Yes or No. Wheaties or Fruit Loops. Decisions are a part of life, and affect what is going to come next. Over Winter break, Netflix released an hour episode that correlates with the British series “Black Mirror” called “Bandersnatch.” “Black Mirror” is an alternate reality series with different plots each episode that attack social norms.  In this newest episode, it has a twist unlike any previous “Black Mirror” episode. The episode is interactive to viewers, and there are five separate endings that the viewer can choose from. There are many characters viewers can meet, and these characters can change the course of the episode in an instant.

Here’s how it works: a viewer will get a pop up with two choices on the screen. The viewer’s choice will decide where the episode goes and how it ends. In the episode, the viewer follows the character Stefan and his hopes to produce a video game based on a choose your own adventure book called “Bandersnatch.” However, the author of the book went crazy making it and it seems Stefan will go crazy as well. As viewers uncover secrets about Stefan, they also uncover many details about the other characters with the different endings. The different paths and endings means different plots and secrets about characters that viewers can uncover.   

With many paths and decisions to make, the viewer can end up overwhelmed; however, the fun choices and different plots you can uncover makes it fun for all viewers. The episode makes it a challenge for viewers to persuade them to find all the secrets and achieve all of the endings of the episode. While the episode choices may be dark, the story line of the episode is important to the “Black Mirror.” There are many Easter eggs to previous episodes, and nods to a new season of the show. The story line is also wonderfully made, with the story being able to change at any moment and leaves the viewers wanting more.

“Bandersnatch” is a must watch and a must play. It is also the start of a trend to have interactive episodes within Netflix or other streaming services. If “Bandersnatch” was such a hit, what else could they achieve with this new concept?