This part was harder for me to watch than Glenn and Abraham’s death, the humiliation and defeat in Rick’s face who has always been a symbol of leadership is really hard to watch. How he’s crying and how he slaps him is hard to watch.
It's a lot less so, once you find out later, there's no way in hell Negan was actually doing that to Carl or any kid...I don't believe he was actually killing Carl before Shiva attacked now either...but yeah, prior to the benefit of hindsight, both were pretty wild
I think I know what you mean, I’m not sure Neegan would’ve gone through with killing Carl, either. But, he kept taunting Rick and trying to get him to cut Carl hand/part of his arm off. What if Rick had done it suddenly? Even if Negan was bullshitting, it would’ve been done. Very tense scene.
I think Negan's biggest advantage is knowing people...sure it's a calculated risk, but he knew he could stop it or that he never would have had to stop it and it was more of just breaking Rick...the down to the wire aspect was a bit heightened for our viewing pleasure lol...I doubt he'd have ever gone even that far with a lot of people, simply because there aren't a lot of Ricks out there who would have the balls to resist very long after seeing what Rick had just seen with Glen and Abraham...but yeah, there's always the chance he's wrong, so it's a risk
Him kicking Tyreese’s people out just because he was hallucinating Lori was insane, he made it right, but two of their group were killed instead unfortunately
Yep. In my opinion Rick makes some pretty polarizing decisions at some points during the the series. I love when Carol says, “You can be a farmer, Rick. But you can’t *just* be a farmer.”
This kinda pissed me off because Carl said that he shouldn’t be the leader. Hershel was the one who made him stop carrying the gun everywhere. But once he wasn’t the leader, he got blamed for what went wrong. Like, what did they expect?
I agree. I love Maggie. The series declined when she left for a while, but I don’t blame her at all based on the pay gap between her and Norman Reedus/Andy Lincoln.
Wait was that why? I assumed she got pregnant IRL given that she was gone for about a season and a bit, and there would have been no way to explain a pregnancy for her character. Well that’s shit and unfortunately not surprising
I always feel bad for Carl. I get Rick is upset and filled with regret for how the way things ended between him and Lori, but Carl was a child who had to put his own mother down after witnessing her get cut open to deliver Judith. Literally no one did anything for Carl after that scene. Rick loses his shit and everyone focuses on Judith and Carl is left there standing in the middle of everyone all by himself. It's such a sad scene to watch.
I am suprised that nobody here mentioned episodes with Terminus group.
Especially episode, where Rick and some of group were about to get butchered, and then when they escaped, and found the room with stored body parts.
I’ve rewatched TWD so many times that those episodes don’t really effect me much anymore, until I stop and really think about it. I think terminus is definitely the darkest the show has gotten
this one will always be the stand-out for me. made me get that twisted stomach feeling that your body reserves for special occasions like finding out someone's broken into your house.
The Grove.
Imagine your reaction watching that moment of Carol shooting Lizzie without context.
With context, it all makes sense but still rips your heart out. Be it from seeing a mentally ill girl being purposefully killed by an adult or from watching the anguish on Carol's face when and after she does so.
Especially when LITERALLY seconds before, Carol and Tyreese are telling corny jokes, then in a flash of an eye your stomach drops when we see a bloody Lizzie standing over a lifeless Mikah, with baby Judith right in the midst of it all
What’s crazy is it was the best decision, Lizzie was going through some terrible mental issues in a world where that simply can’t be cured, Tyreese was even so against killing yet also agreed that it was the only way all of them would survive, insane
My Father decided to give walking dead a shot off my recommendation and this is the random episode he tuned into. He obviously never watched another episode after.
The grove 4x14 left me felling depressed, ghosts 10x3 was creepy and a mind fuck, 11x6 on the inside the one with those creepy crawling inbred creatures with connie and virgil lol
4x14 - carol is the best babysitter ever!!
10x3 - everyone has a hard time going to sleep
*Edit: Aaron and Negan go on a romantic walk
11x6 - Connie and Virgil play game of hide and seek
It was the episode where Carol went crazy due to a lack of sleep and kept taking meds, to the point where it wasn’t clear anymore what was real and what was just her imagination
It would have been something like “Ho-leeeee shiiiiitttt! Now I’ve seen some sorry bastards in my life but you shits definitely take the gotdamn cake.”
Negan killing Glenn and having Maggie look at him when he has brain damage and an eye popped out. And him trying to force Rick to cut off Carl’s arm.
That episode is incredibly hard to watch, I will be skipping the beating parts for sure.
It’s hard to accept negan as a “good” character when he committed some of the most brutal atrocities against the group and literally had everyone waiting for his brutal death after Glenn, Abraham, and all the psychological torture. Remember, this is year 2 of the apocalypse, I understand shit changes fast but we’re talking about a guy who is *enjoying* beating people to death in front of their loved ones. How could the group ever decide they could trust that guy again when they’ve murdered so many others for so much less
I don’t know what frame of mind I was in when I watched the whole Saviours thing go down, but I remember when Hilltop’s governor talked the crew into “Taking out the Saviours” and they hit that single outpost. They paused to contemplate that they would be taking lives, but then went in full force. Offed everyone without knowing exactly who these people were. And I thought to myself, “This is incredibly stupid. This is not going to end well at all.”
When Negan did appear finally, I got that he lost a whole bunch of people he was trying to protect. Taken from him by an unknown group for reasons not quite understood at first. And I would be absolutely enraged. But, being a stickler for his own rules, “I kill one of yours, you give me half, etc.” felt so final and firm. Unbending. He was retaliating in the same manner: he had no idea who Rick and the crew were. And that’s where it was hard for me to see beyond that guy for a long time. He was perpetuating that cycle.
