20 TV Show Moments That Left Us Traumatized
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VOICE OVER: Noah Baum
WRITTEN BY: Cristina Otero
Don't talk to us about these, it's too soon! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most mind-scarring and emotionally devastating moments in TV. Our countdown includes moments from shows “Band of Brothers”, "Euphoria", "The Bear" and more!
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most mind-scarring and emotionally devastating moments in TV. No animated series, thank goodness. Major spoilers to come! Which other traumatic scene in a TV show had you hearing “The Rains of Castamere”? Let us know in the comments down below!
You would think that after going to prison for five years and after his wife got killed, the writers would have given poor Opie a break. Instead, they did him dirty one last time. One of the members of the titular motorcycle club, Opie is Jax’s childhood best friend, struggling to get his life back together, helping the club against threats, and even avenging his wife, Donna. His death in Season 5, at the hands of guards in jail going three on one with him, is beyond brutal. At least they gave him a chance to fight back. A small consolation.
Following a high school football team in a small town in Texas, this series covers some heavy territory, from racism to poverty to substance use disorder. Quarterback Matt Saracens’s relationship to his father Henry has always been strained, his father being in the U.S. Army and struggling from PTSD. As a result, Henry has always been distant with Matt, causing the latter to look up to Coach Taylor instead. So Henry’s death and Matt having to bury his father dashes any hopes for a reconciliation or even closure. Matt’s speech at his funeral is heartbreaking, showing grace and forgiveness for his complicated late father.
A woman’s prison isn’t for the weak at heart. Or even strong at heart. Poussey Washington was kind, good-natured, and prank-loving, helping her fellow inmates and nursing an unrequited love for her friend, Taystee. While Poussey’s goodness was exploited cruelly by bad actors, things were looking up as Poussey moved on to a relationship with inmate Brook. So it was a shock that Poussey was accidentally suffocated by an officer, trying to defend Suzanne during a peaceful protest. Her needless death was horrific enough, but it is Taystee’s grief that really puts this on the level of traumatizing.
Speaking of horrific, this series has plenty of skin-crawling moments. Of course, any series following psychologist-turned-serial killer Hannibal Lecter is going to go into some creepy territory. The most gag-inducing and mind-searing one, however, has to be the one where a mysterious killer turns his latest victim into a cello, even playing the instrument inside of him. We won’t go into details, but Will Graham’s visualizing technique and the human cello playing is scarring enough. The murderous fiddler was eventually killed by Lecter, but the sound of his crimes will certainly haunt us.
This mind-bending and twisty show about survivors of a plane crash living on an island could be hard to watch at times. But this death was one of the toughest to handle. In this huge ensemble cast, Charlie was one of the main characters, a musician in a rock band, sober for many years with a steady girlfriend. In this episode, Charlie manages to unblock transmissions sent to and from the island at the Looking Glass Station. But just as he accomplishes this, Mikhail throws a grenade and floods the station. Charlie drowns, though not before warning the others of the betrayal. Charlie’s acceptance of his fate and his heroic actions really bring out the waterworks. This is one trauma we won’t get over.
How to get away with murder? How this series got away with even conceiving of this death is the real question. Viola Davis’ Annalise Keating is a formidable defense attorney. In this flashback, Annalise gets in a car crash and must undergo a C-section to save her unborn child. Sadly, her baby doesn’t make it. The sight of Annalise’s grief and breakdown is nothing less than heartbreaking. Even worse, it turns out her employee Frank had been responsible for the car crash, so Annalise’s blaming herself is the cherry on top of this very rotten cake.
Ah, “Supernatural.” A show with 15 seasons is sure to come up with some of the most searing, heart-wrenching moments in TV. But the most traumatizing has to be this season five episode. After a string of bizarre deaths, Sam and Dean quickly learn it’s the work of one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Famine. What are the bizarre deaths in question? It is couples eating each other on Valentine’s Day. And no, it is not the fun kind of eating. If you have a strong stomach, great. We’ll just be over there in the corner with the waste bin, scarred for life.
This tale of a Targaryen civil war has a high body count, of course. And some truly grisly, stomach-churning moments. We haven’t forgotten how Queen Aemma’s childbirth panned out, and we won’t any time soon. But we think Jaehaerys’ death by the Blood and Cheese complot is by far the worst. To avenge the death of Rhaenyra’s son Luke, Rhaenyra’s uncle-lover Daemon orders a hit on Aemond. The mercenaries could not find Aemond and instead opted to get rid of his son, young Jaehaerys. The mercenaries’ idiotic fumbling and the children in innocent slumber makes this scene all the more horrific to watch.
