it. His father walks into the room and tells him to take the rabbit and put it back where it belongs. Adult Stefan puts the toy rabbit under the bed, and young Stefan is able to find it in the morning. His mother has still missed the earlier train, but this time when she asks if Stefan is coming you are given a choice between Yes and No. Choosing Yes will take you to the Train Ending.
Young Stefan gets on the train with his mother and we see them sitting together, surrounded by other families. The camera closes in on Stefan and the scene then ends abruptly. In 1984, Stefan is in Dr. Haynes' office and a paramedic is checking his pulse. The paramedic says that Stefan is dead. Dr. Haynes is extremely shocked and upset, unable to understand exactly what happened.
Page 5: The Murder Endings and the Pearl Ending
The Murder Endings
There are a number of possible endings in Bandersnatch that result in Stefan killing his father, and potentially another person as well. If you have discovered the P.A.C.S. documents in the safe and selected P.A.C.S. when Stefan asks you for a sign, Stefan will confront his dad about the experiment and accuse him of controlling and manipulating him. Choosing Glyph will cause Stefan to believe he is being controlled by someone else. Either way, there will be the confrontation in the kitchen and you will either be given the Kill Dad option, or Stefan will kill his dad automatically.
From here, the endings can vary considerably depending on your previous choices. If you have taken the P.A.C.S. route Stefan can decide to call Dr. Haynes, and you must enter the telephone number based on the clues gathered: 2-0-5-4-1. Stefan will reach Dr. Haynes' receptionist, who tells him that the doctor is away at her sister's wedding. Stefan rants about P.A.C.S., confesses to his father's murder, and threatens to come after Dr. Haynes next. He buries his father's body, is arrested for the murder, and goes to jail. In his cell, he watches the video game TV show, where Bandersnatch is being reviewed. The critic gives it 2.5 stars as a curiosity item, detailing the game creator's grisly murder of his father, but explaining that the game was released unfinished with broken code. Bandersnatch ends with Stefan scratching the glyph into the wall of his cell.
You may be given a choice to either Bury body or Chop up body. If you choose Bury body, the outcome varies depending on your earlier choices. If Colin did not jump from his balcony earlier, Thakur will call up and demand to know why the game has not been delivered yet. He will ask if Stefan can deliver it today and you can reply either Yes or No. If you choose Yes, Colin will come to the house to help complete the game. Stefan can choose to either Kill him - with Colin accepting his death and even suggesting a better murder weapon - or Let him go. No matter what you choose, Stefan will go to jail and end up scrawling the game on the walls of his cell in his own blood. The game will receive five stars from the critic, and you will get the Pearl Ending during the credits.
If you say No when Thakur asks you if the game will be ready on time, he will be furious and come over to Stefan's house. He barges his way inside and sees the body on the floor. Stefan kills Thakur and goes to jail, Bandersnatch is never released, and a TV news piece plays explaining the double murder. In the news piece, Colin is interviewed and says that if Stefan had a second chance at life, he should go back and make different choices - at which point you're given the option to do so.
If Colin jumped from the balcony, Stefan can be interrupted by Kitty when burying the body. She shows up at his house asking if he knows where Colin is, and you can choose between either No idea or He jumped. Whichever you choose, dogs will find Stefan's dad's body and he will go to jail, with Bandersnatch released unfinished.
The easiest way to get a five-star review for Bandersnatch is to Kill Dad and then Chop up body. Chopping up the body will allow the murder to go undetected for a while, with Stefan finally able to focus on completing his game (with his father's decapitated head in his room). Bandersnatch is released and receives a five-star rave review from the critic. However, the murder is soon discovered, the game is pulled from shelves, and during the credits you will get the Pearl Ending.
Credits Scene: Pearl Ending
If Bandersnatch is released, gets a five-star review, and then gets pulled from shelves, you will get the Pearl Ending during the end credits. This ending jumps to the modern day, where Colin's daughter, Pearl Ritman, is now a game designer herself and is painstakingly remaking Bandersnatch. However, she encounters a bug in the game and the player is given a choice to either Throw tea on computer or Destroy computer.