‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most intense TV episodes you’ve seen
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The show kicks off with the MI5 agents restricted as part of a simulation 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 incoming communications show a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or allowing them to leave and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads from 1984
Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details which was broadcast. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The first season finale of Severance ranks highly among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show actually sitting tensely, exerting with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they unintentionally hit and later efforts to get rid of it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
Nothing I have seen has been as tense compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Superb programming. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until yes, the vest is diffused.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America
The ultimate sequence of the series finale 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 foes, genuine and fictional, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The bell sounds, an individual enters. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It ceases. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
