The main plot is of Stefan Butler’s creation of his computer video game Bandersnatch, which like the movie, is interactive. Throughout the months of creating the game with the company Tuckersoft, Stefan starts experiencing a mental health decline due to the stress of creating the game. The choices he experiences, and the choices the viewer decides on, impact his mentality and the overall review of the game.
Along with the main plot there is a side story of Stefan’s mom, who died when he was a young boy, and an old toy bunny. As a boy Stefan took a stuffed bunny with him everywhere he went, but his father didn’t like that so he took it away while Stefan was sleeping and hid it. The next morning Stefan and his mom were supposed to be catching a train to visit his grandparents but he couldn’t find his bunny so he wouldn’t leave, his mom ended up having to catch a later train which ends up crashing. This history is brought up multiple times and plays a major part of one of the different endings.
Imagine this…
As a kid you grew up knowing you had to be a doctor. Generations and generations of your mother’s family were doctors. You didn’t have a choice. Now as a 35 year old, you are at home after an exhausting day of work. You’re so tired that when you’re brushing your teeth you begin to fall asleep and lean forwards, almost hitting your head on the mirror, but you catch yourself…sort of. Your hand falls through the mirror, and as you crawl through to investigate you realize it’s led you to the day you applied to Harvard´s medical program. Do you decide to change to a less exhausting career, or go back through the mirror and go to bed?