‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most intense TV episodes you’ve seen
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit locked down during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads from 1984
Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The first season finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The ultimate peak – “she is living!” – resembled a outburst.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode 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
Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the least common kind of passing in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The concluding moment of the last installment of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Continue. It halts. 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 during the night. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey and then leaving the victim unknown (finished with an unresolved situation). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
