Some shows are so good that certain episodes stay with you for years. Certain episodes can even become comfort episodes — you know, those episodes you just need to put on when you’re feeling down and need a fictional pick-me-up. Other episodes quickly become cultural touchstones that everyone points to as the peak of storytelling, or the best that a show ever was. And still others become internet memes that persist decades after their initial airing (being horrified by “Threshold” from Star Trek: Voyager is a Trekkie rite of passage for a reason).
And then there are those episodes. The ones you watch and know in your heart are some of the best you’ve ever seen — they make your heart race, your jaw drop, and your adrenaline spike to the stratosphere. They’re the episodes you sit with after they’ve aired and ask, “What did I just watch?” to the room at large, whether you’re alone or not. And, most importantly: they’re the episodes you just can’t bring yourself to watch ever again, even if they’re incredible pieces of television.
10
“Die All, Die Merrily”
‘The 100’ Season 4, Episode 10
Let it be known that The 100 was never afraid to take some big swings — to debatable success — during its tenure on the CW. Season 4 saw the show struggle to find its footing in a post-Lexa world, but “Die All, Die Merrily” was a clear exception. Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) participates in a Hunger Games-esque conclave that sees representatives from each Grounder clan, as well as Skaikru, fight to the death for ownership of a bunker the winning clan would then use to ride out a second nuclear apocalypse. (Yes, second.)
“Die All, Die Merrily” is the highlight of season 4, and gives Octavia some interesting emotional places to go as she prepares to go to war. It’s a hard watch, however, especially for longtime fans of the Grounder aspect of the show: almost every notable member of the various clans is put up and summarily slaughtered, leaving characters like Indra (Adina Porter) and Gaia (Tati Gabrielle) as the last representatives of the Earth-born people. The 100 took a hard turn after the conclusion of the bunker arc and never quite recovered.
The 100
- Release Date
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2014 – 2019
- Network
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The CW
9
“Occupation”
‘Battlestar Galactica’ Season 3, Episode 1
All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again — and in “Occupation,” Battlestar Galactica’s season 3 opener, that oft-repeated phrase has never rung more true. The last of humanity finds themselves on a foreign planet and under militant occupation by the Cylons, the very pseudo-robotic beings they not only helped create and enslave, but who in turn decimated all of humanity only a few years prior. The back-and-forth power struggle sees the Cylons enslave and torture many of BSG’s most beloved characters, all while asking: is this cruel and inhumane, or a fitting punishment for the human race?
Battlestar never shied away from showing the ugly realities of war, especially when it came to the dehumanization (pardon the pun) of the perceived “enemy.” How far will you go to survive? How many morals will you compromise along the way? “Occupation” and the entirety of the New Caprica arc asks all that and more, forcing characters to make horrific decisions — like Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan) killing his wife (Kate Vernon) for collaboration with the Cylons, or President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) teaming up with a terrorist (the late Richard Hatch) to survive one more day out in the mud. No choice is easy, and they all have consequences that are hard to watch.
8
“Holes are Bad”
‘Ghosts’ Season 3, Episode 8
The truth wills out when gilded age ghost Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky), is forced to reveal her true cause of death to help save fellow ghost Flower (Sheila Carrasco) from an uncertain fate. The unflappable lady of Woodstone previously insisted she died of an accidental overdose while celebrating her philandering husband’s disappearance. However, after Flower finds herself stuck in a well and short on time, an eternally buttoned-up Hetty loosens her collar just enough to reveal the true cause of her death: self-inflicted strangulation by a conveniently lengthy telephone wire.
The revelation that Hetty took her own life is a heavy one in such a typically light, happy sitcom such as Ghosts, but it’s that contrast that makes it all the better. It’s an important moment for Hetty as a character, too — after decades of keeping everyone at arm’s length, she’s been slowly learning to let her friends and fellow ghosts in, unburden herself of her long-kept secrets regarding both her son and Alberta (Danielle Pinnock), and find romance (or something like it) with Trevor (Asher Grodman). Finding out she took her own life is an important piece to the complicated puzzle that is Hetty Woodstone, but damn if it isn’t hard to watch. The show agrees — they thoughtfully provided a help line before the end credits for anyone struggling the way Hetty did.
Ghosts (US)
- Release Date
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October 7, 2021
- Network
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CBS
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Rose McIver
Samantha Arondekar
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Utkarsh Ambudkar
Jay Arondekar
7
“return 0”
‘Person of Interest’ Season 5, Episode 13
Person of Interest continues to be one of the most underrated science fiction shows ever broadcast. Originally conceived as a “case of the week” style-show, Person of Interest slowly morphed into a pseudo-serialized story of warring AIs — nicknamed “The Machine” and “Samaritan” — whose final battle in “return 0” results in the loss of multiple characters, including Root (Amy Acker), and Reese (Jim Caviezel). Or did it?
The death of Root earlier in the season is a hard pill to swallow for those who became attached to the criminal-turned-lovergirl hacker, whose complicated romantic relationship with Shaw (Sarah Shahi) is one of the show’s brightest points. It neatly parallels the more platonic (but no less intimate) one between Reese and Finch (Michael Emerson), both of whom spend the series try to atone for their pasts as they aid their benevolent AI in saving the innocent. Shaw continues that mission in the end — and though she’s without Root and her brother-like figure in Reese, there’s still a silver lining: the Machine and Root have become almost one and the same, with the AI taking on Root’s voice and mannerisms forevermore.
6
“The Incident”
‘Lost’ Season 5, Episodes 16 and 17
Time travel shenanigans come to head in Lost’s season 5 finale when Jack (Matthew Fox) decides to detonate a hydrogen bomb on the island. He and the other survivors were all thrown back to the 1970s earlier in the season, and he believes that changing the course of the future — or the past, depending on your perspective — might mean they never crash on the island at all. A brave Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) dies seeing his vision through, sacrificing herself after confessing her love for Sawyer (Josh Holloway).
