The Darkest AIO episode.

Shadow · **Posted:** Fri May 31, 2019 2:18 pm

I listened to The Labyrinth recently, and it got me thinking. What is the darkest Odyssey episode? Obviously The Labyrinth is up there, as well as Mortal Coil, Black Veil, Castles and Cauldrons, and My Girl, Hallie. All of them have dark moments.
The Labyrinth has the finale with Grote, Mortal Coil has the scene with Eugene, Black Veil is self-explanatory, as are C&C and My Girl, Hallie. Obviously the quality standard is huge, with The Labyrinth and Mortal Coil at the top of Odyssey’s episodes and C&C near the bottom. I would say my choice would be The Labyrinth. What is yours?

Scientific Guy · **Posted:** Fri May 31, 2019 6:14 pm

I would actually reverse that list, with C&C at the top, "The Case of the Mysterious Stranger" right below that, and "The Case of the Secret Room" below that. I'll put some thinking into it!

Bob · **Posted:** Thu Jun 20, 2019 8:09 am

I think C&C is the all-time champion as far as darkness goes. I was always uncomfortable with it, strongly enough that I didn't listen to it for probably a decade after hearing it when I was younger, and when I most recently did as an 'adult' (since it was so long ago I didn't remember it), it was every bit what I'd always thought it was. Other episodes have dark moments but I don't think any of them are as much so all the way through. (As far as quality goes, I'm not sure if it isn't a relatively recent trend in the AIO online community that C&C is nearly unanimously considered a terrible two-parter; in the plus-minus ranking games that someone ran on the ToO a few years back, I think it actually did quite well.)

Mysterious Stranger and the like are going to get mentions and that's reasonable (who wasn't scared or at least unnerved by the end of part 1?). That said, I'd nominate a few radio episodes that I think a lot of people aren't likely to think about:

* The Telltale Cat - I actually heard this episode when it aired. I don't remember being traumatized by it at the time, but even if it isn't creepy, the plot centers around David attempting to kill Mandy's cat. It was discontinued for that reason. FotF didn't discontinue any other episodes just for being dark, that I know of, so certainly this has to be up there.

* No Boundaries - The only reason why people don't count it is because it was in the Room of Consequence. But if you were unfortunate enough to tune in a little late when it aired in '00, you would have had a horrifying story about Alex Jefferson, one of the series' main kid protagonists at that point, turning to crime, killing his best friend, and ending up paralyzed, in vivid detail.

* Two Roads - Two characters die and go to Hell.

* Finally, a mention to a more recent two-parter I haven't ever heard: "The Perfect Church". Frankly, I haven't heard it because I've been actually afraid to listen to it. When just the plot summary is intimidating, I think that's got to count for something.

Shadow · **Posted:** Thu Jun 20, 2019 8:13 am

The Labyrinth literally ends with Jason stopping someone from murdering in cold blood. Just saying, that still gives me chills.

MonkeyDude · **Posted:** Thu Jun 20, 2019 10:27 am

My Girl Hallie left its mark. Honestly, all the Twilife zone episodes were pretty traumatizing. I love that AIO went there though. The dark episodes will always be some of my favorites.

AioFan7 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 29, 2019 7:08 pm

Have you guys forgotten all about Blakggards Revenge? (IDK if I spelled his name right.) That had some dark parts in it too.

Shadow · **Posted:** Sat Jun 29, 2019 7:47 pm

That is very cringy, so no.

AioFan7 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:53 pm

IDK what you mean.

Ameraka · **Posted:** Mon Aug 26, 2019 12:17 am

What about some of the Darkness before Dawn episodes? And A Name, not a Number Blackgaard actually kills someone.

ASmouseInTheHouse · **Posted:** Mon Aug 26, 2019 11:26 am

In my opinion, The Black Veil is the darkest episode.

Miah Robinson · **Posted:** Mon Aug 26, 2019 4:18 pm

I'm going to have to agree with Scientific Guy and Bob. I think Castles and Cauldrons might be the darkest episode, under that would probably be The Mysterious Stranger.

ASmouseInTheHouse · **Posted:** Wed Aug 28, 2019 2:04 am

I agree that Castles and Cauldrons is probably the darkest episode, but like Shadow said, it appeared in the earlier albums and its quality is very different from the newer dark episodes. For this reason, it didn't have so much of an impact on me compared to The Black Veil, the Labyrinth, etc. But I agree, it was pretty intense. :yes:

djchatswithu · **Posted:** Fri Aug 30, 2019 11:09 pm

I'd say that "A Sacrificial Escape" was pretty dark. Pretty sure we all know who was behind it, which I actually think makes it that little bit darker, and slightly sick when you think about who it was.

Also, I always thought that "The Perfect Witness" was a little dark. a professor hires two guys who follow Katrina to work (so they could rob her) and kidnap a blind girl so they can get Eugene's paper. they then threaten to shoot Eugene when they think he still has a copy of the paper. it's a bit dark and slightly creepy when you think about what and how they did it.

PennyBassett · **Posted:** Sun Sep 01, 2019 1:05 am

I don't remember which episode it is, or if we already mentioned it, but the episode where Justine dies is pretty dark. I think it's the perspective that's freaky. Like, we hear her last words and the voicemail message really puts you in the car with her. Idk, I always find it beautifully unsettling.

greatkindheartedbush · **Posted:** Mon Sep 02, 2019 6:39 am

When I was a kid, I was terrified of that episode with the talking chicken and It Happened at Four Corners. It was horrifying with Eugene and Bernard trapping each other underground forever. Ironically, I really like "four corners" now, it's hilarious. But as for the darkest episode I think of a weird Truth Chronicles episode I heard once where a boy serves various "gods" and eventually one glues his mouth shut or something like that and controls him http://www.aiowiki.com/wiki/In_My_Image. And the alternate ending to My Girl Hallie (shudders). I also hate Wooton's story at the beginning of Wooton Knows Best. He made the right decision in the episode by not telling that one to the first-graders.

MonkeyDude · **Posted:** Mon Sep 02, 2019 9:39 am

greatkindheartedbush wrote:

When I was a kid, I was terrified of that episode with the talking chicken and It Happened at Four Corners. It was horrifying with Eugene and Bernard trapping each other underground forever. Ironically, I really like "four corners" now, it's hilarious. But as for the darkest episode I think of a weird Truth Chronicles episode I heard once where a boy serves various "gods" and eventually one glues his mouth shut or something like that and controls him http://www.aiowiki.com/wiki/In_My_Image. And the alternate ending to My Girl Hallie (shudders). I also hate Wooton's story at the beginning of Wooton Knows Best. He made the right decision in the episode by not telling that one to the first-graders.

Oh man! I forgot about It Happened at Corners and In My Image. Good stuff!

AioFan7 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 13, 2019 6:05 pm

A sacrificial escape could be considered a dark episode. If someone already mentioned that, I didn't notice. (In album 67, More Than Meets The Eye.)

The Darkest AIO episode.

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