We’re not crying, we just have something in our eye. “Six Feet Under” has always been a series preoccupied with death—literally opening with a scene about someone dying in some way. But the finale gives us everything and more. As Claire moves to New York City, we are shown a montage of milestones: Brenda remarrying, David and Keith finally marrying, and Durrell going into embalming. We also see how they die, most of them mercifully of ripe old age (except for Keith. Show, how could you?) This beautifully well-done montage has justly been called one of the best season finales of any show, ever, an homage not only to the show, but to life itself. And yes, we’re still crying.
There are shows that begin with truly heavy and hard-hitting stuff. And then there’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” based on the classic book by Margaret Atwood. This dystopian series begins with a nail-biting scene of June running away with her daughter Hannah, pursued by armed men. Just as it seems as if they have hidden and evaded them, however, both mother and daughter get caught and separated. This scene is even harder to watch when you know what happens next. June’s fate is to become a handmaid of the state, forced to bear sons for childless couples. It’s a tale more chilling than most horror stories.
Following Carmy Berzatto and his coming into ownership of his family’s Italian sandwich shop, this series has a lot of meaty scenes to sink one’s teeth into. But this series’ family struggles and troubles leads it into emotionally devastating territory. During a tense family dinner, Mikey repeatedly throws forks at Lee, his mother Donna’s boyfriend. When Natalie accidentally sets off a high-strung Donna and Lee condescendingly suggests that they move on, Mikey throws a fork at Lee for one last time. What follows is an all-out brawl, complete with table flipping and chaos. Dysfunctional families and their fork-triggering trauma have given us plenty already.
Creators David Lynch and Mark Frost begged the executive producers not to make them reveal Laura Palmer’s killer mid-season. While revealing the killer’s identity so soon did suck away a lot of the juice of the show, it also gave us one of the most intense and blood-curdling scenes in all of TV history. It turns out that Laura’s killer was her own father Leland, albeit with a creepy supernatural twist: He was possessed by Bob, an evil spirit. This spirit is the one that prompts him to kill Maddy, Laura’s identical cousin. We’re still very much in shock.
“Grey’s Anatomy” is a series with plenty of traumatic moments and nightmare fuel to last us for decades. But this two-part finale for the sixth season is by far the most blood-curdling. The whole hospital is placed on lockdown when shooter Gary Clark kills Dr. Adamson and wounds Dr. Reed in cold blood. But these shockingly graphic deaths are not the end to Clark’s reign of terror. Clark is on a revenge mission, seeking out Derek for letting his wife die, a revenge mission that only ends with his own self-inflicted undoing. It’s a harrowing two-parter that we are still not over.
Of course, this zombie post-apocalyptic horror series will have us horrified. Where to begin? For starters, Beth, one of the series’ most beloved characters, dies during a hostage situation. But by far the most traumatic death sequence is Glenn and Abraham’s. Captured by Negan’s group, Rick and his team are forced to pledge servitude to him. Negan’s sadism is total as he demonstrates his iron rule over them. First he bashes Abraham’s head, and then once Daryl tries to defy him, he goes for Glenn. It is no doubt these deaths that make Rick continue to defy Negan, and make us continue to need therapy.
One of the most controversial teen shows in recent years, “Euphoria” pulls no punches in its depiction of substance use disorder. When Rue’s mother finds out her daughter has moved to pills, she throws out Rue’s suitcase, given to her by Laurie. In response, Rue breaks down violently, panicking over the loss of the merchandise, screaming at her mother, and breaking down the door. At last, she breaks down crying in the hallway. It is a masterful performance by Zendaya and a harrowing portrayal of the dangers of substance use disorder, and we’re still reeling.
This classic teen vampire show had tons of horrific deaths. But by far the most shocking and mind-scarring death has nothing to do with vampires and other monsters. In this episode, Buffy returns home to her mother Joyce, just like any other ordinary day. But this time Joyce does not respond. Dead by a brain aneurysm, Buffy and the Scooby Gang are left reeling from the loss of a beloved mother and mother figure. The fact that Joyce’s death is all natural and random makes it worse. “The Body” is lauded as one of the best episodes in TV history, and also one of the most emotionally devastating.
Created by Steven Spielberg, this miniseries follows the history of a U.S. army battalion fighting Nazi Germans in World War II. In this episode, the battalion liberates a concentration camp in Landsberg called Kaufering. The depiction of the camp prisoners weakened by the horrors of the camp, including starvation, is brutal as it is unflinchingly honest. The soldiers’ shock is also hard to take. The miniseries took some historical liberties; in reality, it was a different military unit that liberated Kaufering. But its portrayal of the conditions of these camps is all too real. Never forget.
