Disturbing TV Scenes Fans Wish They Never Saw

From crime dramas to thrillers, science fiction to animated comedies, TV shows often use disturbing scenes to heighten a sense of drama. However, in their relentless pursuit of intensity, sometimes these shows can go a little too far, venturing into territory so unsettling that audiences are left wishing they could erase those moments from their memories.

Though these powerful scenes can often drive home an emotional point, graphic imagery, gory violence, or just upsetting ideas can cross that fine line between effective storytelling and the realm of gratuitousness. These scenes are always meant to provoke a horrified response, but the creators probably aren't looking to traumatize their viewers. Yet that's often what these scenes do, sending audiences bailing for the blankets, and in extreme cases, refusing to tune in to another episode.

Whether they're meant to horrify or not, we've found numerous scenes that fans across social media have described as disturbing — often even traumatizing. Maybe you've seen them yourself and think some folks may be overreacting, or perhaps you feel the exact same way. Either way, we've poked around online discussions and found a list of TV scenes that disturbed fans so much that they wished they'd never seen them.

Early in its run, "The Walking Dead" had some of the most deeply affecting scenes that TV had ever seen, with children becoming walkers and loved ones eating their own kin. Viewers weren't turned off by it, though: They ate it up weekly and made the series a bonafide phenomenon. But at the start of Season 7, one moment in particular shook many viewers to their core.

The season premiere, "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be," was the horrific conclusion to the previous season's cliffhanger, which saw the megalomaniacal villain Negan lining up survivors and ready to pick out victims to bash with his barbed bat. After smashing Abraham's head to a bloody pulp, he turns his attention to Glenn and proceeds to slaughter him in a moment so nausea-inducing it that sent fans scurrying as Glenn whimpered Maggie's name in his final breath. "I wasn't ready," said Pilowpants on Reddit. 

Some viewers claim they stopped watching the show altogether after that display of graphic violence. "Yep, that one finally broke me," said scarlettcat. "Never watched another episode. Absolutely sickening."

While "Star Trek" has had its share of more adult moments, it's usually been family-friendly. That began to change when it came back to TV in 2017 with "Star Trek: Discovery," which sometimes sported a TV-MA rating. In 2020, the long-awaited sequel "Star Trek: Picard" pushed the boundaries further, and the fifth episode, "Stardust City Rag" went too far for some viewers.

That episode opened with one of the most shocking and graphic scenes in the franchise's history, as a beloved character from "Star Trek: Voyager" made his return in a brutal torture scene. Taken captive by a sadistic villain, the former Borg drone Icheb is strapped down and has his eyeball plucked out of its socket, and the camera never cuts away. 

Though the scene doesn't go anywhere other adult dramas haven't gone before, it's affected plenty of Trekkies who didn't expect such a disturbing and gory moment in what had ordinarily been a family show. "The Icheb scene is WAY [beyond] what I want to see and experience!," said a fan on Trekmovie.com. "'Star Trek' is a show I want to put on and watch with my son without having fear of sending him to a psychological doctor. ... [This scene] is absolutely over the top and even much [more] disturbing for adults!"

Centered on the life of bitter and burdensome father Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy), "Shameless" stars Emmy Rossum as his eldest daughter Fiona, who is left to become a mother and caretaker to her siblings. Season 2, however, introduces Fiona's actual mother Monica, who had abandoned the family years before. Though she tries to make up for lost time and be the mother Fiona never had, she can't overcome her own demons. Despite her best efforts, it all falls apart in a scene that has scarred more than one fan of the series: Her heartbreaking suicide attempt.

It happens on Thanksgiving when Monica tries to take her own life on the kitchen floor. Though her boyfriend is able to get help and save her in time, it's left to Fiona to clean up the bloody aftermath, which sent some viewers into trigger mode. "My mother committed suicide and I was the one who found her," said Reddit user SiltandSqualor. "Definitely had a terrible flashback," and more than one user echoed those sentiments. "It triggered crazy amounts of PTSD for me," said Allllthecorgis.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

"The Handmaid's Tale" is based on a beloved dystopian sci-fi novel by Margaret Atwood and has excelled as one of the more disturbing visions of a dark future. It follows the life of June Osborn, a young woman whose life is turned upside down when the government enacts a brutal patriarchal regime that turns women into slaves overnight. Filled with social allegory, the series has been critically acclaimed since it first premiered, but right out of the gate it provided a scene that has left many extremely troubled and unable to sit through more than once. 

