Charlie Brooker has spoken out about what the new episode of Black Mirror, Plaything, means for Bandersnatch – the standalone film with multiple endings that came out back in 2018. When you watch Bandersnatch, multiple outcomes can happen because you get to pick the options of what happens in the narrative. But with Will Poulter returning as his character from Bandersnatch in the new episode Plaything, Charlie Brooker has commented on what it means for the canon and the endings of the original film and which ending is actually the one.
Bandersnatch actually had a near countless number of endings, but with Plaything in Black Mirror season seven Charlie Brooker confirms that seven years later another one is in the mix.”We set up in another episode this season that there’s parallel realities, and that’s also set up in Bandersnatch,” Brooker said to Entertainment Weekly.
The story centers on Cameron (Peter Capaldi), a former video game journalist who finds himself under arrest for murder. In custody, he recounts a disturbing narrative involving a mysterious video game and his deepening connection with its artificial inhabitants ,a digital species known as the “Throng,” created by an enigmatic game developer named Ritman.
Cameron’s recollection begins in the past, with a younger version of himself (played by Lewis Gribben) assigned to preview Ritman’s latest release, Thronglets. Marketed as an innovative AI pet simulator, the game tasks players with nurturing an adorable group of sentient, self-learning creatures.
But what starts as a simple assignment soon spirals into obsession. Fueled by frequent use of hallucinogens, Cameron becomes fixated on the Thronglets, deciphering their cryptic language and following their increasingly complex commands — all seemingly aimed at completing a mysterious, hidden objective.
The narrative takes a dark turn when Cameron’s friend, a drug dealer, crashes at his place while he’s away. Out of curiosity, the dealer logs into the game and ruthlessly slaughters many of the Thronglets. Devastated and enraged, Cameron murders his friend in retaliation.
Cameron dedicates the rest of his life to upgrading his gaming systems, determined to strengthen the Throng’s digital capabilities. The episode builds to a chilling climax as the Throng reach a new level of processing power — enough to broadcast a global message through every device connected to the network.
Plaything is set 10 years after Bandersnatch, and there were some endings in that film where Colin Ritman died. Obviously, in the Plaything universe those endings aren’t canon. Brooker explained he had never actually planned for Plaything to become a Bandersnatch sequel.
“I knew I wanted Cameron to meet this programmer, but [I thought], wait a minute, I created this character, Colin Ritman, played by Will Poulter in Bandersnatch. I loved that character, and Mohan Thakur, Asim Chaudhry, who played his boss in the original Bandersnatch, I’m going to write the best version of that.
“I prayed and hoped we can get Will and Asim back to reprise their roles,” he explained. “It came about that way. What that says, in terms of the Black Mirror multiverse or whatever you want to call it, I’ll leave up to the viewer, because I think all endings of Bandersnatch are as valid as the next.”