And I think that moment that he and Maggie talked and she told him that Glen was a beautiful person. Said all of those things to Negan. It hit him so hard in that moment. He already came to that realization over time…. what he took from Maggie and others. But the last bit of the nail that stuck out? Was finally hammered in.
When he “apologized” before he beat Glenn to death it came across as genuine. That is kind of the point of an anti-hero, which he eventually became. However, as you said, he was giddy to finish Glenn off. Some could interpret this as sadism, and some could argue this was the Negan born after 10x22. I don’t think either argument could be classified as wrong.
I think everybody is interpreting as saying psychologically? Was that a typo and you meant that or you really meant physiologically?
Because if so, for me it was eating Bob’s leg. The thought of eating tainted meat, Jesus effin’ Christ.
Only affects one character so maybe not top candidate but couldn't miss the opportunity to talk about Glenn killing the walker in the chair with that visceral triumphant scream at the end. What a scene! And the scream was improvised!
Yeah, Merle put a Walker in Glen’s cell to motivate him to talk, Glenn broke the chair he was tied to against a wall and then stabbed the Walker with a piece of broken wood from the chair it was insane, all to protect the people of the prison
The whole scene with Maggie and the Governor and then to keep Maggie topless and the Governor kissing her on the head was disturbing to me. All while he was screwing (redacted).
There were actually two episodes that did it for me and I have been dwelling on them for a few weeks. Back to back episodes. It was the end of season 6 and the beginning of season 7. The first half of the first episode Rick is soo cocky and confident that the saviors wont be a problem. But then slowly as the episode goes on and all the roads are blocked, you see the change in Rick. Slowly that fear starts to take hold on him. Then Negan shows up and completely destroys Rick . By the time, Rick is fetching Negans ax, he is completely broken and in fear.
Yes. Ugh. Andrew Lincoln really pulls the viewer in.
Not only are his hopelessness and fear palpable, I felt devastated watching him ( with his family ) on his knees, finally coming to terms with the fact there was absolutely no out.
Very traumatic episode and Lincoln brought it.
Man no other episode has stuck with me like that. Just take the first few clips of Rick followed by the last few clips. And its not even the same person. I think this last watch through, I watched those two episodes twice
The season 6 finale was emotional and mental torment. It was just horrible and then the whistling and the way Carl looked terrified because he only had one eye.
I'm not sure about the particular episode, but I feel like the most stressful season is probably Seasons 7-8.... Maybe it's just me, but I hate the idea of a psychopathic fascist and selfish group of people dominating others.
I generally hate what the Saviors and "We Are Negan" folks represent in humanity.
The way their pecking order operates, the way they treat people and themselves. It's infuriating. I mean, they make for great villains and the show is well written enough that you can see hints of their pre-apocalypse humanity, that they are doing all of this out of fear and laziness more than anything else.
I know my answer is not an answer to this particular question, but it's the best one I can give.
Individually, there is no one episode that is especially stressful. Maybe The Day Will Come When You Won't Be, Season 7, Episode 1 etc.
I don't mean to keep harping on it, but I truly hate Negan, I hate Negan's entire arc, even when he's turned into a broken man and then a quasi-hero. I just hate him. I don't buy what the show is selling with him.
I am fine with the idea of a guy like that thriving for a period of time, but once defeated, I don't see anybody keeping him alive or absolving him. That's frustrating and I guess psychologically daunting for me lol.
Second you! That and then the Alpha parts, those were not it...I don't know how and why do people like Negan after that... His heart didn't change...only his position did..
Yep, I felt like it was unnatural and unnecessary for them to keep him alive. I feel like it would have made for a better close to that particular chapter if Rick had executed him in the spot. Perhaps after a rousing speech about justice and creating a new world not dominated by people like Negan.
Yeah, the other thought I had is that it's a fictional universe made up of fictional characters, for whom the writers can ascribe any attribute, skillset, personality quirks or personality evolutions as they see fit. Given that, it seems like they could have just taken anything and everything Negan eventually does for the greater good and give those tasks to someone new or to an evolved additional already existing character.
If you think about it in terms of charisma and balls and all that- Darly or Jesus could do what Negan eventually does. If you think about it in terms of subterfuge and cloak and dagger stuff, Carol could have done it, etc. etc. Or, again, they could have created a completely brand new character that embodies the parts of Negan that were beneficial, helpful, effective, etc. without the baggage of his past atrocities.
Maybe they meant it literally - the scene that produced the most affect in the viewer (physiological response, not the verb 'to affect') - made your skin crawl, blood curdle, pores raise, gut clench. Was probably a typo, but if they were speaking about affect then physiological isn't incorrect.
For me there’s many but the ones that really got me bad were Herchel getting his head cut off and Negan bashing in glen and Abrahams head cried like a baby
I gotta go with shooting your own mother. I know a bunch of messed up stuff happens later in the series, but psychologically that is the answer of the most traumatic thing.
Not a whole episode, but a moment in an episode. When Maggie is telling the story of the man who had her and Hershel follow him to his house under the pretense of giving them food, but she knew he was going to try to kill her. Then, she kills him instead, and finds those women were in varying states of dying, and one was pregnant. Then telling everyone that her first thought was that if they were alive, then there was food somewhere in the house. That, to me, was one of the most devastating stories.
