Black Mirror Connection: How ‘Plaything’ Links to ‘Bandersnatch’ Universe
Black Mirror fans were thrilled by season 7’s ‘Plaything,’ which connects to the interactive film Bandersnatch.” The episode features Cameron Walker, a gamer in the virtual simulation Thronglets, developed by Colin Ritman from Bandersnatch.
This connection prompts questions about the Black Mirror universe’s canon and the fate of Stefan Butler, the main character from Bandersnatch. The narrative explores familiar themes of technology, virtual reality, and the impact of our choices on outcomes. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the series, this connection enriches the experience and highlights creator Charlie Brooker’s unique dystopian vision.
The Thronglets Game: The Next Level Of Black Mirror Tech Horror
At the core of “Plaything” is Thronglets, a virtual simulation game that lures Cameron Walker into its grim depths. The game features realistic digital characters that react to the player. Designed by interactive director Colin Ritman, it is like a natural continuation of the work we saw him do in “Bandersnatch.”
Thronglets is no ordinary game. It blurs the line between reality and simulation in ways that only Black Mirror can make genuinely terrifying. Players do not simply control these digital creatures—they develop emotional attachments to them. That connection sends Cameron into dangerous territory that culminates in violence.
The game tech looks much more sophisticated than what we saw in the 1984 set of Bandersnatch, indicating how this universe’s tech world progressed. The simulation becomes an immersive reality, raising the stakes as if it were in real life, which also parallels worries about game addiction and virtual reality.
Thronglets is especially harrowing because it infiltrates human consciousness by the end of the episode. The looming tech apocalypse of this invasion suggests a familiar idea in the kind of stories that have come to populate the universe of Black Mirror: Technology runs away from us.
The game is not just a form of entertainment; it’s a doorway to something much more sinister—a prime example of the show’s ability to wring nightmare fuel out of everyday tech.
Retro Reruns: Realignment Of the Time with Colin Ritman
Will Poulter’s return as Colin Ritman provides the most concrete connection between “Plaything” and “Bandersnatch.” In the new episode, we encounter Ritman roughly a decade after the story of “Bandersnatch,” which occurred in 1984. He still helps design games, but his work has become more experimental with Thronglets.
What’s interesting about this return is that Bandersnatch functioned as an interactive story. Several endings could find Ritman dead, depending on viewer choices. That his character returned in “Plaything” indicates that, at least in one timeline, he survived the events of “Bandersnatch.”
Ritman’s character is consistent in both stories. He’s still that visionary game designer with strange notions about reality. In Bandersnatch, he discussed parallel realities and choices that create different timelines. His very presence in Plaything bears out his theory. That connection is only further consolidated by the return of Tuckersoft’s owner, which is linked by the return of Mohan Thakur.
These two characters’ shared existence serves to ground “Plaything” in the same universe as “Bandersnatch,” lending rare continuity to a series that generally tells self-contained stories. Their presence helps viewers understand that this new horror story grows from seeds of terror planted in the previous interactive film.
The Protagonist Who Went Missing: What Ever Happened to Stefan Butler?
For “Plaything,” Fionn Whitehead’s Stefan Butler is absent, and his absence says everything. As the protagonist of “Bandersnatch,” it raises the question of whether he’s missing and what ending might be “canonical” in this universe.
“Bandersnatch” made Stefan’s potential fate dependent on viewer choices. In some endings, he finished his game but went to prison. Others led to his death or his mental breakdown. His absence in “Plaything” implies that he got one of the grim endings and missed out on success and happiness.
Stefan and Cameron Walker are remarkably alike. Both become so obsessed with their virtual creations that they lose touch with reality. Stefan’s struggle with his game “Bandersnatch” connects to Cameron’s unhealthy need for Thronglets. This parallel creates a thematic thread even without Stefan himself attending the party.
The show never explicitly explains what happened to Stefan, in keeping with Black Mirror’s preference for ambiguity. This missing link invites fans to speculate on what “Bandersnatch” ending resulted in the events in “Plaything.”
Did Stefan die? Is he in prison? Or is his absence just a sign that he left gaming behind after what he went through? Whatever the case, Stefan’s story feels finished, and the universe he inhabited keeps growing, with new stories of technology gone haywire.
Black Mirror multiverse: Canon vs. Alternate Realities
Black Mirror has always erred on the side of self-awareness, which makes the relationship between “Bandersnatch” and “Plaything” a fun rabbit hole to explore and raises interesting questions about how the show thinks about continuity. Is Black Mirror one big multiverse with multiple timelines or one sequence of events?
The interactive format of “Bandersnatch” introduced multiple realities. Players could shape different results by making other choices. In the film, Itman even makes an apparent reference, saying that all choices exist in parallel universes.
“Plaything” is one of many possible timelines from “Bandersnatch.” Or maybe it follows a particular path from the interactive film and creates a branch where Colin and Thakur survive and Stefan ends up in some other way.
The show never tells us if there’s a “canon” timeline. This vagueness seems intentional, keeping with Black Mirror’s broader fascination with how technology impairs our sense of reality. In a multiverse of virtual reality, simulations, and digital consciousness, what even constitutes the “real” timeline anyway?
This structure enables the show to build continuity between events across episodes while still being less beholden to rigorous continuity. References and recurring characters enhance world-building without sacrificing the anthology essence that has distinguished Black Mirror.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is “Plaything” a direct sequel to “Bandersnatch”?
It is not a direct sequel involving the same characters. “Plaything” is set in the same universe approximately a decade after the events of “Bandersnatch.” It also includes returning characters Colin Ritman and Mohan Thakur, creating a clear link between the two stories.
Why isn’t Stefan Butler in “Plaything”?
Stefan Butler’s absence probably means a potential on-screen death was mentioned in “Bandersnatch.” Given that the interactive film had multiple endings in which Stefan either died, was imprisoned, or fell into a mental breakdown, having him absent in “Plaything” may suggest that either one of those outcomes is, in fact, “canon” in the timeline that leads into “Plaything.”
How does “Plaything” link to other Black Mirror episodes?
(“Plaything” is also, in many ways, a companion piece to “Bandersnatch,” but Black Mirror, in general, lights subtle touches with other episodes.) The show occupies a loosely related universe where various episode tropes croer into different stories and weave an interconnected web of dystopian futures.
Are there more stories in the “Bandersnatch” universe?
Black Mirror has said nothing about further stories explicitly set in the “Bandersnatch” universe. However, the connection built in “Plaything” allows future episodes to return to these characters or this timeline. The show generally eschews direct sequels to tell new stories that often contain nods to previous episodes.
Final Words
“Plaything” isn’t just a disturbing episode of Black Mirror, but it also continues the universe created in “Bandersnatch,” looking at the aftermath of that interactive narrative. By bringing back Colin Ritman and Mohan Thakur and leaving out Stefan Butler, the episode links the plots while still honoring the multiple-choice element of “Bandersnatch.”
The episode digs deeper into the show’s central commentary on the darkness of technology and our agency in reality. Independent of the previous one about the similarities between Cameron Walker and Stefan Butler, it shows how similar paths are across timelines and where people end up.
Whether “Plaything” is the “real” timeline to follow “Bandersnatch” or only “one of many attainable realities” is left deliberately vague, fitting with Black Mirror’s storytelling style that personality prefers questions to be asked than answers given.
This call-and-response across stories alludes to what can be accomplished through this new interconnectedness. It deepens an exploration of its particular brand of dystopia without sacrificing the anthology concept, leading fans to what they would hope for using a rewarding continuation of a universe where technology, choice, and reality have been, for the most part, a logic, unsettling way.
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