‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most nerve-wracking episodes of TV you’ve seen
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The episode begins with the MI5 agents locked down as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, 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 risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
The 1984 production Threads
The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I have viewed because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which underscored the actuality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season has to be right up there in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire 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 yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand for the full show, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it can be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
Nothing I have seen has been as tense than the first time I watched 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 private assistant and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The bomb diffuser experts are called, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s shock of discovering 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 watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It stops. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. 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 victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
