Charlie Brooker’s dystopian series Black Mirror has an expansive multiverse that intertwines each episode with overt and covert references from previous or future seasons. There are possibly hundreds of connections between all twenty-two episodes and the feature-length film, Bandersnatch (2018). Whether its the iconic season 2, episode 2, “White Bear” symbol or the gaming technology from season 4, episode 1, “USS Callister”, Brooker always takes the opportunity to include at least one reference to his most disturbing stories from the series. Here are all of the references that connect each episode and film in the Black Mirror universe.
When the series premiered on British public-service Channel 4, it was met with disgust due to the explicit nature of season 1, episode 1, “The National Anthem”, in which the prime minister fornicates with a pig. While most creators may stop there, Brooker chose to push the limits even further with thought-provoking episodes that feature corrupt politicians, an abusive prison system, and the loss of humanity at the hands of technology. The series resembles The Twilight Zone in its ability to craft the most absurd futures into a realm of possibility with high probability. It takes the notion of technological advances and the contemporary enchantment with social media, video games, and more, making it explode into a nightmare.
Some references are easier to spot than others. The creators of the series made it seemingly impossible for anyone to find all the connections, which ranges from episodes that hadn’t been written yet to those that were briefly introduced in the very beginning of Black Mirror’s conception. Without further ado, here are all of those references and their episodes explained.
The White Bear Symbol
The “White Bear” symbol was introduced in the very early years of the series. It represents government control and a total loss of choice. In “White Bear”, a new form of punishment for prisoners called the “White Bear Justice Park” psychologically tortures Victoria, who has no recollection of the fact that this isn’t the first time they’ve hunted her. They have stripped her of any free will, including the ability to remember that she will forever live a life of pain and suffering. The symbol appeared two episodes later in the Christmas special, “White Christmas”, starring Jon Hamm. When Joe’s (Rafe Spall) holding cell closes, it is seen on his cell lock. He was tormented in a cookie that strips people of their autonomy, and now he is imprisoned.
Its next appearance is in season 3, episode 2, “Playtest”. When Cooper enters the screening room for SaitoGemu, it is briefly made visible on a black disk handled by the video game proctor, Katie. In this instance, it predicts his death, his mother’s Alzheimer’s, and his fear of developing it as well. By presenting the symbol, Cooper has lost his ability to choose and he will die, but even deeper than that, it symbolizes memory loss.
Fast forward to the 2018 film Bandersnatch where the image is displayed at the very moment Stefan must make a pivotal decision in his journey that he can’t even choose. The viewers decide his fate. When the white bear symbol appears on his screen, it signifies the people watching Stefan (the viewer) are similar to the audience in “White Bear” who watch Victoria suffer. The audience is meant to watch him suffer but with the false illusion that they have control, which they don’t. Ultimately, when the white bear symbol appears, it means three things: surveillance, control, and loss. It is Black Mirror’s most extensive reference by far.
Saint Juniper’s Hospital & San Junipero
Saint Juniper is one of Black Mirror’s most discussed reference due to the fact that it resembles the title of season 3, episode 4, “San Junipero”. It features Yorkie who lives within the simulation known as San Junipero by ways of consciousness transplant technology. When she meets Kelly, she convinces her that they should be together in the simulated reality. It is the rarest occurrence in Black Mirror—a happy ending. In season 4, episode 6, “Black Museum,” Rolo Haynes mentions that he was working at Saint Juniper’s Hospital on human-consciousness transplants in order to provide the dying with a chance to live on.
This is exactly the technology that is used to keep Yorkie and Kelly in San Junipero. Therefore, Rolo Haynes helped develop the software that created the simulation alongside TCKR, which is short for Tuckersoft from Bandersnatch. The film has another reference to Saint Juniper’s Hospital, it is the location that Stefan receives therapy. The hospital staff has worked since the 1980s (when the film takes place) to develop ways to better the mental health and lives of their patients. Saint Juniper created San Junipero with the help of Rolo Haynes and the coding technology Tuckersoft provided them, Stefan just used to be a patient.
The Waldo Moment
Season 2, episode 3, “The Waldo Moment” posits the notion that a cartoon could become a voice of the people. Waldo is crass but people believe that he tells it like it is. In “The Waldo Moment”, it references “National Anthem” with the reappearance of the news station UKN, which reported on the “pig-gate” and Waldo. It is covered in references to previous episodes including season 1, episode 2, “Fifteen Million Merits” when an advertisement displays Abi Khan, who notably performed on the fictional talent program Hot Shots.
