Lifestyle

Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch: A Discussion

Read this article or not, it’s your decision 😉

Published

January 6, 2019

GadgetMatch

If you’re into watching movies and TV shows about science fiction, chances are you’ve already heard of or seen the show Black Mirror and its latest episode/movie/game called Bandersnatch. It’s available to stream on Netflix and watching it gives the audience a unique experience in a way that doesn’t follow a linear way of storytelling.

Instead, it gives you the power to choose (using your TV’s remote control, laptop, or smartphone) and decide what happens next in the story. In short, there are many directions the narrative can branch out to and every choice affects what will happen later on.

It’s not the first time a story has been told in this approach, but the implementation in an online streaming service and how the events unfold throughout the episode goes beyond the norm in so many levels. If you’ve seen Bandersnatch, we’re sure there’s a lot you want to talk about. And so do we! This article is a discussion on what we liked and didn’t like.

Of course, there will be spoilers throughout. If you haven’t seen the episode, you may stop reading and watch it first. Or you can just continue on and join in on the fun. All up to you. It’s not like someone from the future is controlling your decisions, right?

Were there any expectations before watching Black Mirror‘s Bandersnatch?

Dan: I have to admit that I was hyped for Bandersnatch. It became sort of a tradition for me to binge watch a new season Black Mirror during the holidays. So, when the news broke about an interactive Black Mirror film, I had high expectations. I expected it to be more complex, but I think it was just enough.

Rodneil: When I played the first three hours of the PlayStation 4 exclusive Detroit: Become Human,my initial thought was that it felt like binging a Netflix series with more involvement from you as the audience. In that regard, I expected Bandersnatch to feel like a game, and it did.

Kevin: I expected it to be a dark, heavy episode since it’s what Black Mirror excels at. As for the interactive experience, I’ve recently tried out Netflix’s Minecraft Story Mode and had a taste of how the system works so I already had an idea of how things will go.

What was your first ending?

Dan: I took the initial offer immediately… It wasn’t done in good judgment. 👀

Rodneil: Same with Dan, haha. My gut said to not take the offer but logically, it felt like a reasonable option. After choosing this “wrong path,” I followed my gut the rest of the way.

Kevin: I took the prescription pills prescribed by my shrink (I’d like to think I’m obedient that way) instead of flushing them down the toilet which resulted in getting a 2/5 stars rating of my game. I went for a different timeline, of course, and corrected that.

Did you make good decisions throughout the story?

Dan: Not really. Instead of thoroughly thinking about which option I choose, I always had the thought that I can repeat and amend a mistake. Also, I thought of it as a video game wherein I have to make sure I explore everything before jumping to the next level.

Kevin: I didn’t want to “shout at dad” let alone “kill dad.” So those decisions led me to a dead end. Then I remembered this is Black Mirror and it probably wanted me to go for a darker path. It did, haha!

Rodneil: I’m not sure about good but I did go with what I thought was the smarter or weirder option.

Do you think your decisions reflect your personality?

Dan: It should. Although, I think I wasn’t properly watching it the first time, so my first choices should not be counted.

Rodneil: For the second ending I got, I would say it did. My usual approach in choose-your-adventure games is to not think too much about my choices and just go with my gut.

Kevin: It did. And as I said earlier, some of those choices led me to a dead end. Others made things more interesting like taking on the therapist Street Fighter style. That was fun to watch.

What was your favorite part from the episode?

Dan: I’d say my favorite part was one of the proper endings where the young Stefan went with her Mommy and they got into the train accident. It was just a flashback, but it affected the current timeline of adult Stefan and he died while sitting on a chair inside his doctor’s office. Being part of the Black Mirror franchise, I find this ending to be the best as it embraces the series’ suspenseful and dark atmosphere.

Kevin: There were actually a lot for me. The conspiracy theories Colin delivered while they were tripping on LSD was so convincing thanks to his acting.

The path where you choose to explain Netflix to Stefan, for me, was just so surreal since I could imagine myself telling someone from the 80s that I’m controlling a fictional character on a TV show. I bet hearing that from someone from the future would totally sound insane — and for us living in the present, it is the reality.

Also, that part when Stefan says something about making the audience think they have free will to choose but in reality, it’s still Stefan giving the scenarios and where they’re heading. It pretty much applies to us, too, thinking we have control over the entire episode when there’s actually a flowchart of things that dictate what we can and cannot do.

Lastly, I’d say I was blown away by how meta the episode can become. One ending goes to follow Colin’s daughter who is now adapting Bandersnatch for Netflix. We see her planning the choices for the actual episode and we’re given one last time to dictate what she does next. Eventually, she destroys her computer which then makes the show nonexistent. Brilliant.

