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The Similarities Between Black Mirror's 'Bandersnatch' and 'The OA' are Too Strange to be Coincidental

There are also major parallels between these shows, Russian Doll, and Stranger Things. (This article contains spoilers).

(This article contains major spoilers for both Black Mirror's Bandersnatch and The OA Season II.)

For a moment, the camera remains focused on the protagonist's bewildered face.

Then it pans out to reveal that the entire world of the show we've just been watching was nothing more than a TV set. Cameramen and directors scurry around; the actors fix their costumes. The main character stares, open-mouthed.

If you make a particular series of choices, you'll arrive at this scene in Black Mirror's Bandersnatch. You can also see it in Season II of The OA, when—extreme spoiler alert—detective Karim Washington finally peers out the mysterious Rose Window, and sees a dimension in which everyone he knows is only an actor in a movie set.

In Bandersnatch, this revelation occurs in a therapist's office, and in The OA it happens on the top floor of a San Francisco mansion, but despite these immediate differences, the two scenes are uncannily similar.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch -- Neflix Fight Scenewww.youtube.com

The OA: Part II - 2x08 - Ending Scene (1080p)www.youtube.com

This is only one of the many major parallels between two of Netflix's most mysterious, mind-bending shows. Initially, they start with very different premises. Charlie Brooker's Bandersnatch is a two-hour-long roller coaster, notable for its "choose your own adventure" feature, which allows viewers to design their own plot by making various decisions at different points. (Choices range from which kind of cereal to choose to whether the protagonist should kill his father). The protagonist in question is a young computer game coder named Stefan, and the show follows him as he descends into madness while designing an ever-more complex computer game.

The OA is Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij's ambitious, fourteen-episode brainchild. Its first season follows Marling's character, Prairie, as she tells the story of her near-death experience and subsequent abduction by the show's villain, Hap, a scientist who has become obsessed with studying the brains of people who have brushed close with death. The first season ended on a major cliffhanger; the second begins in a new dimension, when Prairie awakens to find herself inside the body of Nina Azarova, a Russian socialite and medium living the life she would have if not for her NDE.

Objectively, the shows aren't that similar—after all, Bandersnatch takes place in the '80s and mostly focuses on an isolated Stefan as he descends into homicidal madness. On the other hand, the ultra-modern cast of The OA includes everyone from Zendaya to a massive, talking octopus named Old Night.

Still, upon closer inspection, the similarities are undeniable. Here are some of the most notable places where the two shows' universes meet.

A Computer Game as a Portal to Multiple Realities

In The OA's second season, children lose their minds as they attempt to win money by playing a computer game, which leads them into a mansion that's actually a portal to other universes. The mansion itself is designed to work as a continuation of the game, which allows winners to reach the Rose Window and its mind-bending, reality-altering view.

Similarly, in Bandersnatch, Stefan loses his mind while designing a game that leads him to question every aspect of his reality. While attempting to understand these games, both the kids in The OA and Stefan draw cryptic illustrations on their bedroom walls, isolate themselves, and wind up harming themselves and everyone around them. In each show, the central game lures characters in by promising greatness and wealth—but instead leads them towards either a state of enlightened understanding or paralyzing madness.

Ultimately, both shows use games and technology as vessels that can be used to leap between worlds. Both identify alternate realities that run alongside each other and that intersect at certain points; and both claim that—through deep science, communion with nature, or a few well-placed dance movements—it might be possible to cross from this world to the next.

— (@)

A Charismatic Tech Guru with Dangerous Theories

One of the most memorable moments in Bandersnatch is the scene where Stefan drops acid with Colin, the Steve Jobs-esque brains behind the tech company Tuckersoft. As soon as the drug kicks in, Colin delivers one of the trippiest monologues in modern television history.

Colin is a prophetic source of wisdom throughout the show—just like The OA's leading tech guru, Silicon Valley 'prophet' Pierre Ruskin, orchestrator of the game that leads children to the house. Ultimately, both gurus are firmly convinced that there is more than one reality, and both are dedicated to reaching it, no matter the cost.

