‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most nerve-wracking television episodes you’ve seen
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The episode begins with the intelligence unit confined while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and intensifies as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or letting them go and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.
The 1984 production Threads
The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I have viewed due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on 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 brutally attacked. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise for the full show, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and later efforts to get rid of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
No other viewing has been as gripping compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s confidential aide and escalates to a高潮 with a crisis in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small 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, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the least common kind of passing in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America
The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth roughly 20 minutes after.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, 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 – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
