‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’ Viewers Are Feeling Guilty About How They’re Treating Stefan

There are an awful lot of choices you can make that help shape the story for Stefan in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch — and, as you might imagine, some members of the audience are having way too much fun intentionally making the wrongest, most heinous decisions on his behalf.

The Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style TV storytelling of Bandersnatch got some attention months ago when rumors started to swirl, but in a world where studies have shown people are often cruel to things like Siri and Alexa, it probably is not surprising that most viewers are not trying to take Stefan as safely and uneventfully through the maze as possible.

Of course, Netflix doesn’t make it easy, either, as some of the more well-meaning people have made clear when responding to the story on social media.

…And, really, what’s with the breakfast cereal thing?

Anyway, on to some of our favorite responses.

Breaking the fourth wall

Remember that story arc in Animal Man, when he came gunning for Grant Morrison because he realized he was a fictional character, and that Morrison was ultimately the one responsible for killing his family?

…Well, let’s hope Stefan hasn’t read that one.

…At least Stefan is not alone

If he’s going crazy, he’ll take you with him.

Shock and remorse

We think some of the best reactions are the people expressing shock and remorse after the decisions they make play out…

Well, that was unexpected

Not all of the people who are feeling the weight of their decisions went in knowing that they were going to do something bad, though. 

It’s 5 a.m.

You know what Michael (Jeff Goldblum) said in The Big Chill: “I don’t know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They’re more important than sex.”

A healthy breakfast

Let’s face it, the thing everyone was talking about this morning was the cereal debate.

Pls Stop

Well, when you put it that way, it just sounds mean!

At least there are a lot of options.

Anybody remember Agrajag from the Hitchhiker’s Guide franchise?

Tough choices

This feels like a particularly depressing reinvention of Monty Python’s “Dead Parrot” sketch.

A visual aid

Well, that’s about as straightforward as you get.