Childhood Trauma as a Point of Divergence

At the heart of The OA and Bandersnatch—amidst all their static and science—are specific instances of childhood trauma, which are identified as the points where the characters' lives began to diverge into multiple pathways. In The OA, that moment is Nina/Prairie's NDE, an experience she's forced to revisit when trying to re-access Nina Azarova's memories. In Bandersnatch, that moment is when the young Stefan spent too long searching for his toy, causing his mother to miss her train and catch a later one, which derailed.

Prairie lost her father and her vision in her traumatic event, and Stefan lost his mother, but both shows give their protagonists the ability to revisit these traumas and, effectively, to undo them, to experience lives in which these moments had never happened. Prairie's moment of recollection and reversal is in a bathtub, where she relives her own drowning; Stefan's is in the reality in which he has the choice to accompany his mother on the fatal train ride.

An Extremely Meta Ending

Bandersnatch not only breaks the fourth wall—it shatters it. In one scene, viewers are literally able to choose whether or not to tell Stefan that his actions are being controlled by something from the future called Netflix.

Then, of course, there's that television set-scene, the moment where the whole illusion collapses and we're faced with the reality of what's happening: all that we're seeing has been filmed in some Hollywood studio. Stefan's therapist is an actor. Stefan himself is an actor. Nothing is real. That same exact idea is at the crux of The OA's finale; in its final scene, Brit Marling and Jason Isaacs call themselves by their real names, effectively annihilating the line between our reality and the one(s) onscreen.

So, Is Netflix Using the Same Algorithmic Plot for Many Shows On Purpose?

Though The OA and Bandersnatch might be particularly alike, they aren't the only shows on Netflix that revolve around the concept of other realities and alternate, interconnected universes.

Recently, Netflix's Russian Doll made use of a nonlinear view of time, giving its protagonist the ability to transcend death in order to correct her mistakes and—you guessed it—make peace with a childhood trauma, which had to do with blaming herself for her mother's death. The show also uses concepts based on quantum physics to explain its multiple timelines.

— (@)

Another hit — Stranger Things—also relies on quantum physics-based ideas to explain its Upside Down, a parallel universe that operates similarly to the alternate dimensions in The OA.

Millie Bobby Brown's character Eleven is also a startlingly similar figure to Brit Marling's Prairie/Nina; both were trapped by scientists for many years, and both emerged from their imprisonment endowed with the ability to create portals between dimensions (and sometimes, to levitate). The list goes on.

— (@)

It's not that these shows are copies of each other. They all seem to utilize similar plotlines, ones that revolve around suppressed childhood traumas and a quantum-physics-inspired tangle of dimensions. In a way, the shows themselves seem to be parallel universes to each other. In each, the traumas and the multiple realities both unveil themselves about three-quarters of the way through, sparking climactic endings that, ultimately, imply that the bonds between humans are strong enough to transcend time and death.

So what's the draw to the multiverse idea? Is our era of catfishing, fake news, and mediated simulacra making us feel like we're living in many realities once? Are we all just seeking ways to escape our linear lives, to escape the passage of time, or to change the past? Can we all sense that this isn't the only world, that we're not the only ones here (after all, what's religion other than a poetic promise that other worlds and greater forces exist)? Does this subject just make for great television?

Regardless, people are into it. YouTube just announced that it will be creating interactive content like Bandersnatch; Season 3 of Stranger Things will officially drop on July 4, 2019; and Black Mirror's fifth season will also be released this year. It seems like TV's journey through interconnected parallel universes has just begun. (Though of course, it's probably already finished in the universes next to this one).

Eden Arielle Gordon is a writer and musician from New York City. Tweet your best conspiracy theories to her @edenarielmusic.

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GAMING TOP 10 | Top 10 Original Kingdom Hearts Characters

So sorry, but the ever-amazing King Mickey will not make an appearance on this list!

Kingdom Hearts is a classic. It's admittedly a little too hokey at times, and definitely confusing, and through it all they've still managed to create some of the most memorable characters in gaming. Whether they be heroic protagonists, intricately woven anti-heroes, or bad-to-the-bone antagonists - they've always managed to be both compelling and fun. So, in light of the recent news and the ever approaching release (hopefully!), I have created this list of some of the best characters ever created for this game.

