‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most gripping episodes of TV ever
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The show kicks off with the MI5 agents restricted as part of a simulation about a potential terror incident, monitored by two government representatives. As things progress, 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 escalates as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads from 1984
Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is severely assaulted. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it does. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects in the season finale. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it’ll have you standing up throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding 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 West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s confidential aide and escalates to a高潮 with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Superb programming. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, board the train, and endeavor to coax 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 (2001)
Buffy comes into her home to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the program was incredibly anxious. 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. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It stops. My heart sank around 20 minutes subsequently.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