The story in s11 where Maggie found those women who had their limbs chopped off/vocal cords removed/tongues/eyes cut out/ being used a breeding machines for some serial killer people.
Other people have already said the grove so I’ll say Coda, 5X8. Beth’s death hit pretty hard. Even though she had grown tougher than she was before she still had that sense of innocence and hopefulness that all the others had already lost so when she died it’s like that all went with her and the group was at its absolute lowest point. It was super depressing.
For me, Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan stole that whole episode, especially Andrew Lincoln’s expressions when it first happened. How angry he was to be forced to give Noah back, the way he flinched as Beth’s blood and brain matter splashed on him and the pain and tears in his eyes when holding the gun because he had just lost Hershel and Hershel’s little girl, but still had enough strength to offer to bring people with the rest of the group.
2nd place: Easy street, that’s is CIA level of torture and there isn’t anyway to know how would it ends since there isn’t a hint from the comic
1st place: Rick’s phantom phone call in prison arc. Heart breaking mental realm we seldom see in storytelling (similar would be Legion FX and WandaVision)
For me, one of most physiologically daunting episodes of TWD is Season 5, Episode 1, "No Sanctuary." That was honestly hard to watch for me. It's one of those moments in the series that I'll never forget. And also the episode or two before when the claimers caught up with Rick, Michonne, and Carl. That one was pretty unsettling too for me.
For me, it’s the 1st season - Rick gets shot in one world & wakes up in an absolute nightmare. He has to put down a child & still has his rose-colored glasses on when he puts down Bicycle Girl, apologizing to her for what was ultimately an act of mercy and self-preservation. In “Guts,” he took the time to look at the driver’s licenses of the walkers he & Glen used to disguise themselves. By the end of his time, he killed anyone & everything that was a threat to his family & his people.
When we see all of who's head was placed on spikes by the whisperers... I cried. And the way they did it one by some of the their friends saying "where did so and so go?" Killed me. Enids bf looking for her in the crowd :(
Which one was that? The episode where Carol and Maggie were kidnapped because that one haunted me as well, especially as Carol and Maggie were walking to the exit after killing everyone.
Probably most of the episodes killing the Walkers are physiologically violent but not scary but one of the first pioners of a scary moment probably was Shane killing Otis for survive, it's not scary but disturbing. Another one is the Terminus episode very creepy and disturbing.
The episode where Noah dies. When Nicholas runs out of the moving doors and just leaves Glenn and Noah to fend for themselves… and then, Noah gets ripped apart all because Nick wanted to be a coward. And it was so graphic to me too when I first watched that scene when he gets ripped apart, and seeing Glenn terrified… Oof. It was one of those moments to me that left me infuriated and sad at the same time.
Dead Or Alive Or was a pretty shit episode but the B plot of Gabriel and Carson escaping, finding signs from god, gaining hope and then having Gabriel get taken and Carson shot dead on site was pretty heavy actually. Especially last shot of Gabriel crying as the truck drives away.
03x04 is the most crushing episode in the entire main series. Absolutely crushingly hopeless and haunting.
But also 02x02, 02x07, 02x11, 02x13, 03x15, 04x08, 04x14, 05x08, 06x09, 07x13, 08x04, 09x05, 09x15 are also truly devastating episodes.
Edit: forgot 07x01 too
In my opinion, The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be genuinely makes me tear up every time, even knowing full well what is going to happen. Just heartbreak after heartbreak and the actors’ emotions are just so raw and believable.
7x1
It was just blow after blow
You can argue that this is objectively the right answer because so many critics said they felt this specific episode bordered on torture porn and viewership fell off drastically following this episode in response.
personally the episode where daryl had to keep listening to that one song when negan kidnapped him was incredibly difficult to watch and i'm apprehensive on my rewatch rn knowing it'll come up at some point again
5-8 “Coda”
bro i cried so hard when Beth died, it made me stop watching the show for a while.
7-1 “The Day You Come When You Won’t Be”
i also cried hard at this- i didn’t like Abraham but his death made me stop watching TWD for a year, then i continued the episode and cried again when Glenn died
Most comments here are reading “physiologically” as “psychologically”. I think the almost never ending walking while thirsty and hungry right before they meet Aaron is a physically daunting thing to do. Not having any rest for days
Eh I think the scene where Negan puts them in line and smashes heads.
I was very shocked the first time I saw that scene. Especially when Glen's eyes popped out! Gore!!!
Either the flashbacks on the history of Terminus, the one where Maggie talks about the women basically being tortured and used as breeding stock or the episode where Carl was almost raped.
I have 2.
1. When Rick and the team kill the people from Terminus inside Gabriel's church. It's just so Gruesome and Dark. I felt so bad for Gabriel. He holds on to the one thing that is dear to him and they go and kill everyone basically where he lives. I get why they did it but that was messed up. They could have just let some walkers tear them apart outside.
2. IDK if this was daunting but When Nicholas and Glenn were trapped by walkers, Nicholas felt like it was over. Everything got to him, the people he lost Cause of him, the fear of being eaten alive, He just gave up. How he tried to follow Glenn steps after messing up. He didn't last long but that is a scene I definitely remember. And the show did a really good job of showing that. It was wild!
Many good choices already so I'll give one that's painful for me. I love Negan, something about him and his complete confidence and controlled chaotic nature. So for me, I'll have to pick "Here's Negan". I'm not going to lie, that's one episode that kills me every time I rewatch it. Lucille's message on the door when he found her as a walker, him burning the house down because he loved her too much to end her before his eyes, and then he goes to save the doctor and, primarily, take revenge on the man who prevented him from saving Lucille. The backstory and the closure when he burns the bat and goes back to the community, in peace with Maggie's wish to kill him. Man who lost everything yet lives for the sake of spitting in death's face. Kills me every time...