I know, I know, there are a lot of really good characters that have appeared. But, most of them were already established as good characters way before they were dropped into the Kingdom Hearts canon. So, unfortunately characters like Maleficent, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey will not be appearing on this list. But hey, this is a bi-weekly column, so who's to say there won't be another list up in the future?

10. Terra (Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep)

Oh Terra, you flawed character, you. Terra is one of the three protagonists of the prequel game, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, set ten years before the original KH game. And honestly, he would have made it higher on this list - but his story seemed just too familiar. Much like Riku, Terra struggles throughout the entire game with his draw to the darkness. And also, much like Riku, he is eventually consumed by it and his body is stolen by the game's main protagonist.

Terra is a great character, and it's interesting to see the rivalry between he and Aqua - and the brother-like relationship he has with Ventus. Not to mention, that unlike Riku, he is still stuck under the control of his evil Master. And we don't really know how he's doing or where he is.

So, despite the predictability of this story, Terra still manages to make this list for being a tragically flawed character.

9. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness (Kingdom Hearts)

You can't beat the original. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, is one of the many people in this game who take on the moniker of Ansem. In the original game, this dastardly villain is the ring leader behind everything - and one of the driving forces of darkness that is consuming worlds. However, we find out later that the Seeker of Darkness is not Ansem - but his heartless. Which is crazy, because Heartless are not supposed to be this intelligent.

In fact, he's the only Heartless that is this intelligent, as far as I know.

AND THE YOU FIND OUT THAT THIS ISN'T EVEN ANSEM'S HEARTLESS! Ansem never got turned into a Heartless. No, no. This is the Heartless of Xehanort, one of Ansem's lab assistants. It's an interesting web, and the web only makes Ansen, Seeker of Darkness, more compelling as each game gets released.

8. Xion (Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days)

Xion is probably a surprising entry on this list. She is a one-off character who only appeared in a handheld, midquel about Roxas' time with the evil (or misunderstood) Organization XIII. She appears as a fourteenth member, and a surprise keyblade wielder, making her the second Nobody to have the ability. She works alongside Roxas, and forms a strong relationship with both him and his best friend, Axel.

Alas, close to the end of the game, you find out that she was manufactured as a near-replica of Roxas, in case both Sora and Roxas are unable to collect hearts for the Organization. In the end, she decides to sacrifice herself by fighting Roxas and dying to give Sora back his memories. As depicted in the scene above, she dies in Roxas' arms, as he forgets their time together.

It's one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the game's history, and one of the deaths of one of the more interesting characters in the game's canon. I still cry when I watch it.

7. Roxas (Kingdom Hearts II, 358/2 Days)

ROXAS! I love Roxas - he's a wonderfully broody foil to main protagonist, Sora's, chipper attitude. He is the Nobody of Sora that was created when Sora became a heartless in the original game. He is also one of the only Nobodies to have the power to wield the keyblad, and bears a striking resemblance to Ventus (a protag from Birth by Sleep). His story is a sad one, and we are treated to the last week of his life at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts II.

What makes Roxas so compelling is his quest to exist. He is constantly searching for his purpose and why he exists, and when he finds out, he decides to take his destiny into his own hands. He fights against the organization, and even when his memories are taken from him, he continues to fight for his life.

Until the end, when he realizes that he must reunite with Sora.

His story is one of the most tragic in the series and it needs to be on this list.

6. Axel/Lea (Kingdom Hearts series)

Axel ranks higher than Roxas, because he's a Nobody who cares so much. He first appears as an antagonist in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and later as a unlikely ally in Kingdom Hearts II and 3D. What defines him most is his relationship with Sora's Nobody, Roxas. His entire quest is driven by his need to find and protect his best friend - and in the end he sacrifices himself to do that very thing.

Only, he isn't dead. After his Nobody and his Heartless (who we never see) are killed - he forms again into his original self, Lea. We find out that most of the Nobodies have returned to normal, and with that, Lea goes again to search for his friend. And actually ends up saving the day and becoming a Keyblade wielder?

Axel's transformation from a villain to a hero, and his later reclamation of his original self is one of the most satisfying storylines in the series. And I can't wait to see what they do with the character in Kingdom Hearts III!