“The Incident” is one of many incredible episodes Lost delivered over the years. Juliet had become a beloved (if slightly controversial) addition to the Lost family by the time she died, proving herself to be competent, whip-smart, and in possession of a sardonic sense of humor only rivaled by Sawyer’s own. Plus, she and Sawyer were endgame-coded in a big way. Her death was a huge blow to the show, and so heartbreaking that it’s hard to re-watch to this day. (Thankfully, Juliet and Sawyer did end up being endgame. They’re going Dutch for all eternity!)
Lost
- Release Date
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2004 – 2010-00-00
- Network
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ABC
5
“Face The Raven”
‘Doctor Who’ Season 9, Episode 10
Clara’s (Jenna Coleman) recklessness finally catches up to her when she’s forced to “Face the Raven” in Doctor Who season 9. A call for help from a former friend, Rigsy (Joivan Wade), leads Clara and the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) to a hidden street deep in the heart of London, where a false murder accusation sees Clara take on Rigsy’s literal ticking clock in order to buy them more time to hunt down the truth before he’s executed. They fail, and Clara and the Doctor must accept that she’s going to die, leading to a devastatingly tender goodbye from the normally aloof Twelfth Doctor.
Clara’s choice to risk her own life is the culmination of a two-season arc that saw her slowly morphing into her own version of the Doctor — and the Doctor becoming more and more attached to Clara. Their co-dependent relationship was chock-full of moral complexity and one of Doctor Who’s best Doctor-companion combos. Seeing the gruff Doctor beg Clara to stay with him is like a gut-punch, and watching him watch Clara die almost doubly so. Her loss turns the Doctor into a vengeful, angry man, one who doesn’t know how to be without Clara and is willing to burn the universe to get her back. It’s always hard losing a companion, of course, but something about the needlessness of Clara’s death and the heartbreak the Doctor lets her see before she goes makes “Face the Raven” a tough re-watch.
4
“The Rains of Castamere”
‘Game of Thrones’ Season 3, Episode 9
Widely known as “The Red Wedding episode,” “The Rains of Castamere” features one of the bloodiest marriage ceremonies in tv history. After the nuptials of his uncle Edmund, Robb Stark (Richard Madden) — along with his pregnant wife, Talisa (Oona Chaplin), and Robb’s mother, Catelyn (Michelle Fairley)— are all corralled in a banquet hall and murdered by the Frey and their men. No one is spared the brutality of the Freys, including Robb’s beloved direwolf, Grey Wind. The wedding signals a stunning downfall for the House of Stark.
The Red Wedding is often cited as one of Game of Thrones’ best — and most brutal — episodes. While later seasons saw the show get more and more graphic (and perhaps unhinged), the brutality of the wedding and the loss of so many of the show’s main characters is deeply sad. Add to it the fact that they were killed on such a happy occasion, and it’s not hard to see why this one is a tough second watch. Plus…they killed the dog. Sure, it was in the books, but still: not cool.
3
“The Body”
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Season 5, Episode 16
Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is no stranger to death as the resident vampire slayer of Sunnydale, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer went straight for audiences’ hearts with a pointy stake with the sudden death of Buffy’s beloved mother, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland). The episode is a masterpiece, from the careful exploration of Buffy’s grief to the complete lack of score throughout, giving each moment weight by anchoring the entire thing in silence.
The true tragedy of the episode is in the completely normal nature of Joyce’s death. She doesn’t die sacrificing herself for her daughters, or as a pawn by a villain — she goes peacefully and suddenly, suffering an aneurysm while relaxing on the couch. Buffy’s grief and desperation to save her mother are almost tangible in their rawness. It makes the episode one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s best – but it’s a real heartbreaker, too, making a second watch incredibly difficult for all but the most dedicated Scoobies.
2
“Through the Valley”
‘The Last of Us’ Season 2, Episode 2
The Last of Us takes heartbreak to an all-new level in season 2. Abby’s (Kaitlyn Dever) quest to hunt down Joel (Pedro Pascal) and punish him for killing her father comes shockingly early in The Last of Us’ second season. Audiences only get one episode with Joel alive and well before karma catches up with him in episode 2, and it’s with no small amount of horror that viewers watch Abby slowly torture and eventually kill him in front of Ellie (Bella Ramsey).
The episode is brilliantly shot, scored, and edited, with stellar performances from all three actors. It’s good television all the way through. In many ways, it feels like there’s an axe swinging ever lower through the entirety of the “Through the Valley” — and when death does finally catch up with Joel, when the proverbial axe finally drops, it’s almost unbearable to witness. Watching such a heart-wrenching episode more than once is incredibly hard to imagine. Those that play through the game more than once must have stomachs of steel.
The Last Of Us
- Release Date
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January 15, 2023
- Network
-
HBO
1
“Home”
‘The X-Files’ Season 4, Episode 2
Very few television episodes are so disturbing that they’re pulled completely off the air, but that was indeed the case with ‘Home,’ the second episode of The X-Files‘ fourth season. Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) dive deep into a family’s horrifying history when the body of a deformed infant is discovered buried in a baseball field, eventually uncovering stories of inbreeding, imprisonment, and all manner of shocking things that are almost too disgusting to repeat.
As appalling as “Home” is, it’s also The X-Files at its best — and scariest. The story of the Peacock family is well-written and hits all the right beats to repulse the audience, with the presence of Mulder and Scully there to give viewers that crucial sense of safety. However, that wasn’t enough for FOX back in the ’90s: the network banned “Home” from ever being re-broadcast. Even the network couldn’t handle watching that episode a second time.