Black Mirror Season 6 Teases Connection to Fan-Favorite Episode

By Spencer Perry

Even though all of the episodes of Black Mirror are largely self-contained, a slight connectivity can be seen across the seasons. This came to a head with season 4's "Black Museum," an episode that seemed to act like a series finale when it took place in a place filled with displays about all the previous episodes. One of the elements that has recurred in Black Mirror across more than just that episode is one fans will recognize is the "White Bear" symbol. Previously seen only in season 2, episode 5, the symbol would show up not only in season 3's "Playtest" but the feature length interactive movie "Bandersnatch." Now it's being teased for the upcoming season 6.

Earlier today Netflix premiered the official episode titles and descriptions for the upcoming Black Mirror season 6. In the video announcing these titles, the finale of the season displayed a familiar symbol. Each of the new episode titles show a brief tableau of the characters that will appear, and a snippet of sound to tease its contents. The last episode, titled "Demon '79," opens up to show a photo from the episode that clearly reveals the White Bear symbol's return (albeit it appears inverted).

Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker co-wrote this episode with Ms. Marvel head writer Bisha K. Ali, which is described as follows: "Demon '79 takes place in northern England in 1979, where a meek sales assistant is told she must commit terrible acts to prevent disaster." Anjana Vasan, Paapa Essiedu, Katherine Rose Morley, and David Shields star in the episode which is directed by Toby Haynes.

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When the symbol is introduced in "White Bear," it's meaning isn't fully explained. In the episode, a woman is being pursued by masked vigilantes, all while onlookers watch her and record the chase with their phones. The symbol not only appears on her assailants masks, but also appears on screens and makes a big appearance in the finale. It's later revealed that the young woman previously committed an awful crime with her boyfriend, with her punishment being torment at the White Bear Justice Park where people can pay to watch her suffer.

The use of the White Bear symbol in "Bandersnatch" however has a clear meaning, representing the multiple pathways that one can take while watching the film or in the game-within-the-movie that depends on player choice. Knowing its place in larger Black Mirror lore, the fact that it's being deliberately teased yet again for an upcoming episode is very exciting for longtime fans.

As far as the recurring nature of the symbol, sometimes it's not always planned. Speaking in a previous interview about the overwhelming use of the White Bear symbol in Bandersnatch, the series' creator said:

"Well, that was a happy accident, in that, in the early stages of discussing how we do this – when we were mapping it out in the very early stages – we were drawing a flowchart on the white board and I noticed the drawings to the path splitting into two separate things," Brooker told TheWrap. "So we thought, 'Oh, my God! That's the symbol of 'White Bear'! So we gotta use that.' And then we leaned heavily into that...There is a moment where he sees it and goes, 'Oh, my God.' So that felt like fate."

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