In season 3, episode 3, “Shut Up And Dance,” Kenny has a sticker of Waldo on his laptop. Waldo appears in episodes that are notably about sex in some form but “The Waldo Moment” also features references from one of Black Mirror’s most thought-provoking episodes on sex work, “Fifteen Million Merits”. In fact, in “White Christmas”, a username for the online chat Matt uses to showcase the sexual adventures of his clients, without their consent, is “i_am_waldo”.
Tuckersoft
Bandersnatch introduced the Black Mirror universe to Tuckersoft Gaming, which quickly transformed when fans found that the name and the shortened version of it appeared in previous episodes of the series. TCKR helped develop San Junipero and assisted in the development of technologies that were conceived of in their games. Their video game lineup includes Pig In A Poke in reference to “National Anthem”, Rolling Road for “Fifteen Million Merits”, White Bear, Nohzdyve for season 3, episode 1, “Nosedive”, METL HEDD, which is season 4, episode 5, “Metalhead,” and Terror On Rannoch B for season 3, episode 5, “Men Against Fire”.
There is an actual website for Tuckersoft gaming that can be visited whenever. It discusses the story of Stefan and the covers for each of the video games they created. Visitors can even play Bandersnatch, Nohzdyve, and METL HEDD. These references are meant to expand the theory of losing control or technology controlling reality, as the audience attempts to make choices for Stefan they are faced with the reality that they cannot. Due to the fact that various episodes are video games, it lends to the idea that they could be simulations similar to San Junipero, which TCKR (Tuckersoft) helped develop.
Gaming Software & Technology
In “Playtest”, Cooper introduces the prototype of what will become the equipment used in “USS Callister” and again in season 5, episode 1, “Striking Vipers”. The technologies promise a virtual reality experience and SaitoGemu are the leading experts in developing the video games that could provide this. When the head of the gaming company appears on a magazine, it also includes a pre-release reference to Bandersnatch in which he announces that he intended to review the video game. Next to it is season 3, episode 6, “Hated In The Nation”, and their killer bees. Ultimately, every piece of virtual reality gaming software was developed by SaitoGemu.
Black Mirror’s other major piece of technology is the contact lens used in “White Christmas” and then again in season 3, episode 5, “Men Against Fire.” In both instances, it is used to manipulate the perception an individual has on others. The monitoring system that is utilized by the government in these two episodes may have stemmed from the child-protective equipment used in Jodie Foster’s controversial season 4, episode 2, “Arkangel”, that allows a parent to control what their child can and cannot see. It uses the same blocking system displayed in the instance Matt’s wife in “White Christmas” blocks him, and the government blocks everyone else from seeing him as anything else but a red, ghost-like figure.
The most egregious moment of the government’s use of this technology is in “Men Against Fire”, which manipulates soldiers into seeing ordinary people who do not fit into societal expectations as monsters. It can also be used to pull memories from other’s as seen in season 4, episode 3, “Crocodile”. This technology is not virtual reality, but it resembles a constructed alternate reality that manipulates an individual, a group, or an entire civilization.
The Black Mirror Museum
Season 4, episode 6, “Black Museum”, features every major piece of equipment, objects, clothing, and more that has been featured throughout the entirety of the Black Mirror universe. In one display, the digital device used to monitor the child in “Arkangel” is behind glass, diagonal to it is a single killer bee or drone insect from “Hated In The Nation”. The software used to scan DNA in “USS Callister” is present. There’s even a full-face mask used in “White Bear” with the symbol painted on it. The “Crocodile” bloody bathtub is right in front of Carlton Bloom, who blackmailed the prime minister in “National Anthem”.
It is the episode that links them all together to make one cohesive universe despite not having certain pieces of equipment such as any virtual reality gaming, but the presence of “USS Callister” and the DNA scanner suggests that the technology exists at the moment this episode takes place. Many of these artifacts are archaic in the realm of Black Mirror, and suggest the possibility of seeing them in the future. There are hundreds of references throughout the entirety of the series to various episodes that may or may not already exist, but these are the most overt. When season 6 finally begins production, Black Mirror will undoubtedly feature an all new set references for fans to discover.