5. Kairi (Kingdom Hearts series)

Kairi's story is also one that improved as the games moved forward. She started out as nothing more than a love interest and damsel in distress for Sora to save - and has now become a more fully fleshed out character. In the first game, Kairi is one of the Sora and Riku's best friends. She is also the object of both of their affections - and later in the game, you find out that Kairi is a Princess of Heart (one of the seven of the purest hearts in existence), and that she was once princess of Hollow Bastion.

Her background is expanded more in Birth by Sleep, when you see her interact with Aqua. You also find out that Aqua bequeathed the ability to wield a keyblade to her, and forged a special bond with her.

My favorite part of about Kairi though, as to be in Kingdom Hearts II. When she regains her memories of Sora back, she decides to take matters into her own hands, and jumps through a dark portal, which eventually leads her to Twilight Town. It's a lovely moment, and a signal the Kairi is not going to take things sitting down anymore.

Plus, SHE CAN WIELD A KEYBLADE TOO! And I hope she is one of the seven lights that will fight the final battle with Xehanort.

4. Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts series)

And here is the guy that started it all. Xehanort is the mastermind behind Kingdom Hearts' entire convoluted storyline. He first appears as a keyblade Master in Birth by Sleep - as the master of the mysterious and evil, Vanitus. He is shown to be at one with the darkness, and we later find out that he seeks to summon the powerful x-Blade, to ignite a Keyblade War, which would allow him to shape the world in his image.

He is a powerful foe, which is proven by his longevity. You find out that every major antagonist from Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, to Xemnas, to the lab assistant of Ansem, Xehanort were all forms of his. He has done this, by putting his heart into those whom he deems a worthy vessel.

It's crazy, and it doesn't always make sense, but I'll be damned if Xehanort isn't a damn good bad guy. He even looks super evil, you know what I mean?

3. Sora (Kingdom Hearts series)

I know, he's the main protagonist of the whole series, so he should be at the top - but honestly there isn't a lot to Sora. We first see him in Kingdom Hearts, he is the unlikely chosen wielder of the keyblade. He dreams of seeing other worlds and getting of his small island - and boy does he ever. Eventually, we find out that he has the power to protect the world - and that's what he sets out to do! Of course, he also plans on finding his friends, Riku and Kairi.

Sora is defined by his heroic nature and his goofy exterior. He is relentlessly optimistic, and is shown to bring out the best in people. His heart is so strong, in fact, that it can call out to other people and help protect their hearts. And he's also an incredibly powerful keyblade wielder, who has managed to fight off the entire Organization XIII and a slew of very powerful heartless.

But, he's not a complicated character. He just loves everybody and wants to help, and that's what he does. Sure, he wants to save his friends, but he never does it at the expense of other people. He is a friend to everyone and loyal to those who he deems worthy of his friendship. And that's about it.

And I mean, let's be honest, they made him really dumb in KH: 3D right? Is that just me? I don't think it's just me.

2. Riku (Kingdom Hearts series)

Riku gets the number two spot for being a flawed character, who comes into the hero role a little bit late in the game. Originally, he was one of the chosen to wield the Keyblade - but it quickly did the old switheroo when Riku opened his heart to darkness and got consumed. This set Riku on a path that had him betraying his friends and getting possessed by an evil Heartless man.

But, our man Riku didn't let that keep him down. And after being locked behind the Door to Darkness at the end of the first game - worked for a year to atone for his sins and help his friends from the shadows. He ends up becoming one of the strongest wielders of his age, and a valuable ally and friend to Sora and the ever on the run, King Mickey.

What makes Riku so great is that we see his story so clearly, and see him feel both guilt and regret for his actions. He works tirelessly to make up for it, and does his best to keep the darkness in his heart in check. And in the end, he actually ends up saving Sora - and making sure that the Organization's plans are thwarted.

His arc is sad, but unlike Terra's, it has a positive resolution and will hopefully receive a powerful conclusion at the end of Kingdom Hearts III.

1. Aqua (Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep)

So, hear me out, Aqua is the best character in the series for a lot of reasons. She first appears in Birth by Sleep, as one of the three main protagonists and the only one of the three to be considered a Keyblade Master. After Terra leaves to figure things out with Master Xehanort - Aqua keeps trying to find him and also protect Ventus. Her story is a sad one, and it's constantly defined by sacrifice.

