‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most intense episodes of TV of all time
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit locked down during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.
Threads from 1984
Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Viewed it recently following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
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 reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – buried in financial obligations to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Each instance you believe things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!
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 for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they accidentally run over and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it can be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense as when I first saw the season two finale to The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy comes into her home to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a gloomy atmosphere, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The ultimate sequence of the series finale 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 foes, genuine and fictional, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. 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 cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was extremely gripping after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
