The stories from “Black Mirror” on Netflix don’t really have a connection, but the “White Bear” symbol from season 2 doesn’t just reappear in “Bandersnatch”, but also in the upcoming Black Mirror season 6.
- Since Netflix took over the series “Black Mirror” from the BBC after season 2, new episodes appear very irregularly and mostly surprisingly.
- In June 2023, we can now expect Black Mirror season 6, which includes five new episodes.
- It will feature a reunion with the “White Bear” symbol, which we already know from season 2 and “Bandersnatch”.
“Black Mirror” actually tells a self-contained story in each episode, but it already happened that episodes related to each other. “Black Museum” from season 4, for example, showed us a museum in which objects from all previous episodes were on display.
The “Decide for Yourself” special “Bandersnatch” also had a clear connection to the episode “Bad New World” from season 2. In both stories, the so-called “White Bear” symbol appeared, named after the original English title of the episode.
In “Wicked New World,” the symbol is ubiquitous and can be seen on TV screens, on masks, and ultimately as a tattoo. However, there is no deeper meaning behind it, it is simply a symbol that appears again and again.
Then in “Bandersnatch” we saw the symbol again, although this connection was rather coincidental, as series creator Charlie Brooker explains.
Well, it was a happy coincidence, because in the early stages of discussing how we were going to do [“Bandersnatch”] […] we were drawing a flowchart on the white board, and I noticed that the drawings of the path were splitting into two different things. That’s when we thought, ‘Oh, my God! That’s the symbol of ‘White Bear’! So we have to use that.’ And then we drew heavily on that.
Charlie Brooker in an interview with The Wrap
So the two stories are connected by that symbol, but not in terms of content. This could change in the upcoming 6th season, because a short video introducing the titles of the upcoming five episodes again shows the “White Bear” symbol.
The episode “Demon 79,” from which the image is taken, is about a saleswoman who must do terrible things to prevent disaster in 1979 in northern England. It’s not clear if and how the episode could be connected to “Bandersnatch” and “Evil New World”, but in this case the common symbol is certainly not a coincidence.
Since “Bandersnatch” is set in the eighties, “Demon 79” could be a prequel of sorts. We’ll find out for sure in June, when Black Mirror Season 6 appears in Netflix’s new releases program. In addition to Salma Hayek, we can expect numerous other guest stars.
