‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most intense TV episodes of all time
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
This installment starts with the intelligence unit confined while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The suspense builds as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or letting them go and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads from 1984
Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she’s alive!” – resembled a outburst.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it does. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand the whole episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate it. You then spend the rest of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and escalates to a高潮 involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. He spots a Muslim woman going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to a practically unendurable point, until yes, the vest is diffused.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away from natural reasons, which is the rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Keep going. It ceases. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was extremely gripping following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