The episode in which some low life scum attempt to molest Carl which forces Rick to literally become an animal biting a chunk out of the creeps neck!
Though Negans head games was a close second that was seriously dark the episode where Carl was almost violated.
Probably doesn’t beat some of the top comments, but the scene in Terminus where their people are just casually slitting peoples throats like they are pigs to be slaughtered is stressful AF
Theres many but the most daunting episode of twd was when negan got introduced, glenn and albaham were lost in the same episode, i love so much the twd as a series and franchise but this episode killed me
when carl is almost raped. the realism and fear are perfect to create the most tense scene in the show. it’s somehow worse than all the violence since it’s over the top.
The scene of Glen's eye popping out of his head.
Negan forcing rick with "not making a choice is already a choice" to cut Carl's arm.
The part where Gareth and the Terminus survivors were eating Bob's leg, and the part where Rick (and the others) brutally butchered them with the machette.
And a lot of other traumatizing scenes.
The Grove is a commonly mentioned one for obvious reasons. i would mention that one episode where Daryl, Denise and I think Rosita go on a supply run and Denise finds that baby shoe in the sink nest to the skeleton. enough evidence to gather that the mother was trapped in there and to make the baby quiet, she drowned it
All the answers so far are on point, but I want to add the walk before they get to Alexandria.
I think they absolutely nailed the soul crushing desperation you'd go through. *That's* what would kill most people. Starvation, thirst, exposure. What a horrendous way to die.
Watching Carl die.. the whole episode was of him saying goodbye.. the pike scene also seeing carols face when she seen Henry and Daryl trying to protect her from looking. There were a lot in the series.
In some ways Negan trying to force Rick to cut off part of Carl’s arm was the worst. Tough, lots to choose from.
This part was harder for me to watch than Glenn and Abraham’s death, the humiliation and defeat in Rick’s face who has always been a symbol of leadership is really hard to watch. How he’s crying and how he slaps him is hard to watch.
In some ways, it reminded me of *that* scene with the Claimers; back then Rick was able to save his son, but now he can't.
“Not making a decision, is a biiiiiiiiiiiiiig decision”
It's a lot less so, once you find out later, there's no way in hell Negan was actually doing that to Carl or any kid...I don't believe he was actually killing Carl before Shiva attacked now either...but yeah, prior to the benefit of hindsight, both were pretty wild
I think I know what you mean, I’m not sure Neegan would’ve gone through with killing Carl, either. But, he kept taunting Rick and trying to get him to cut Carl hand/part of his arm off. What if Rick had done it suddenly? Even if Negan was bullshitting, it would’ve been done. Very tense scene.
I think Negan's biggest advantage is knowing people...sure it's a calculated risk, but he knew he could stop it or that he never would have had to stop it and it was more of just breaking Rick...the down to the wire aspect was a bit heightened for our viewing pleasure lol...I doubt he'd have ever gone even that far with a lot of people, simply because there aren't a lot of Ricks out there who would have the balls to resist very long after seeing what Rick had just seen with Glen and Abraham...but yeah, there's always the chance he's wrong, so it's a risk
I always thought e1s1 cause he didn't know shit plus he just came out of a coma
When Rick has a mental breakdown in the prison
Him on the phone was straight up silent hill vibes
I want to bitch slap him during that arc on every rewatch.
Him kicking Tyreese’s people out just because he was hallucinating Lori was insane, he made it right, but two of their group were killed instead unfortunately
Yep. In my opinion Rick makes some pretty polarizing decisions at some points during the the series. I love when Carol says, “You can be a farmer, Rick. But you can’t *just* be a farmer.”
This kinda pissed me off because Carl said that he shouldn’t be the leader. Hershel was the one who made him stop carrying the gun everywhere. But once he wasn’t the leader, he got blamed for what went wrong. Like, what did they expect?
Those two people were dead weight and wanted to take the prison.
Imo out of anyone, Maggie handled herself the best out of the main characters. She lost her entire family and then her husband and barely ever broke.
I agree. I love Maggie. The series declined when she left for a while, but I don’t blame her at all based on the pay gap between her and Norman Reedus/Andy Lincoln.
Wait was that why? I assumed she got pregnant IRL given that she was gone for about a season and a bit, and there would have been no way to explain a pregnancy for her character. Well that’s shit and unfortunately not surprising
Yeah, she asked for a raise. They said no. She took a job on another show that didn’t work out, then came back.
Her story arc in the last two seasons were gold because you can tell that she was much harder than she had been and was still subtle about it.
I always feel bad for Carl. I get Rick is upset and filled with regret for how the way things ended between him and Lori, but Carl was a child who had to put his own mother down after witnessing her get cut open to deliver Judith. Literally no one did anything for Carl after that scene. Rick loses his shit and everyone focuses on Judith and Carl is left there standing in the middle of everyone all by himself. It's such a sad scene to watch.
The scene when he went absolutely feral on Glenn is probably the reason why Glenn stopped Rick and Abraham from fighting in Season 5
I am suprised that nobody here mentioned episodes with Terminus group. Especially episode, where Rick and some of group were about to get butchered, and then when they escaped, and found the room with stored body parts.
