Showrunner Charlie Brooker may have changed his mind on the very foundation of ‘Black Mirror.’ Previously Brooker has brushed off the idea that the episodes exist in the same universe, but now he seems to be sharing that they, in fact, actually do.
There has been a slew of Easter Eggs over the years hinting that many of the stories are connected, though this has previously been hinted as just something fun for the audience. While the idea could be fun to see play out on screen, much of the technology that they focus on in each episode only makes a single appearance and seems hard to say how it could all be connected without being addressed or seen again.
Here is what Brooker had to say on the subject:
“My answer to that has changed, actually. It always used to be that it’s just a bit of fun. But then sometimes we’ve done some things where we did explicitly refer to other episodes. I think the rule is that when a character says something that explicitly refers to something else, it’s canonical. Also, they follow the same dream universe. That’s the other thing that I tend to say. There’s a line in “Hated in the Nation” where someone refers to a crime that happened in “White Bear.””
With virtual worlds already being addressed in the series, there could be an easy explanation for this “dream universe.” Specific technology could be more important to people who existed in one time era than another and that is why it is so prevalent there. Perhaps we’ve seen both the “real” and “virtual” worlds so far? Another idea is that certain episodes could exist in certain worlds and multiple realities exist in the series.
Brooker was also asked if there would be a follow-up of the Season 3 episode “San Junipero” where virtual worlds were introduced in the series. Producer Annabel Jones and he responded that the story for these characters is finished but some kind of continuation could occur. Keeping in mind my theory above, it could make sense as to how the concept is brought back for an episode that would tie the series together.
Do you think that ‘Black Mirror’ will all exist in a single universe? Could it all be from being in the virtual worlds introduced in “San Junipero”? Share your thoughts below!
Source: THR
