The release ofBlack MirrorSeason 7 creeps closer with six new titles ready to throw us back into the dark underbelly of the human relationship with technology. The series has consistently enthralled us with its twisted stories, making a name for itself as an anthology. As such, we’ve never really needed to go into aBlack Mirrorseason with any prior knowledge, but after the trailer dropped, it is clear thatthis season will be different. Alongside the sequel toBlack Mirror’s Season 4, Episode 1, “USS Callister,” the trailer also teased the return of another cast member, but this time, not from the series itself.Colin Ritman (Will Poulter) fromBlack Mirror: Bandersnatchwill also appear in Season 7, so it may be useful to revisit his character. While the interactive film experience is unique to each viewer, we can still recall Colin’s role and characterization in the narrative, especially how he thematically ties to each ofBandersnatch’s major endings.
What Is ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’ About?
Bandersnatchmay not be apart of theBlack MirrorTV show, but it still deals with similar themes of technological horror, and this time, through video games. It follows the young and aspiring gaming developer Stefan (Fionn Whitehead), who is working onadapting a choose-your-own-adventure novel into a video game. The film begins with him taking his demo to a gaming company, Tuckersoft, that hosts the renowned video game developer Colin Ritman, whom Stefan idolizes.
When Thakur (Asim Chaudhry) accepts Stefan’s demo, the audience is faced with a choice to either work in the office with access to all of Tuckersoft’s resources but are also under their creative control, or work alone. If you choose the former option, Stefan’s game will receive low to middling reviews, and he will be extremely discontent. Upon choosing the second option,you kick off Stefan’s psychological spiralthat delves into haunting themes of free will, control, surveillance, and alternative universes — oh, and a truckload of meta-narratives. While the majority of the story centers around Stefan’s experience,Colin does play a major role in one particular scene, re-framing how we view the film.
Colin Ritman Lays Out the Rules in ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’
Colin’s most influential scene only occurs if you choose to follow him to his apartment instead of visiting Dr. Haynes (Alice Lowe). When Stefan enters his apartment, Colin claims that he is in a “hole” and the only way to get out of it is to do drugs with him. Whether you accept or refuse the drugs, they end up making their way into Stefan’s system, leading tothe head-trippy sequence where Colin essentiallylays out all the rules of the film. While this scene is important for how we view the rest of the film, it also reveals the character’s intrinsic belief systems, some which may carry over into his role inBlack MirrorSeason 7.
He believes there are alternate realities whereall the character’s choicesare “snaking off like roots,” connected together in a huge network. Since “time is a construct,” you can go back and make different choices, which is what the function of flashbacks are, buteach choice you make changes your fate, creating those diverging realities. He also purports that there is an external force that makes these choices for them, essentially stripping them of their free will. Then comes the more stagnant and seemingly random lore drops of “mirrors let you move through time” and “the government monitors people,” paying family members, drugging the food, and constantly filming them. Colin also introduces the idea of “program and control” (PAC); he uses the metaphor of PAC-MAN as a closed labyrinthine system of mindless consumerism where you think you have control, but you’re just restarting the cycle over and over again.
The 25 Most Shocking ‘Black Mirror’ Episodes, Ranked
From the very first one.
Colin’s belief system is so intertwinedwith the nature of interactive filmsthat it is difficult to see how it will be translated toBlack Mirror. However,it does give us insight into how Colin’s mind works, especially in regard to conspiracy theories and potentially, the hold that the digital era has on the modern world. Ideas of surveillance and consumerism can also be deemed noteworthy, asBlack Mirrorhas often delved into similar themes while also commenting on the current social climate.
How Will ‘Bandersnatch’s Choices Tie Into ‘Black Mirror’ Season 7?
To prove his theory of the cosmic flowchart of alternate realities, Colin demands that one of them jump off the balcony — they’ll be alive in another reality anyway. If Stefan jumps, the experience is cut short, so to continue the story, Colin must die. As such, following Colin in the first place and viewing his most significant scene ensures Colin’s death. If you choose not to follow Colin, however, there is only one ending where he makes more than just a brief appearance. Upon going down the route of murdering Stefan’s dad (Craig Parkinson), if you choose to bury his body, either Colin, Thakur, or Kitty (Tallulah Rose Haddon) will catch you in the act. Here, you’re able to choose to murder Colin. It will be interesting to see ifBlack MirrorSeason 7 ever addresses these deaths, butif we’re going off Colin’s theory, there is always an alternate universe where he is alive.
However, Colin’s physical presence in the endings is far less important thanhis rant’s thematic bearings on them. Many of the endings connect to some specific aspect of Colin’s rules. In one ending, Stefan uses a mirror to time travel back to when he was a child and could impact whether he died with his mother in the train crash or not. In another, he opens his father’s safe and finds out he is part of a “program and control” study where they are using Stefan to study the effects of trauma. In a more meta one, Stefan is part of a Netflix movie where everyone he knows is a paid actor. Another perpetuates the inescapable cycle of the game, where Colin’s daughter Pearl (Laura Evelyn) tries to reboot Stefan’s game for the newer generations.Everything leads back to Colin’s rant, so it feels inconceivable thatBlack MirrorSeason 7 wouldn’t add some of those elements in. While the chronological connection betweenBandersnatchandBlack Mirrormay be a head-scratcher, the themes associated with Colin’s character are definitely worth knowing going into the new season.
Black MirrorSeason 7 premieres April 10 on Netflix, where you can stream all previous seasons.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