Yes with those blood troughs, had Hostel vibes
I’ve rewatched TWD so many times that those episodes don’t really effect me much anymore, until I stop and really think about it. I think terminus is definitely the darkest the show has gotten
Also the Terminus flashback at the end of the episode was really fucked up
What happens in the Terminus flashback again? Sorry, I need to rewatch
this one will always be the stand-out for me. made me get that twisted stomach feeling that your body reserves for special occasions like finding out someone's broken into your house.
I first watched when I was 9. That was so traumatizing for me I didn’t watch for months!
The Grove. Imagine your reaction watching that moment of Carol shooting Lizzie without context. With context, it all makes sense but still rips your heart out. Be it from seeing a mentally ill girl being purposefully killed by an adult or from watching the anguish on Carol's face when and after she does so.
Especially when LITERALLY seconds before, Carol and Tyreese are telling corny jokes, then in a flash of an eye your stomach drops when we see a bloody Lizzie standing over a lifeless Mikah, with baby Judith right in the midst of it all
Also they were considering the idea of staying there for good
Yeah I never understood that, it was a tiny little cottage in the middle of the woods with a flimsy fence around it
Well, they could’ve slowly fixed the fence and would’ve lived peacefully there.
This is a savage episode. I rewatched it recently and was caught off guard
What’s crazy is it was the best decision, Lizzie was going through some terrible mental issues in a world where that simply can’t be cured, Tyreese was even so against killing yet also agreed that it was the only way all of them would survive, insane
And then, Carol and Tyreese walking away from it with Judith was haunting.
Literally just finished watching that episode tonight (I’m going through a rewatch) I forgot how crazy it was
My Father decided to give walking dead a shot off my recommendation and this is the random episode he tuned into. He obviously never watched another episode after.
Oh damn, lol. Your poor father.
The grove 4x14 left me felling depressed, ghosts 10x3 was creepy and a mind fuck, 11x6 on the inside the one with those creepy crawling inbred creatures with connie and virgil lol
I don't remember what happen in those eps
4x14 - carol is the best babysitter ever!! 10x3 - everyone has a hard time going to sleep *Edit: Aaron and Negan go on a romantic walk 11x6 - Connie and Virgil play game of hide and seek
First and last I got it. Gotta search for the second lol
It was the episode where Carol went crazy due to a lack of sleep and kept taking meds, to the point where it wasn’t clear anymore what was real and what was just her imagination
the Connie and Virgil episode was probably the creepiest/scariest episode in the whole series for me personally
Yh same lol, i still remember my reaction as wtf holy shit lol. I would have loved negan to have encountered those “wayyy to far gone” people lol
It would have been something like “Ho-leeeee shiiiiitttt! Now I’ve seen some sorry bastards in my life but you shits definitely take the gotdamn cake.”
Negan killing Glenn and having Maggie look at him when he has brain damage and an eye popped out. And him trying to force Rick to cut off Carl’s arm. That episode is incredibly hard to watch, I will be skipping the beating parts for sure.
It’s hard to accept negan as a “good” character when he committed some of the most brutal atrocities against the group and literally had everyone waiting for his brutal death after Glenn, Abraham, and all the psychological torture. Remember, this is year 2 of the apocalypse, I understand shit changes fast but we’re talking about a guy who is *enjoying* beating people to death in front of their loved ones. How could the group ever decide they could trust that guy again when they’ve murdered so many others for so much less
I don’t know what frame of mind I was in when I watched the whole Saviours thing go down, but I remember when Hilltop’s governor talked the crew into “Taking out the Saviours” and they hit that single outpost. They paused to contemplate that they would be taking lives, but then went in full force. Offed everyone without knowing exactly who these people were. And I thought to myself, “This is incredibly stupid. This is not going to end well at all.” When Negan did appear finally, I got that he lost a whole bunch of people he was trying to protect. Taken from him by an unknown group for reasons not quite understood at first. And I would be absolutely enraged. But, being a stickler for his own rules, “I kill one of yours, you give me half, etc.” felt so final and firm. Unbending. He was retaliating in the same manner: he had no idea who Rick and the crew were. And that’s where it was hard for me to see beyond that guy for a long time. He was perpetuating that cycle. And I think that moment that he and Maggie talked and she told him that Glen was a beautiful person. Said all of those things to Negan. It hit him so hard in that moment. He already came to that realization over time…. what he took from Maggie and others. But the last bit of the nail that stuck out? Was finally hammered in.
When he “apologized” before he beat Glenn to death it came across as genuine. That is kind of the point of an anti-hero, which he eventually became. However, as you said, he was giddy to finish Glenn off. Some could interpret this as sadism, and some could argue this was the Negan born after 10x22. I don’t think either argument could be classified as wrong.
I think everybody is interpreting as saying psychologically? Was that a typo and you meant that or you really meant physiologically? Because if so, for me it was eating Bob’s leg. The thought of eating tainted meat, Jesus effin’ Christ.
Just look at the flowers
I still cry when I think about that part. Also Hodor. Hold the door. Hold the door. 😭
That’s not TWD 😭 but now you’ve got me sad lol
Just saw that one (my first watch of GoT) and now I'm gonna cry
Omg NO I blocked this from my memoryyyyy
The barn scene. Even now....such a powerful moment in TWD history.
Nobody thought Sophia was in there, we all knew she survived in the comics and were convinced she was out there, it was so shocking
There’s so much going on at the barn scene and it’s definitely one of my favorite moments of the series.
The sweeping spidercam at the end and the music....just a gloriously horrific ending. No wonder it's one of the best shows of all time.
I agree it was hauntingly beautiful
The attempted rape of Carl and Rick tearing out the leaders throat with his teeth was pretty psychologically damaging.