Rodneil: Man, I agree with everything Kevin listed. I enjoyed Colin’s entire “free will” monologue and how meta it was when you’re asked to explain Netflix to Stefan.

Is there anything that you didn’t like about the story or experience?

Dan: As I have mentioned earlier, I was expecting a more in-depth viewer involvement. There were decisions made by the protagonist that I wished I was given the chance to choose. Also, it was not the strongest Black Mirror story. But, overall, Bandersnatch is a showcase of online entertainment. It may not be the most original, but the concept was put to good use.

Rodneil: Nothing in particular. I wasn’t expecting much coming into it. In fact, I didn’t expect the story to be good at all, but after watching, I thought it was a perfect first offering for this kind of format.

Kevin: Dan and I share the same sentiments on the episode not having the strongest story. I mentioned that I expected something heavy before watching it and though some of the endings were indeed dark, it’s not Black-Mirror-Season-One-Episode-One dark that will leave you dumbfounded by the end. I understand that they concentrated more on the interactive part and they did a fantastic job in its entirety.

Will this interactive technology change or affect how we watch movies and TV series in the future?

Dan: A big yes. Like with interactive books, however, it’s not for everyone and it’s not applicable to all titles. I’d love to see a couple of interactive films on Netflix every now and then, especially on the big screen. The genre of Black Mirror is perfect for interactive content, and maybe some other horror or suspense stories. Stretching this out to a series will take a lot of resources, but it’ll be grand.

Rodneil: It will change in that I think other streaming channels and even platforms like YouTube and Facebook will try to integrate this feature. It might be one way to curb piracy. I imagine it will be extremely hard to duplicate this experience. If more good titles make use of this interactive kind of viewing then more people might be enticed to actually pay for streaming services. We’re a long way away from that but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Kevin: Of course. It has that element that you’re responsible for what happens to the character — whether something good happens to them or you get them killed. It has a different, more personal impact. Also, what Dan and Rodneil said.

Related Topics:Bandersnatch Black Mirror Netflix

Lifestyle

Spartan Philippines brings DEKA to local athletes

The global hybrid racing standard touches down in Manila!

Published

July 30, 2026

MJ Jucutan

Hybrid fitness racing has been picking up steam globally for a while now, and until recently, chasing it meant booking a flight.

That changed on July 28, when Spartan DEKA officially launched at the Grand Atrium of EDSA Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City. Spartan Philippines has built its name on trails and mud pits, but the fitness world has shifted, and DEKA is where the brand is meeting it.

Athletes here no longer need to travel abroad to test themselves against a global leaderboard in this format. The arena’s home now.

The afternoon opened with a live drumming performance that set the tone, followed by a look at the roadmap through 2026 and 2027, and a full demonstration of all 10 standardized DEKA functional fitness zones.

Three formats, six ambassadors

The launch also introduced the first six DEKA Philippines Ambassadors, two representing each of the sport’s three race formats.

DEKA Strong strips out the running entirely and leaves 10 zones of pure output, represented by Yzah Umlas and Alex Diaz. Meanwhile, DEKA Mile adds a 160-meter run before each zone, represented by Marline Capones and Coach Don Velasco.

DEKA Fit pushes that run to 500 meters, represented by Kaizen Dela Serna and Justin Hernandez. Together, the three formats give the sport a range that fits different kinds of athletes.

Sports tourism gets a boost, too

The launch also carried a partnership with the Department of Tourism’s Office of Special Concerns. Spartan Philippines is rolling out its Love The Philippines APAC Ambassadors program next, aligned with the DOT’s own campaign of the same spirit.

The plan brings in Spartan athletes from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and Cambodia, all of them positioned to encourage international racers to fly in and compete here.

Shangri-La Plaza and Fenix/FITIQAsia backed the launch, with Fenix/FITIQAsia supplying the equipment that made the live zone demo possible.

Mark your calendars

If the launch got you curious, there’s already a lot to look forward to. A DEKA Strong Road Show hits the PhilFit Expo from August 19 to 21, and the first DEKA Fit Arena event follows at Space at One Ayala on October 3 and 4, where organizers expect more than 5,000 runners on course.

Entertainment

Now Playing: Spider-Man: Brand New Day

It’s a must watch for Spidey fans who want to see Peter Parker enter his sad boy era.