"The first scene of 'The Handmaid's Tale' when June and Hannah were kidnapped by Gilead," answered Reddit user MistressGravity when she was asked what TV scenes disturbed her the most. Hannah's agonizing screams as June and her daughter are separated is what pushed her over the edge, but it was made all the worse by developments later in the series. "When Hannah asked June much later in the show, 'why didn't you come for me?' I've watched and rewatched the show many times, but still can't bring myself to rewatch the first episode. It's just too hard to watch."

When it comes to scenes that hit viewers hardest, there are few more guilty offenders than the "Futurama" episode "Jurassic Bark." If you've ever watched the show, you're almost certain to agree that the episode's ending scene is so emotional that even if you can bring yourself to rewatch it, it's clear why so many fans can't bear it.

The episode sees Fry discovering the fossilized remains of his dog Seymour, some thousand years after his pet had perished. The episode ends with Fry's sad realization that Seymour lived 15 more years without him, and had likely found a new best friend and forgotten their time together. But if that wasn't tear-jerking enough, the episode's final scene shows Seymour, back in the past, hopelessly waiting on the sidewalk — through rain, sleet, and snow — for Fry to return to his side. As the years pass we see Seymour grow old and die, lost and alone without his beloved best human friend.

What hit viewers so hard, though, was how real life made it all the more poignant. "It disturbed me because there are animals out there that are ridiculously loyal to humans who in turn treat them like trash," said Reddit user SnooMemesjellies6886. FaceOftheMtDan concurred, saying "I skip that episode every time. I can't deal with it."

"The Outer Limits" is no stranger to unsettling moments and scenes that send shivers up your spine. But despite all the classic episodes the franchise has produced, there's one moment that is far more disturbing than the rest, and it comes from an episode of the revival called "Simon Says."

The episode stars Academy Award winner Joel Grey as an inventor and engineer who hopes to replace his dead son with a robot duplicate. The problem is that the resulting creation doesn't have a good grasp of human morality or its own dangerous capabilities, and soon becomes a misguided tormentor. But it's the scene where Simon is innocently petting a cat that has fans of the show wishing they'd never tuned in. Because while Simon believes he's casually feeling the kitty's soft fur, he's actually mutilating it with his sharp robot fingers. 

"He also sighs 'Soooffffft' while doing this. I was jittery and sleepless for at least [a] week," said Mtthellspawn on Reddit. And he was hardly the only one traumatized. "Some things are better left buried deep. Very deep," said CraigHobsonLives on a separate Reddit discussion.

"Skins" is a British drama about a group of teens, and it's been applauded by its fans for its grounded, gritty, and realistic take on the life of young people. It dealt with serious issues like sex, drugs, and mental health, and did so with a refreshing frankness in the late 2000s that made it a favorite of many teen viewers. But when the show said goodbye to one of its most popular cast members — Luke Pasqualino as Freddie McClair — it did so in a scene that rocked even its biggest fans.

In the seventh episode of the show's fourth season, Freddie is asked by his girlfriend Effy to inform her psychiatrist that she no longer wants to see him after Dr. Foster reveals he's in love with her. But Freddie's visit leads to a fight for his life when the psychiatrist bludgeons him with a baseball bat, all so the twisted doctor can have Effy to himself. Even though it mostly happens offscreen, it's enough to send viewers into a psychological tailspin. "That scene will actually haunt me until the day I die," said Tylerisageek. The scene proved so unnerving, in fact, that more than a decade later, professional reviewer Diandra Malivindi of Elle Magazine wrote an entire op-ed about its life-changing effect on her.

In 2010, satirist Charlie Brooker crafted "Black Mirror," a return to the genre of sci-fi anthology a la "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits." Updated for the 21st century, stories were more focused on modern social issues and the dangers of technology, and its first episode featured a scene so painful to watch that many decided they never would again. That opening episode involves the Prime Minister being blackmailed into having sexual intercourse with a pig in order to save the life of a royal family member who has been taken hostage.

The scene where the PM goes through with the act might still be the most shocking in the show's history, and some have pointed out the problem with starting the show with such a disturbing first installment. "I heard so many glowing raves about the show, I decided to give it a try," said Reddit user MumboBJumbo. "A year has passed since I saw episode 1 and I can't bring myself to even consider watching episode 2." Cheapsoda went further, adding "I've had so many people tell me they quit after the first episode because it was so intense."

Nevertheless, despite scores of online comments from viewers who'd refused to watch another episode, "Black Mirror" went on to become a smash hit — that harrowing first episode was followed by 26 more and a made-for-streaming movie.

