‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most gripping episodes of TV you’ve seen
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The episode begins with the Spooks team confined during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a disaster happening externally, 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 decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show which underscored the actuality 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 concluding episode of Severance’s debut season ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, gets beaten to a pulp. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it is possible!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
No other viewing has been as gripping than the first time I watched the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. 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 parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony looks up. Keep going. It halts. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I kept late hours to see this show during the night. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, mercilessly mocking his targets then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
