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17 Creepy 'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' Moments That'll Make You Regret Pressing Play

by Caitlin Gallagher
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Originally Published: 
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Spoilers for all of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch follow. A choose-your-own-adventure story is a thrilling concept, but it also puts a lot of responsibility on the viewer. For those who weren't comfortable telling a character to, you know, jump off a building or commit murder, the other creepy moments in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch probably had you stressed out.

Unlike any other movie or TV show, the viewer has to make decisions on behalf of the main character and because Bandersnatch is part of the twisted world of Black Mirror, there's really no way to avoid Stefan's dark path. And that means there are plenty of hard moments in Bandersnatch no matter what decisions you make.

Stefan's descent into madness as he creates the video game Bandersnatch is pretty inevitable — especially if you want any sort of satisfying ending. So while you may encounter some serious ethical dilemmas as you make some of the tougher choices in Bandersnatch, you're gonna have to set aside your moral compass for the sake of glorious Black Mirror entertainment.

With an absurd number of permutations, there are weird things to uncover with every decision, but here are all the scariest moments of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch that viewers have discovered so far.

1Acid Trip With Colin

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Even if you don't take Colin up on his acid offer, Stefan is still going along for the ride. Considering Stefan had never smoked weed before this moment, moving so quickly to a hallucinogenic is a bit daunting — even if "it lets you see the bigger picture." And Colin's eye melt is particularly freaky.

2Who Jumps?

Even though Colin put you in this situation, do you really want to dictate that a man who has a baby should die? But do you really want your character to die based on Colin's drug-induced reasoning? Either you'll end up plummeting from the building or Colin will — and there's no way around it.

3Seeing Pax

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When you do choose your own character's life over Colin's, you're still stuck running into the Bandersnatch demon, Pax. As if seeing Colin's body crash to the ground wasn't bad enough.

4Bite Nails Or Pull Ear

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Stefan is aware that he's not fully in control of his life during his second visit to Dr. Haynes. And while it's not particularly frightening, this decision has an unnerving consequence since you'll see that Stefan is now resisting your orders.

5Getting Rid Of The Medication

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You might initially decide that Stefan should take the pills prescribed to him by Dr. Haynes, but he'll have to toss them (or flush them, your choice) to fully realize his Bandersnatch creation.

6Seeing What Jerome F. Davies Did

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Watching part of the Jerome F. Davies documentary may leave you feeling as unhinged as Stefan.

7Going Through The Looking Glass

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When little Stefan crawls out of the mirror into past, you may have been getting some Samara from The Ring vibes. And it's no coincidence that Stefan travels through the glass to find his rabbit since the word "bandersnatch" comes from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

8Pax Or Pac

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You'll learn the creepy way that "Pax" isn't the password to Stefan's dad's safe when you're stuck seeing nightmare visions of the terrifying demon all over again.

9Discovering Stefan's Whole World Is A Lie

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If you go down the "PAC" path, you'll find out that Stefan has been a part of an experiment his entire life. It's surreal and upsetting, but it might just make a future decision about what to do with dad the teeniest bit easier.

10Going On The Train With Mom

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The most devastating ending of Bandersnatch is when Stefan finds his toy rabbit in the past and you choose to go on that fateful train ride with his mom while Laurie Anderson's "O Superman" plays in the background. You'll be as haunted as Dr. Haynes is when she discovers Stefan's dead body in her chair.

11Jerome F. Davies Come To Life

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If you choose twice to pick up the family photo after watching the Jerome F. Davies documentary, you get a special visit from the Bandersnatch author himself, who kills Stefan in a dream.

12Are You There, Netflix?

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This certainly isn't the scariest part of Bandersnatch, but this meta moment might have made you feel concerned that just like you're watching and controlling Stefan, someone is watching and controlling you.

13Kill Dad Or Back Off

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The more you watch, the more you'll realize that Stefan killing his dad is pretty inevitable. And every time you do it, the repetitiveness of the murder becomes all the more brutal.

14Bury Or Chop Up

You've already done the hard work by killing dad, but now Stefan is turning directly to you for answers on what to do with the body. You get away with the homicide longer if you chop him up instead of burying him. Plus, it comes with the added bonus that dad's head gets to watch you while you work on your five-star-reviewed Bandersnatch game. Win, win?

15Where's Colin?

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Are you still suffering from guilt over deciding that Colin should jump? Then, this moment with Kitty might have you stressed, though her reaction doesn't end up being as bad as it seems.

16To Kill Or Not To Kill Colin

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After you've killed dad, you might not hesitate to kill Colin. He'll even unsettlingly give Stefan the weapon to kill him with.

17Threatening Dr. Haynes

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Good thing Dr. Haynes is away during this scene since she might not have been able to handle Stefan promising to murder her after he finds out she's been experimenting on him through P.A.C.S.

18Carving The Glyph In Prison

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Even while he pays the price for his murder (or murders), Stefan can't help but think of the glyph that Davies was obsessed with (and was first featured in the Black Mirror episode "White Bear"). Similar to his creative muse, Stefan draws the symbol all over his jail cell walls.

19Sugar Puffs Or Frosties

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All of these Bandersnatch moments are disturbing, but is there anything more bone-chilling than having to choose Stefan's cereal? After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Whether you're Team Sugar Puffs or Team Frosties, there's no way to escape the horrors that Bandersnatch has in store for Stefan. So next time you're ready to embark on Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, know with full certainty that no sugary treat can save you.

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