Super meta Black Mirror theory could mean an epic reveal in Season 6
The easter eggs add up to a haunting conclusion.
Black Mirror has never been afraid to venture into the unexpected. Most episodes of the Netflix anthology include twist endings, and Bandersnatch, the interactive mindbending special, even included a storyline allowing the viewer to directly speak to the main character. This didn't just break the fourth wall, it demolished it entirely. With Black Mirror Season 6 all-but-confirmed, it may be difficult to replicate that kind of curveball yet again, but a far-out new theory could explain how the next batch of episodes could question not just the shared universe of Black Mirror but our own reality too.
Throughout the last five seasons, Black Mirror has dropped plenty of clues and Easter eggs that the events of the anthology are more connected than you might think. Series creator Charlie Brooker previously stated, the show actually exists in a multiverse, which is sort of like punting on the question of a shared-universe. However, a new theory from Reddit user Terminal5664 manages to tie the entire series together with a pretty far-out concept: What if the entire Black Mirror universe exists on a series of servers owned by House of Tomorrow, the show's real-life production company.
The crux of this theory rests in a shot of a character reading a comic book entitled 15 Million Merits, the title of a Season 1 episode. The comic is distributed by House of Tomorrow, implying that the production company exists in the universe as well, where it's telling these characters the same ones we watch on Netflix. There are other examples of Black Mirror stories being retold in other episodes, including Bandersnatch where a fictional video game company has created titles based on previous stories like Metalhead, Nosedive, and White Bear.
Another big clue serves a major purpose in Bandersnatch: the White Bear symbol, named that as it first appeared in the episode of the same name. It symbolizes the branching possibilities found when simulating all the choices made in a situation and has become a symbol for Black Mirror as a whole.
Could it be that the White Beat is a symbol for the entire House of Tomorrow operation? As this theorist argues, the company could be using a series of servers to play out infinite scenarios before picking the "best" ones and selling them as fiction both within other servers and in our real world.
Is this totally ridiculous? Absolutely. Is it exactly the kind of twist we can imagine seeing play out in Black Mirror Season 6? Again, absolutely.
The White Bear symbol's first appearance, in "White Bear"
Just as the video games and comic books are pop culture in the Black Mirror universe, the Black Mirror show is pop culture in ours. This could mean our reality, the one where we watch Black Mirror on Netflix, could be a simulation in some larger server room. "It's all a simulation" is a bit of a cliche, but I wouldn't put it past Black Mirror when the show returns for Season 6.