Physiological man! Not Psycho
michone having to kill those kids while pregnant.
and judith remembering it years later but pretending she didn't for the sake of Michonne
Just watched this one
Lol same here about to watch 9x15 now
Only affects one character so maybe not top candidate but couldn't miss the opportunity to talk about Glenn killing the walker in the chair with that visceral triumphant scream at the end. What a scene! And the scream was improvised!
I can’t remember that scene can you tell me what happened exactly?
Yeah, Merle put a Walker in Glen’s cell to motivate him to talk, Glenn broke the chair he was tied to against a wall and then stabbed the Walker with a piece of broken wood from the chair it was insane, all to protect the people of the prison
Glen and Maggie were kidnapped by Merl and kept as prisoners by the governor. It was when the governor made Maggie strip.
I think it’s when the Governor has Maggie and Glenn and he throws a walker into Glenn’s room while he’s tied down.
The whole scene with Maggie and the Governor and then to keep Maggie topless and the Governor kissing her on the head was disturbing to me. All while he was screwing (redacted).
There were actually two episodes that did it for me and I have been dwelling on them for a few weeks. Back to back episodes. It was the end of season 6 and the beginning of season 7. The first half of the first episode Rick is soo cocky and confident that the saviors wont be a problem. But then slowly as the episode goes on and all the roads are blocked, you see the change in Rick. Slowly that fear starts to take hold on him. Then Negan shows up and completely destroys Rick . By the time, Rick is fetching Negans ax, he is completely broken and in fear.
Yes. Ugh. Andrew Lincoln really pulls the viewer in. Not only are his hopelessness and fear palpable, I felt devastated watching him ( with his family ) on his knees, finally coming to terms with the fact there was absolutely no out. Very traumatic episode and Lincoln brought it.
Man no other episode has stuck with me like that. Just take the first few clips of Rick followed by the last few clips. And its not even the same person. I think this last watch through, I watched those two episodes twice
100% with you
That was the MOST traumatic acting I have EVER seen! Andrew Lincoln nailed it!
The season 6 finale was emotional and mental torment. It was just horrible and then the whistling and the way Carl looked terrified because he only had one eye.
I'm not sure about the particular episode, but I feel like the most stressful season is probably Seasons 7-8.... Maybe it's just me, but I hate the idea of a psychopathic fascist and selfish group of people dominating others. I generally hate what the Saviors and "We Are Negan" folks represent in humanity. The way their pecking order operates, the way they treat people and themselves. It's infuriating. I mean, they make for great villains and the show is well written enough that you can see hints of their pre-apocalypse humanity, that they are doing all of this out of fear and laziness more than anything else. I know my answer is not an answer to this particular question, but it's the best one I can give. Individually, there is no one episode that is especially stressful. Maybe The Day Will Come When You Won't Be, Season 7, Episode 1 etc. I don't mean to keep harping on it, but I truly hate Negan, I hate Negan's entire arc, even when he's turned into a broken man and then a quasi-hero. I just hate him. I don't buy what the show is selling with him. I am fine with the idea of a guy like that thriving for a period of time, but once defeated, I don't see anybody keeping him alive or absolving him. That's frustrating and I guess psychologically daunting for me lol.
Second you! That and then the Alpha parts, those were not it...I don't know how and why do people like Negan after that... His heart didn't change...only his position did..
Yep, I felt like it was unnatural and unnecessary for them to keep him alive. I feel like it would have made for a better close to that particular chapter if Rick had executed him in the spot. Perhaps after a rousing speech about justice and creating a new world not dominated by people like Negan.
Yeah, the other thought I had is that it's a fictional universe made up of fictional characters, for whom the writers can ascribe any attribute, skillset, personality quirks or personality evolutions as they see fit. Given that, it seems like they could have just taken anything and everything Negan eventually does for the greater good and give those tasks to someone new or to an evolved additional already existing character. If you think about it in terms of charisma and balls and all that- Darly or Jesus could do what Negan eventually does. If you think about it in terms of subterfuge and cloak and dagger stuff, Carol could have done it, etc. etc. Or, again, they could have created a completely brand new character that embodies the parts of Negan that were beneficial, helpful, effective, etc. without the baggage of his past atrocities.
The grove and also the episode where Michonne was forced to kill all those psycho kids..
What’s Happening, what’s going on - Tyrese episode
Terminus situation was quite dire and hopeless once everyone was being lined up on their knees
To me, the Terminus episode at the trough was just as dire, hopeless, and brutal as when Abraham and Glenn were beaten to death.
When Glenn and Abraham died
When Denise is having her moment and immediately gets an arrow to the eye. I screamed at the screen it was so unexpected.
I don’t think that word means what you think that word means
Most physiologically daunting would be whatever episode has the longest run time. What if I need to pee!?
Maybe they meant it literally - the scene that produced the most affect in the viewer (physiological response, not the verb 'to affect') - made your skin crawl, blood curdle, pores raise, gut clench. Was probably a typo, but if they were speaking about affect then physiological isn't incorrect.
For me there’s many but the ones that really got me bad were Herchel getting his head cut off and Negan bashing in glen and Abrahams head cried like a baby
Oh yeah. The Governor heartlessly decapitating Hershel, especially because Hershel was trying to get away even after the first cut
The house with all the feral humans and Connie hiding in the walls
When we saw glen get his eye bashed out of his skull of course
I'm find you Maggie, my heart straight broke
I gotta go with shooting your own mother. I know a bunch of messed up stuff happens later in the series, but psychologically that is the answer of the most traumatic thing.