Before actor Thomas Gibson was booted from "Criminal Minds" after an on-set altercation with a producer, he played Special Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner for 12 seasons. He was once married to Haley (Meredith Monroe), and the pair remained close even after their divorce. Despite not being together, Hotch was left broken when he was forced to listen to his ex-wife's death, and it proved almost as traumatic for audiences as it did for him.

In the episode "100," Hotch and the team are tracking a deadly serial killer named Foyet (C. Thomas Howell). But the murderer's next target is Hotch's ex-wife and their young son, and despite attempts at keeping them safe, Foyet takes them prisoner. He calls Hotch, who he puts on the phone with Haley, and the agent listens as the killer puts a bullet through his ex-wife's head. "I'd lie in bed at night and have that scene in my mind. Downright haunted me," said a fan on Reddit named BeautifulPainz, while ssuulleeoo said "I ugly cry every time."

Even though it was a comedy, "M*A*S*H" was never afraid to go dark, and was known for mixing melancholy themes with black humor. But even for a show set in the middle of a bloody war, there's one scene that stands out as truly trying the steely stomachs of its most dedicated audience members. And what makes it all the more remarkable is that it proved so unsettling despite barely showing us anything on screen, with the darkest moment coming via the confession of Hawkeye (Alan Alda).

It happens in the show's two-hour series finale, "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen." Hawkeye begins the episode by describing a recent incident where he'd helped a busload of refugees stay clear of an enemy attack, and telling a woman to silence her screaming chickens. Later, however, we learn that when the woman snuffed out the life to save the entire group of refugees, it was no chicken, but her own baby. "I have not seen it for years but it still upsets me," said redpepperdeb on Reddit.

Surprisingly, though, it's even a moment that non-fans have been deeply affected by. "I never watched 'MASH' regularly but saw that episode when I was a kid and still think about [it] from time to time," said tiredladyofcourse. "That scene really stuck with me."

A new adaptation of the tales of serial killer Hannibal Lecter, "Hannibal" made waves for its visceral gore and disturbing images in nearly every episode. It wasn't just bloody violence either, but unnerving concepts that made audiences queasy week after week. Still, there's one scene that went above what the series regularly put on screen, and left viewers wishing they'd never seen it.

It goes down in the episode "Tome-Wan" in Season 2 when Lecter provides mind-altering drugs to a man in a deranged game. After Lecter tells him to show him how his father would slaughter animals on the farm, the man begins slicing off chunks of his own face and feeding them to his dogs. "I stopped watching the show after that," said ununonium19 on Reddit, who'd clearly been pushed too far with that episode's escalating graphic imagery. 

Others who decided to stick with the show, though, still found it among the show's worst scenes for its sheer nauseating nature. "I have a very strong stomach but watching this scene made me feel physically sick," said Suspicious-Plum96.

From the Red Wedding to various beheadings, HBO's fantasy epic "Game of Thrones" is littered with gore and other moments that could easily make this list. But looking at reactions from fans across social media, a few have stood out, including a scene from the episode "Home" in the show's sixth season. Like so many other horrifying moments, it involved the bloody death of a character, but this time it was a double dose of disturbing as it saw the end of two innocent lives in a fashion too uncomfortable for many to sit through.

In that episode, Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) fears his father Roose (Michael McElhatton) will take away his inheritance after Roose's wife Walda Frey (Elizabeth Webster) gives birth to a new baby boy. To ensure his future, Ramsay betrays them all, murdering his father, and feeding Walda and her baby to Winterfell wolves. Though we don't see their deaths firsthand, their blood-curdling screams and the sound of ripping flesh of Walda and her newborn baby were enough to send viewers over the edge. "I've repressed [that scene] ... but I remember being deeply disturbed by it," said ragingolive over on Reddit.

There's one TV moment so upsetting that fans have said they never want to see it again. It comes from an episode of the hit Western drama "Yellowstone," which is no stranger to uncomfortable scenes, with murders, kidnappings, and assassination attempts apparently routine on the show. But when there's violence against a domesticated animal, viewers typically aren't happy, and that's exactly what's at the center of this one.

The scene isn't graphic, but that's part of the problem: A government agent casually dispatches an apparent stray dog when the President of the United States is making preparations to visit the Broken Rock Indian Reservation to endorse a political candidate. Some took umbrage with the nonchalant nature of the mutt's murder was, and felt that it was little more than an attempt to make viewers angry. As a result, audiences were miffed, and let their displeasure be known online.  

"They just killed some dogs on Yellowstone," wrote @AudreyLop on Twitter. "I literally just walked away found my sleeping dog and hugged him and cried," insisting she wouldn't watch the show any longer.