‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most intense episodes of TV ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The episode begins with the intelligence unit restricted while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.
Threads (1984)
The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I often attended the bar in Sheffield from the programme that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling which could lose his company millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, gets beaten to a pulp. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it does. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, 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. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Superb programming. Unequaled.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and senses something is wrong. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until yes, the vest is diffused.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a somber mood, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America
The final scene of the final episode of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. 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 raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It ceases. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, mercilessly mocking his targets and then leaving the victim unknown (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