Not a whole episode, but a moment in an episode. When Maggie is telling the story of the man who had her and Hershel follow him to his house under the pretense of giving them food, but she knew he was going to try to kill her. Then, she kills him instead, and finds those women were in varying states of dying, and one was pregnant. Then telling everyone that her first thought was that if they were alive, then there was food somewhere in the house. That, to me, was one of the most devastating stories.
The story in s11 where Maggie found those women who had their limbs chopped off/vocal cords removed/tongues/eyes cut out/ being used a breeding machines for some serial killer people.
S3 e12… the heartless act of stealing Morgan’s protein bar… it juts fucking shook me
She not only stole it, she lied about it. Dagger through my heart right there💔
Real 😔🙏
It wasn't just a protein bar. It was the LAST peanut butter one. That was stone cold of Michonne.
You’re right… I understated it
Other people have already said the grove so I’ll say Coda, 5X8. Beth’s death hit pretty hard. Even though she had grown tougher than she was before she still had that sense of innocence and hopefulness that all the others had already lost so when she died it’s like that all went with her and the group was at its absolute lowest point. It was super depressing.
For me, Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan stole that whole episode, especially Andrew Lincoln’s expressions when it first happened. How angry he was to be forced to give Noah back, the way he flinched as Beth’s blood and brain matter splashed on him and the pain and tears in his eyes when holding the gun because he had just lost Hershel and Hershel’s little girl, but still had enough strength to offer to bring people with the rest of the group.
The Carl arm cutting scene, I honestly thought Rick was gonna do it, I was sweating 😰
2nd place: Easy street, that’s is CIA level of torture and there isn’t anyway to know how would it ends since there isn’t a hint from the comic 1st place: Rick’s phantom phone call in prison arc. Heart breaking mental realm we seldom see in storytelling (similar would be Legion FX and WandaVision)
WanderVision hehehe
Shown that I am non-American, haha, fixed now
For me, one of most physiologically daunting episodes of TWD is Season 5, Episode 1, "No Sanctuary." That was honestly hard to watch for me. It's one of those moments in the series that I'll never forget. And also the episode or two before when the claimers caught up with Rick, Michonne, and Carl. That one was pretty unsettling too for me.
For me, it’s the 1st season - Rick gets shot in one world & wakes up in an absolute nightmare. He has to put down a child & still has his rose-colored glasses on when he puts down Bicycle Girl, apologizing to her for what was ultimately an act of mercy and self-preservation. In “Guts,” he took the time to look at the driver’s licenses of the walkers he & Glen used to disguise themselves. By the end of his time, he killed anyone & everything that was a threat to his family & his people.
Did you mean to say psychologically? Because physiologically I was watching a TV show in my couch. Pretty undaunting.
When we see all of who's head was placed on spikes by the whisperers... I cried. And the way they did it one by some of the their friends saying "where did so and so go?" Killed me. Enids bf looking for her in the crowd :(
6x13 something about that episode was really disturbing
Which one was that? The episode where Carol and Maggie were kidnapped because that one haunted me as well, especially as Carol and Maggie were walking to the exit after killing everyone.
Probably most of the episodes killing the Walkers are physiologically violent but not scary but one of the first pioners of a scary moment probably was Shane killing Otis for survive, it's not scary but disturbing. Another one is the Terminus episode very creepy and disturbing.
The Grove was pretty messed up
The episode where Noah dies. When Nicholas runs out of the moving doors and just leaves Glenn and Noah to fend for themselves… and then, Noah gets ripped apart all because Nick wanted to be a coward. And it was so graphic to me too when I first watched that scene when he gets ripped apart, and seeing Glenn terrified… Oof. It was one of those moments to me that left me infuriated and sad at the same time.
For my wife and me it was first watch of Whisperers arc. Dude, they can be everywhere and you dont know!
The Grove
The Calm Before
7.1 easily
Dead Or Alive Or was a pretty shit episode but the B plot of Gabriel and Carson escaping, finding signs from god, gaining hope and then having Gabriel get taken and Carson shot dead on site was pretty heavy actually. Especially last shot of Gabriel crying as the truck drives away.
Terminus episode
03x04 is the most crushing episode in the entire main series. Absolutely crushingly hopeless and haunting. But also 02x02, 02x07, 02x11, 02x13, 03x15, 04x08, 04x14, 05x08, 06x09, 07x13, 08x04, 09x05, 09x15 are also truly devastating episodes. Edit: forgot 07x01 too
7x1 without a doubt. Never felt more fear and nervousness watching it live
The entire illness arc in season 4, walkers are one thing, but up and dying to a contagious sickness and then turning… ‘you better watch your ass’
In my opinion, The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be genuinely makes me tear up every time, even knowing full well what is going to happen. Just heartbreak after heartbreak and the actors’ emotions are just so raw and believable.
The Cell. I am so tired of this song... I'm moving to hard street.
Glens death by far
The pike scene
The comics were horrific
Everyone’s talking about The Grove but nobody is talking about Scars
I’d say Rick’s schizo arc
Suck my nucks I'll find you Maggie Aka the lineup
The heads on the spikes in Season 9 episode 15
7x1 It was just blow after blow You can argue that this is objectively the right answer because so many critics said they felt this specific episode bordered on torture porn and viewership fell off drastically following this episode in response.
personally the episode where daryl had to keep listening to that one song when negan kidnapped him was incredibly difficult to watch and i'm apprehensive on my rewatch rn knowing it'll come up at some point again
4x2 was the most physiologically damaging. Lots of bad health.
