Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’s recent release has taken the world by storm. Between the interactive story, the psychological horror, and the ridiculous situations you can get yourself into; people haven’t been able to stop talking about it. It has left people watching and re-watching until they can give main character, Stefan, the happy ending he deserves.  Lately the hype has been dying down though, since people have finally gotten all the endings they could get and are realizing it. For people who are more interested in the psychological horror attribute of the film, look no further! There are plenty more episodes of Black Mirror that can give you similar, and even more intense feelings of shock, except without the anxiety of choosing what happens to the main protagonist of the episode. Here’s a list of some of the best Black Mirror episodes out right now, apart from the interactive movie, Bandersnatch.

10. Nosedive

Nosedive is a great episode for ‘beginners’ of Black Mirror. As every episode of Black Mirror does, it centers around how technology can ruin peoples lives. This episode is one of the least intense and easy to watch for people who are still treading the Black Mirror water. The focus of this episode is mainly centered around reputation instead of anything considered too vital. The episode takes place in a world in the distant future where people’s worth are determined by ratings on a five star scale through mobile devices. In this universe, average scores can be seen by everyone and can be altered depending on interactions they have with other people. The episode is centered around a woman named Lacey who is desperate to get her rating higher. The story follows her journey of trying to uphold her perfect reputation and what happens when it spirals out of control. 

9. National Anthem

National Anthem was the first episode of  Black Mirror that was released among two others in 2011. It was a bold choice for the first episode, to say the least. This episode focuses on ransoming political figures and famous people and it’s one of the episodes that has the least to do with technology. Also, this episode is way slower than most on this list and probably isn’t for people who get bored of excessive amounts of dialogue easily. The story centers around the prime minister of Britain, Micheal Callow. Callow has to decide what to do when a member of the royal family is kidnapped and it leads to a particularly disturbing scene of ‘would you rather.’

8. The Entire History of You

This episode is slightly more modern and realistic than a lot of of the entries on this list. It takes place in an alternate reality where people have a device called a “grain” implanted in their heads. This device records everything they say, do, and hear. The device allows them to play back their memories on television screens or before their eyes. The episode centers around three main characters, Liam, Ffion, and Jonas. In the episode, Liam is concerned about whether or not his wife, Ffion, had an affair with Jonas or not. He goes to extensive lengths to figure out what happened, these lengths cause him to go through some scenes that honestly hurt to sit through.

7. USS Callister

USS Callister is another episode that’s good for people who are just starting the show, while having a bit more to offer than Nosedive does. A lot of people don’t give it a chance because of the Star Trek-esque style during the beginning of the episode. The story is nothing like Star Trek at all though, it’s more a story of revenge. This episode takes place at a company called Callister Inc. that was co-founded by Robert Daly, one of the main characters along with Nannette Cole. In the universe of this episode, there is a game called Infinity that Daly uses his mod to download digital copies of real people who he thinks wronged him into the game. The episode follows the copies of Nannette and her coworkers once they have been added to the game.

6. Playtest

This is another episode that centers on a game. This episode is pretty different from most episodes of Black Mirror. Whether this is a good or bad thing is for the viewer to decide. This episode centers around a main character named Cooper who is traveling the world as he figures out his life goals. While stopped in London, he discovers that his credit card has been stolen and because of this he needs to find some short-term jobs to make it home. He finds a job that pays to test a virtual reality horror survival game. The game makes the things you see seem like reality. The episode has a lot of classic scares that you start to miss after watching the show for a while, as well as an especially heartbreaking ending.

5. Shut Up and Dance

Shut Up and Dance is a very special episode in my opinion. This episode is the only episode other than National Anthem that takes place in modern day, but it does it better in my opinion. The episode centers around a teenage boy named Kenny. He is blackmailed by a mysterious hacker who has footage of Kenny that he doesn’t want anyone to see. Kenny is forced to do everything this hacker tells him to do, he goes to extreme lengths to keep the footage away from the public eye. The episode ends with a twist that will make your heart drop. In my opinion, this episode is special because it’s a lot more realistic than other episodes and something like this can very well be, and probably is, happening right now.

4. White Bear

White Bear is another episode that is different to most. This episode has a lot of elements to it that makes it very confusing to those who are watching the episode for the first time through. It’s a very mysterious episode with a lot of twists and turns, and it’s a lot more “action oriented” than most episodes are. The episode centers around a nameless woman. She wakes up with amnesia in a house that has mysterious symbols showing on every television screen. She goes outside to find help and finds a bunch of zombie-like people who ignore her pleas and instead record her on their phones. More unfolds as the woman meets two people who are also normal and conscious. The episode follows their journey trying to figure out what’s happened and how to stop it. The episode ends in a way that’ll leave you just as confused as the beginning of the episode did. This episode is especially iconic to fans of the show.

3. Black Museum

This episode was the last episode to come out in December of 2017 and it was definitely a great one to end the season on. The episode is loved by long time fans of the show because of the several callbacks to earlier episodes including Fifteen Million Merits, White Bear, USS Callister, Shut Up and Dance, and more. This episode comes with three stories in one. One main story and two side ones. The episode starts out with main character, Nish, waiting outside a museum for her car to charge. As she’s waiting, she’s invited inside by the museum’s owner for a tour of the artifacts. Here she’s told about three specific parts of the museum, creating the three stories. The episode gives you a lot of different emotions: disgust, sadness, anger, thrill. For that, among other things, it’s definitely worth the watch.

2. Fifteen Million Merits

Fifteen Million Merits was the second episode to come out in the entire series in 2011. Even after all the time that’s passed since it came out, it’s still one of the best episodes to come out to this day. It’s arguably one of the most emotional episodes in the series, in my opinion. The episode takes place in a society where everyone lives in an enclosed space filled with bikes that people used to get ‘merits,’ or a form of currency. The main protagonist of this episode is a man named Bingham. Due to his brother’s recent passing, he inherits his brother’s merits and has enough to live comfortably on his own. He then meets a girl named Abi who he finds very talented and he encourages her to try out in a reality contest, which costs him all of his money. The episode’s ending is bittersweet which is almost worse than a complete downer ending, especially in this show.

1. White Christmas

White Christmas was a Christmas special released in 2014. The story revolves around two men, Joe Potter and Matt Trent. The two of them live in a secluded cabin together and apparently haven’t said a word to each other in five years. Matt wants Joe to finally be able to open up to him, so he shares a story and tells about his day job so Joe would feel more comfortable about opening up. Joe eventually opens up and reveals his own traumatizing story to Matt. This episode is great because it gives you several chances to hear the experiences of the characters which allows you to really get to know them. In the end, the episode has a way of putting an effect on anyone who watches it. There are many moments in this episode that’ll have you holding your breath and hoping that technology will never go to the extent that this show goes to.

Honestly speaking, there’s no episode of Black Mirror that I consider a bad episode. This isn’t to say there aren’t a few episodes I dislike, though. There are some that move slower than others, or some with concepts that aren’t as shocking, but in the end there’s something for everyone. I personally believe it’s an amazing series of shows. This show will leave you questioning everything, hoping technology will stay simple forever, and wishing you hadn’t been rooting for the main character the whole time.  This list only includes half of the episodes in the show, so if none of these interest you, you still have a chance at finding something you’ll like. This list is only my opinion, so definitely consider watching some episodes on your own and forming your own opinions.