It’s bad enough to have someone die of substance use disorder. It’s quite another to be the reason for said death. Walter White is an antihero at best, a villainous protagonist at worst. This episode includes one of his most horrific decisions yet. After finally giving the money to his partner Jesse and Jesse’s girlfriend Jane, Walter arrives to find them passed out in a drug-induced stupor. Walter tries to rouse Jesse, but in the process inadvertently knocks Jane on her back. He begins to help her when she starts choking…only to change his mind. It is a terrible scene, all the more so when we see Jesse listening to Jane’s voicemail over and over in his grief.
The horror of this death is not so much the blood, although it is the stuff of nightmares. After a seasons-long cat-and-mouse game with the Trinity killer, Dexter finally puts Trinity out of his misery. Right after he disposes of Trinity, however, Dexter comes home to a scene of nightmare: His wife Rita in the bathtub, with his little son Harrison in the pool of blood. It is a scene that is the exact parallel of Dexter’s own mother’s death and little Dexter’s rescue from the pool of blood. More to the point, Rita was one of the most beloved and innocent characters in the show, who did not deserve such an end. That wound has still not healed for us.
One of the most shocking and horrifying moments in TV history is nothing new for book fans (our condolences). But for mainstream audiences, it was the worst. We already had a taste of the betrayal to come for the Starks when patriarch Ned Stark got the axe. We were such summer children back then. The Starks suffer an even bigger betrayal at the wedding of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey. Unbeknownst to them, the Freys had allied with the Lannisters. They attack the Starks, killing both Robb, Robb’s wife and unborn child, and Catelyn Stark. One thing is for sure: “The Rains of Castamere” is going to trigger the waterworks.
#20: Opie’s Death
“Sons of Anarchy” (2008-14)You would think that after going to prison for five years and after his wife got killed, the writers would have given poor Opie a break. Instead, they did him dirty one last time. One of the members of the titular motorcycle club, Opie is Jax’s childhood best friend, struggling to get his life back together, helping the club against threats, and even avenging his wife, Donna. His death in Season 5, at the hands of guards in jail going three on one with him, is beyond brutal. At least they gave him a chance to fight back. A small consolation.
#19: Matt Buries His Dad
“Friday Night Lights” (2006-11)Following a high school football team in a small town in Texas, this series covers some heavy territory, from racism to poverty to substance use disorder. Quarterback Matt Saracens’s relationship to his father Henry has always been strained, his father being in the U.S. Army and struggling from PTSD. As a result, Henry has always been distant with Matt, causing the latter to look up to Coach Taylor instead. So Henry’s death and Matt having to bury his father dashes any hopes for a reconciliation or even closure. Matt’s speech at his funeral is heartbreaking, showing grace and forgiveness for his complicated late father.
#18: Poussey’s Death
“Orange Is the New Black” (2013-19)A woman’s prison isn’t for the weak at heart. Or even strong at heart. Poussey Washington was kind, good-natured, and prank-loving, helping her fellow inmates and nursing an unrequited love for her friend, Taystee. While Poussey’s goodness was exploited cruelly by bad actors, things were looking up as Poussey moved on to a relationship with inmate Brook. So it was a shock that Poussey was accidentally suffocated by an officer, trying to defend Suzanne during a peaceful protest. Her needless death was horrific enough, but it is Taystee’s grief that really puts this on the level of traumatizing.
#17: Human Cello
“Hannibal” (2013-15)Speaking of horrific, this series has plenty of skin-crawling moments. Of course, any series following psychologist-turned-serial killer Hannibal Lecter is going to go into some creepy territory. The most gag-inducing and mind-searing one, however, has to be the one where a mysterious killer turns his latest victim into a cello, even playing the instrument inside of him. We won’t go into details, but Will Graham’s visualizing technique and the human cello playing is scarring enough. The murderous fiddler was eventually killed by Lecter, but the sound of his crimes will certainly haunt us.
#16: Charlie’s Death
“Lost” (2004-10)This mind-bending and twisty show about survivors of a plane crash living on an island could be hard to watch at times. But this death was one of the toughest to handle. In this huge ensemble cast, Charlie was one of the main characters, a musician in a rock band, sober for many years with a steady girlfriend. In this episode, Charlie manages to unblock transmissions sent to and from the island at the Looking Glass Station. But just as he accomplishes this, Mikhail throws a grenade and floods the station. Charlie drowns, though not before warning the others of the betrayal. Charlie’s acceptance of his fate and his heroic actions really bring out the waterworks. This is one trauma we won’t get over.
