TV Moments That Give Meaning to the Word Crescendo
Thomas Godwin
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We've all experienced those moments of crescendo in the movies.
Scenes that pull on your gut and fill it with butterflies are nothing new, especially in the theater, with its massive screen and booming sound.
But whoever said that crescendo moments are reserved for the big screen only?
The small screen is rife with scenes that pull on your gut and fill it with butterflies (usually around the time you really have to go to the bathroom and can't bring yourself to press pause).
Moments like the infamous scene where Darth Vader discontinued Luke's hand and told him, "I'm your daddy," are found across the fruited plains of streaming entertainment.
Even better, you don't have to go looking for them because we did the hard work (it was actually pretty easy and fun) for you and rounded up some of these incredible TV moments that will have you waxing poetic over the grandiloquent melodrama at work.
Severance: The We We Are
Severance Season 1 Episode 9 was the most impressive and poignant episode of the bunch.
It was full of tension, startling revelations, and one heck of a cliffhanger ending.
The season finale repeatedly kicks you in the stomach through a wicked combination of Innie's and Outie's perspectives.
Each kick is as effective as the last, if not more so.
Bouncing back and forth between two perspectives, Severance piles on stunning revelations, while the fate of an important character (the one holding the door open for everything) hangs in the balance.
Severance Renewed for Season 2 at Apple TV +
While the Innies are essentially fish out of water for the moment, they are also desperately trying to alert their Outies (yes, it's complicated if you haven't seen the show) with crucial information.
In the midst of the chaos, the series abruptly draws to a close, probably leaving many an audience member sitting on the floor in a state of abject dismay.
Game of Thrones: The Winds of Winter
No, there's still no word on the actual book release of Winds of Winter.
We're referring to the HBO series. Sorry, we'll have to wait another decade or 8 before we see the release of Winds of Winter.
Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 10 was a dual moment of confirmation and revelation.
Die-hard fans of the book were finally rewarded with something we all assumed and theorized over for years. for non-book readers, it was a startling revelation.
The reveal was the season's crescendo in more ways than one.
The origin of Jon Snow was laid bare to the tune of a somber violin and a vivid scene of life and despair, tragedy and betrayal.
To many, the scene was also the show's climax, as the writing fell off afterward, leading to one of the most disappointing series finales of all time.
Arcane: The Base Violence Necessary for Change
Arcane Season 1 Episode 3 is easily the crescendo of a surprisingly excellent animated series on Netflix.
Based on Riot Games' League of Legends universe, Arcane is intensely character-driven, with fantastic imagery and action.
This particular episode is the catalyst—the birth, if you will, of Jinx, Vi's sister and once ally.
The crescendo builds from the moment Vi and her crew attempt to rescue Vander, only to be cornered and subjected to Silco's mutant aberration.
Arcane Season 2: Everything We Know Before The Premiere
As the father figure of the bunch, Vander sacrifices himself in more ways than one, as the soon-to-be Jinx destroys everything in an attempt to save Vi.
The entire scene is fascinating in its ability to resolve and create in only a few minutes.
It's the sky punch of the entire series — the nucleus around which everything that came before and everything that comes after revolves.
The Last Kingdom: The Last Kingdom
From the pugnacious and arrogant Aethelred to the final redress for all of the grievances Aethelwold caused, the season finale of The Last Kingdom was the defining aspect in a crescendo of vengeance.
Admittedly, there were many times throughout the first three seasons where Aetholwold was friendly and even hilarious.
Surprisingly, there were moments when you could feel his character creeping towards your good side.
The Last Kingdom: Coming to an End!
Unfortunately, he ended all of that with a cowardly murder in a fit of selfishness so extreme that there was no hope for his character's recovery.
The only feeling was relief when Uhtred finally ended it in an almost quiet, serene scene dappled with bars of shimmering sunlight.
The moment was touching for what it meant between Uhtred and Brida and darkly malevolent for Aetholwold and the instances of life that drive humanity into death, violence, and despair.
The Great: Ice
Rarely in the history of television has a character been so repulsive that you grow incredibly fond of him or her.
Peter III's ending is sudden, bizarrely placed in the middle of a season, and incredibly effective nonetheless.
The Great is not known for its serious drama nor its subtleties.
Instead, it's rife with irreverent humor, animal abuse, ludicrous political maneuvering, torture, and lots of sex, extramarital and otherwise.
Suddenly, amidst all the buffoonery and thunderously hilarious antics, Elle Fanning (Catherine the Great) cries.
Her face is a shadow of its former splendor -- broken and set adrift to wander the world alone.
It's almost heart-stopping. It both comes out of left field and feels rightly placed as a scene worthy of a show unfairly canceled before its time.
It was peak Peter III, going out in the only way such a figure could.
No more epiphanies from the grandson of Peter the Great.
Stranger Things: The Mind Flayer
Come on, now. You can't kill off Samwise Gamgee! Not Rudy! Of course, Rudy was arguably offside before he was hoisted and carried off the field, but that's still no excuse.
Nevertheless, Bob, the invariably, sometimes irritatingly good guy of Stranger Things, met his demise in the cruelest of ways — food for the demodogs.
The scene was visceral and a suitably blind-side gut punch, wrapping up the eighth episode with a sacrifice for the love and well-being of those who fought with him.
Stranger Things Season 5: Everything We Know Before the Final Season
Every horror series needs a shining light in the darkness, and Bob was that light.
Unfortunately, the showrunners knew how to send the audience into a frenzy of disbelief and dismay with the tragedy in Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 8.
"Crescendo" may not be a common word nowadays, but it sums up these episodes nicely.
Are there any TV episodes that successfully stirred your sentiments?
Wrong answers only.
Gilligan's Island, Hannah Montana, and The Jerry Springer Show don't count.
Feel free to let us know in the comments!
Thomas Godwin is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow him on X