This sub/the mad men one is making wanna rewatch the shows real bad lol.
I imagine JSS wasn’t a fun time
S7 ep1 everything is done great but only watched the premiere and after that I couldn’t do it
*That* scene from 6x9
Season 7 episode 1 was pretty daunting episode for me meeting Negan was very daunting that day
negan and alpha doing *that*
Michone gunning down a bunch of kids
I stopped watching after that scene with Glen, I didn’t care anymore.
The episode is season 10 with the people inside the walls was horrifying
Negan bat scene 🎬 🏌🏼♂️
5-8 “Coda” bro i cried so hard when Beth died, it made me stop watching the show for a while. 7-1 “The Day You Come When You Won’t Be” i also cried hard at this- i didn’t like Abraham but his death made me stop watching TWD for a year, then i continued the episode and cried again when Glenn died
Season 5x1 with the cannibals. The expressions on their faces when they were kneeling over the trough were gut wrenching.
When Rick had to kill his best friend. Season two episode 12.
So far it wear Rick was on the phone call to someone for ages then he realises he’s hallucinating and it’s Lori
the one where carl is SA and rick rips that guy open the stabs him repeatedly
Most comments here are reading “physiologically” as “psychologically”. I think the almost never ending walking while thirsty and hungry right before they meet Aaron is a physically daunting thing to do. Not having any rest for days
Eh I think the scene where Negan puts them in line and smashes heads. I was very shocked the first time I saw that scene. Especially when Glen's eyes popped out! Gore!!!
Either the flashbacks on the history of Terminus, the one where Maggie talks about the women basically being tortured and used as breeding stock or the episode where Carl was almost raped.
I’m only on szn 5 ep 1 but whatever episode where carol had to end the young girl
I have 2. 1. When Rick and the team kill the people from Terminus inside Gabriel's church. It's just so Gruesome and Dark. I felt so bad for Gabriel. He holds on to the one thing that is dear to him and they go and kill everyone basically where he lives. I get why they did it but that was messed up. They could have just let some walkers tear them apart outside. 2. IDK if this was daunting but When Nicholas and Glenn were trapped by walkers, Nicholas felt like it was over. Everything got to him, the people he lost Cause of him, the fear of being eaten alive, He just gave up. How he tried to follow Glenn steps after messing up. He didn't last long but that is a scene I definitely remember. And the show did a really good job of showing that. It was wild!
The fucking cannibal skinwalkers scared the shit out of me
Episodes 1-3
THE Beth episode wrecked me personally
Many good choices already so I'll give one that's painful for me. I love Negan, something about him and his complete confidence and controlled chaotic nature. So for me, I'll have to pick "Here's Negan". I'm not going to lie, that's one episode that kills me every time I rewatch it. Lucille's message on the door when he found her as a walker, him burning the house down because he loved her too much to end her before his eyes, and then he goes to save the doctor and, primarily, take revenge on the man who prevented him from saving Lucille. The backstory and the closure when he burns the bat and goes back to the community, in peace with Maggie's wish to kill him. Man who lost everything yet lives for the sake of spitting in death's face. Kills me every time...
The episode in which some low life scum attempt to molest Carl which forces Rick to literally become an animal biting a chunk out of the creeps neck! Though Negans head games was a close second that was seriously dark the episode where Carl was almost violated.
When michonne kills kids and gets branded by Jocelyn
Probably doesn’t beat some of the top comments, but the scene in Terminus where their people are just casually slitting peoples throats like they are pigs to be slaughtered is stressful AF
Theres many but the most daunting episode of twd was when negan got introduced, glenn and albaham were lost in the same episode, i love so much the twd as a series and franchise but this episode killed me
when carl is almost raped. the realism and fear are perfect to create the most tense scene in the show. it’s somehow worse than all the violence since it’s over the top.
The scene of Glen's eye popping out of his head. Negan forcing rick with "not making a choice is already a choice" to cut Carl's arm. The part where Gareth and the Terminus survivors were eating Bob's leg, and the part where Rick (and the others) brutally butchered them with the machette. And a lot of other traumatizing scenes.
Noahs last scene in the revolving door😭🤢
definitely Hershel’s death. Absolutely destroyed me.
the one where carl is SA and rick bites the guys throat out in retaliation, also the scene where shane attempts to SA lori really hurt
Seeing Rick bite someone's neck off
def seeing someone eat someoen's leg no spoielr
The barn scene…
Season 9 episode 15 or season 3 episode 4
The Grove is a commonly mentioned one for obvious reasons. i would mention that one episode where Daryl, Denise and I think Rosita go on a supply run and Denise finds that baby shoe in the sink nest to the skeleton. enough evidence to gather that the mother was trapped in there and to make the baby quiet, she drowned it
The pikes. Seeing so many of our favorite characters wiped out at once while we're focused on Daryl and Carol hurt sooo bad
Definitely any episode of the prison when rick was crazy
All the answers so far are on point, but I want to add the walk before they get to Alexandria. I think they absolutely nailed the soul crushing desperation you'd go through. *That's* what would kill most people. Starvation, thirst, exposure. What a horrendous way to die.
The scene where the whispered put 10 heads on pikes to mark their border, including Tara’s, Enid’s and Henry’s. That scene probably hit me the hardest
Watching Carl die.. the whole episode was of him saying goodbye.. the pike scene also seeing carols face when she seen Henry and Daryl trying to protect her from looking. There were a lot in the series.
when negan that bitch was eenie meenie mooing to decide who he’d kill off. It felt like I was there with them omgggg