Published

July 29, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The Holland-led Spider-Man trilogy is one of my favorite franchises in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Compared to other series with admittedly disjointed plots, all of Spidey’s storylines have a clear thread leading from one to the next. Since the fourth entries after trilogies are historically lackluster, I had a lot of trepidation heading into Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Thankfully, all those worries were unfounded. Brand New Day follows the same throughline as its predecessors, once again reinforcing Spider-Man as the strongest franchise that Marvel offers fans today.

A brand new day indeed

Coming from No Way Home, Brand New Day still has Peter Parker live a new life as a literal nobody where no one remembers who he is. So begins his existence as just Spider-Man with no friends or family.

When a new and unseen threat ravages through New York City, Spidey starts to wish that he still had friends to help him out, which leads him on an inevitable collision course with Ned and MJ. Ironically, it also leads him to other characters in the city, including the Hulk and the Punisher.

A cacophony of villains

When I first saw the trailer, I was worried about the astounding number of villains from the get-go. After all, one of the biggest problems in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, the most maligned entry in Spider-Man movie history, was the villains. Though far from the movie’s biggest problem, having too many bad guys without a solid plot led to its terrible reception. You can see why Brand New Day’s trailer raises some flags.

If you were thinking the same thing, Brand New Day does indeed have a cohesive plot. Everything flows neatly into one another. Each emotional beat of Peter feeling for his solitude mixes well with the action. In here, fight scenes feel like they have a purpose.

And there is a big bad here. It’s not just a collection of guys that Spidey has to go through. That big bad, who shall not be named at this time, doesn’t feel like just a placeholder for Peter’s internal struggles. They have a character of their own and their own struggles to solve. I wouldn’t say they’re at the level of Loki just yet, but they definitely have a better go at it than most of the MCU’s other villains.

Marvel’s New York City finally debuts

Despite being a prime location since 2012’s Avengers, New York City never really felt like the quintessential city for superheroes in the comics. In the movies, the city was just another city to be ravaged when a new villain comes along.

For the first time, Brand New Day makes the city feel like a lived-in world with a bunch of superheroes living in the neighborhood. And they do pop up.

Does Peter have a scientific problem that only a very specific hero can solve? It’s a good thing Bruce Banner is just around the corner. Does he need some muscle? Well, the Punisher is skulking around somewhere. Plus, there’s even a succinct reason why other superheroes can’t help out.

In this way, Brand New Day presents itself more like a comic book series than a one-off movie. It’s like following the story alone from issue to issue. It’s not the most perfect adaptation of the landmark city, but it goes a long way from just another ravaging of New York.

Peter’s sadness

Everything here hinges on Peter’s loneliness. Despite meeting a trove of characters across the cinematic universe, Peter yearns for time with his loved ones. But they’re gone.

Unlike the past three films where he always had someone to go home to, he has no one here. Tony Stark is dead. Aunt May is gone. Happy has gone to parts unknown. Ned and MJ have no memory of him. Brand New Day has a way of making you feel for his aches, whether the way he still keeps track of MJ or some physiological changes as a result of his predicament.

It also helps that the movie’s big bad has similar motivations. Both serve as perfect mirrors against each other, elevating both their stories effectively. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a few steps behind from being a perfect Marvel movie, but it’s still an extremely strong part of the Spider-Man mythos. The trilogy, now quadrilogy, remains Marvel’s most consistent franchises to date. It’s an absolute must-watch.

Entertainment

UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony hits Makati in October

Determination arrives in October.

Published

July 28, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

For so small of a game, UNDERTALE quickly made it into the gaming world’s hall of fame. Despite being only a decade old, the small title has had a major influence for modern-day gamers because of its unique gameplay, its lo-fi art, and, of course, its catchy soundtrack. If you’re a fan of UNDERTALE’s soundtrack, a unique concert experience is headed your way.

On October 17, Film Concerts PH, in partnership with SOHO Live, is hosting UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati.

The concert will be performed by the Filharmonika Orchestra and conducted by Thanapol Setabrahmana. Personally curated by creator Toby Fox and developed by Lambert Jackson with Materia Music, the concert experience showcases the game’s most recognizable tunes laid over gameplay footage playing simultaneously. Plus, for the world tour, the experience will have expanded scoring.

In the game, you play as a small child stuck in the mysterious Underground filled with interesting characters and monsters. Unlike traditional RPGs, UNDERTALE asks players to choose between building relationships and chasing after wins. It’s a unique experience that’s defined by whether you chose to make friends or fought your way to the top. It teaches players to value different ways to solve problems, all while showering them with its one-of-a-kind humor.

Pre-sales for the concert, exclusively for members of the Film Concerts PH community, start on August 4. Public sales, however, will start on August 11 via Ticketmelon.