#15: Annalise’s Baby Dies
“How to Get Away with Murder” (2014-20)How to get away with murder? How this series got away with even conceiving of this death is the real question. Viola Davis’ Annalise Keating is a formidable defense attorney. In this flashback, Annalise gets in a car crash and must undergo a C-section to save her unborn child. Sadly, her baby doesn’t make it. The sight of Annalise’s grief and breakdown is nothing less than heartbreaking. Even worse, it turns out her employee Frank had been responsible for the car crash, so Annalise’s blaming herself is the cherry on top of this very rotten cake.
#14: Bloody Valentines
“Supernatural” (2005-20)Ah, “Supernatural.” A show with 15 seasons is sure to come up with some of the most searing, heart-wrenching moments in TV. But the most traumatizing has to be this season five episode. After a string of bizarre deaths, Sam and Dean quickly learn it’s the work of one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Famine. What are the bizarre deaths in question? It is couples eating each other on Valentine’s Day. And no, it is not the fun kind of eating. If you have a strong stomach, great. We’ll just be over there in the corner with the waste bin, scarred for life.
#13: The Murder of Jaehaerys Targaryen
“House of the Dragon” (2022-)This tale of a Targaryen civil war has a high body count, of course. And some truly grisly, stomach-churning moments. We haven’t forgotten how Queen Aemma’s childbirth panned out, and we won’t any time soon. But we think Jaehaerys’ death by the Blood and Cheese complot is by far the worst. To avenge the death of Rhaenyra’s son Luke, Rhaenyra’s uncle-lover Daemon orders a hit on Aemond. The mercenaries could not find Aemond and instead opted to get rid of his son, young Jaehaerys. The mercenaries’ idiotic fumbling and the children in innocent slumber makes this scene all the more horrific to watch.
#12: The Final Scene
“Six Feet Under” (2001-05)We’re not crying, we just have something in our eye. “Six Feet Under” has always been a series preoccupied with death—literally opening with a scene about someone dying in some way. But the finale gives us everything and more. As Claire moves to New York City, we are shown a montage of milestones: Brenda remarrying, David and Keith finally marrying, and Durrell going into embalming. We also see how they die, most of them mercifully of ripe old age (except for Keith. Show, how could you?) This beautifully well-done montage has justly been called one of the best season finales of any show, ever, an homage not only to the show, but to life itself. And yes, we’re still crying.
#11: June & Hannah Trying to Escape
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (2017-)There are shows that begin with truly heavy and hard-hitting stuff. And then there’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” based on the classic book by Margaret Atwood. This dystopian series begins with a nail-biting scene of June running away with her daughter Hannah, pursued by armed men. Just as it seems as if they have hidden and evaded them, however, both mother and daughter get caught and separated. This scene is even harder to watch when you know what happens next. June’s fate is to become a handmaid of the state, forced to bear sons for childless couples. It’s a tale more chilling than most horror stories.
#10: Mikey Throws the Fork
“The Bear” (2022-)Following Carmy Berzatto and his coming into ownership of his family’s Italian sandwich shop, this series has a lot of meaty scenes to sink one’s teeth into. But this series’ family struggles and troubles leads it into emotionally devastating territory. During a tense family dinner, Mikey repeatedly throws forks at Lee, his mother Donna’s boyfriend. When Natalie accidentally sets off a high-strung Donna and Lee condescendingly suggests that they move on, Mikey throws a fork at Lee for one last time. What follows is an all-out brawl, complete with table flipping and chaos. Dysfunctional families and their fork-triggering trauma have given us plenty already.
#9: Laura Palmer’s Killer Is Revealed
“Twin Peaks” (1990-1991; 2017)Creators David Lynch and Mark Frost begged the executive producers not to make them reveal Laura Palmer’s killer mid-season. While revealing the killer’s identity so soon did suck away a lot of the juice of the show, it also gave us one of the most intense and blood-curdling scenes in all of TV history. It turns out that Laura’s killer was her own father Leland, albeit with a creepy supernatural twist: He was possessed by Bob, an evil spirit. This spirit is the one that prompts him to kill Maddy, Laura’s identical cousin. We’re still very much in shock.