During the game, we see Aqua constantly fighting every bad guy under the sun to help her friends. After her climactic final battle with Xehanort and Vanitus - Aqua saves her friend and in the end, after Xehanort consumes Terra - she fights him and wins. But, before that, Aqua puts Ventus in a locked room - and creates Castle Oblivion to keep him locked away.

Afterwards, Aqua ends up saving Terra (and also Xehanort) by pushing herself into the World of Darkness, where she still resides. In the most recent extended demo of Kingdom Hearts III, released on Kingdom Hearts 2.8, we see Aqua constantly throughout the World of Darkness.

It's upsetting, and heartbreaking, but it's also a story of triumph. Aqua constantly struggles against herself and the world around her - but she never loses hope. And I know that she's going to come back with a vengeance, and it's going to be amazing.

So, there you have it! My list of some of my favorite original Kingdom Hearts characters! Did you not see your favorite character on this list? Did you disagree with me? Do you have a character you want to add? Tell me all about in the comments below!

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Gaming

VIDEO GAY-MER | Why do we love visual novels so much?

What do queer gamers/developers love the visual novel platform so much?

Coming Out on Top game trailer

youtu.be

Visual novels are an art form, and when done right, they are an amazing storytelling tool. We've seen a lot of good, queer visual novels in the past years - or games that are about as close to visual novels as you can get. Just last year, we had two instant classics: Butterfly Soup and Dream Daddy, take the world by storm. Not only did they showcase incredible queer stories, but they managed to do it without any ounce of mockery or depressing melodrama.

So, I got curious.

What makes these kinds of games so incredible? And why are there so many? On Queerly Represent Me - a large back log of games with some sort of queer representation within them- 215 games are listed as visual novels. That's the largest genre of games on the list, clocking in at 20%. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is - and that's significant. What draws queer gamers and developers to these specific type of game? I think that visual novels not only provide a simple, fun escape from the harshness of modern queer depiction, but they are also accessible, and cheaper than most other video games on the market.

In my last article, I wrote about a game called Butterfly Soup - a beautiful visual novel that covered the lives of four queer, Asian woman going through high school during Prop 8-era California. I gushed about it, and talked about how it's unabashed happiness just made me smile. And that's not something that happens in a lot of major games or successful indie games. Even a beautiful game like Gone Home, is mired with intense drama, reminding the audience about how much it can suck to be a queer person. That doesn't exist in games like Butterfly Soup.

There's an inherent layer of sexuality that exists in a lot of these kinds of games.

A huge example is a gay dating sim, Coming Out on Top, a very NSFW visual novel about a young, freshly out, college senior who is looking for love and sex. This game has a huge selection of guys you can seduce, and even goes the extra mile to have you come out to your friends and actively maintain your friendships. All the while, you are treated to some saucy pics and scenes of your gay character actually having/enjoying sex.

It's liberating, because even when queer people are depicted having sex - it's never correct. There's always that one scene where the guy doesn't use lube - and then you cringe, cause you know they got hurt. The visual novels I've played don't have that problem - because they're made by queer developers.

I think queer visual novels exist in such volumes because they can be easier to make than other games like RPGs of even exploration sims.

I can't say I'm an expert on game development, and visual novels definitely have their own set of challenges, but they can be made easily thanks to user friendly game engines. This accessibility allows young, queer game devs the opportunity to start making their own queer stories - and in an industry where people are starving for queer characters, they're bound to find an audience!

Visual novels are also cheaper for queer gamers to buy. Even a game like Dream Daddy, produced by the incredibly popular Game Grumps, went up for only 14.99. And Butterfly Soup is still free. This is worlds cheaper than most AAA games that include very basic forms of queer representation. So, there's a level of financial accessibility available for these types of games that don't exist in other places in the market.

In the end, visual novels make queer characters more accessible to a starving audience by being cheap - and they can empower their audience by giving them an escape from the misrepresentation they receive from mainstream media. These games are about queer characters, and made for queer people - and I only hope that the rest of the industry can follow suit. Until they do though, I'm just going to go and replay Dream Daddy for millionth time and cry about how beautiful Robert is.

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