#8: Shooting at Seattle Grace
“Grey’s Anatomy” (2005-)“Grey’s Anatomy” is a series with plenty of traumatic moments and nightmare fuel to last us for decades. But this two-part finale for the sixth season is by far the most blood-curdling. The whole hospital is placed on lockdown when shooter Gary Clark kills Dr. Adamson and wounds Dr. Reed in cold blood. But these shockingly graphic deaths are not the end to Clark’s reign of terror. Clark is on a revenge mission, seeking out Derek for letting his wife die, a revenge mission that only ends with his own self-inflicted undoing. It’s a harrowing two-parter that we are still not over.
#7: Negan Kills Glenn & Abraham
“The Walking Dead” (2010-22)Of course, this zombie post-apocalyptic horror series will have us horrified. Where to begin? For starters, Beth, one of the series’ most beloved characters, dies during a hostage situation. But by far the most traumatic death sequence is Glenn and Abraham’s. Captured by Negan’s group, Rick and his team are forced to pledge servitude to him. Negan’s sadism is total as he demonstrates his iron rule over them. First he bashes Abraham’s head, and then once Daryl tries to defy him, he goes for Glenn. It is no doubt these deaths that make Rick continue to defy Negan, and make us continue to need therapy.
#6: When Rue Hit Rock Bottom
“Euphoria” (2019-)One of the most controversial teen shows in recent years, “Euphoria” pulls no punches in its depiction of substance use disorder. When Rue’s mother finds out her daughter has moved to pills, she throws out Rue’s suitcase, given to her by Laurie. In response, Rue breaks down violently, panicking over the loss of the merchandise, screaming at her mother, and breaking down the door. At last, she breaks down crying in the hallway. It is a masterful performance by Zendaya and a harrowing portrayal of the dangers of substance use disorder, and we’re still reeling.
#5: Buffy Finds Her Mother’s Body
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003)This classic teen vampire show had tons of horrific deaths. But by far the most shocking and mind-scarring death has nothing to do with vampires and other monsters. In this episode, Buffy returns home to her mother Joyce, just like any other ordinary day. But this time Joyce does not respond. Dead by a brain aneurysm, Buffy and the Scooby Gang are left reeling from the loss of a beloved mother and mother figure. The fact that Joyce’s death is all natural and random makes it worse. “The Body” is lauded as one of the best episodes in TV history, and also one of the most emotionally devastating.
#4: Concentration Camp Liberation
“Band of Brothers” (2001)Created by Steven Spielberg, this miniseries follows the history of a U.S. army battalion fighting Nazi Germans in World War II. In this episode, the battalion liberates a concentration camp in Landsberg called Kaufering. The depiction of the camp prisoners weakened by the horrors of the camp, including starvation, is brutal as it is unflinchingly honest. The soldiers’ shock is also hard to take. The miniseries took some historical liberties; in reality, it was a different military unit that liberated Kaufering. But its portrayal of the conditions of these camps is all too real. Never forget.
#3: Walt Watches Jane Die
“Breaking Bad” (2008-13)It’s bad enough to have someone die of substance use disorder. It’s quite another to be the reason for said death. Walter White is an antihero at best, a villainous protagonist at worst. This episode includes one of his most horrific decisions yet. After finally giving the money to his partner Jesse and Jesse’s girlfriend Jane, Walter arrives to find them passed out in a drug-induced stupor. Walter tries to rouse Jesse, but in the process inadvertently knocks Jane on her back. He begins to help her when she starts choking…only to change his mind. It is a terrible scene, all the more so when we see Jesse listening to Jane’s voicemail over and over in his grief.
#2: Dexter Finds Rita’s Body
“Dexter” (2006-13)The horror of this death is not so much the blood, although it is the stuff of nightmares. After a seasons-long cat-and-mouse game with the Trinity killer, Dexter finally puts Trinity out of his misery. Right after he disposes of Trinity, however, Dexter comes home to a scene of nightmare: His wife Rita in the bathtub, with his little son Harrison in the pool of blood. It is a scene that is the exact parallel of Dexter’s own mother’s death and little Dexter’s rescue from the pool of blood. More to the point, Rita was one of the most beloved and innocent characters in the show, who did not deserve such an end. That wound has still not healed for us.
#1: The Red Wedding
“Game of Thrones” (2011-19)One of the most shocking and horrifying moments in TV history is nothing new for book fans (our condolences). But for mainstream audiences, it was the worst. We already had a taste of the betrayal to come for the Starks when patriarch Ned Stark got the axe. We were such summer children back then. The Starks suffer an even bigger betrayal at the wedding of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey. Unbeknownst to them, the Freys had allied with the Lannisters. They attack the Starks, killing both Robb, Robb’s wife and unborn child, and Catelyn Stark. One thing is for sure: “The Rains of Castamere” is going to trigger the waterworks.
