Ranking Every Episode Of The Haunting Of Hill House

If there's one episode that serves as the best encapsulation of what the series as a whole is, it would have to be The Bent-Neck Lady.

After dropping several hints and clues throughout the first four episodes about Nell's troubled past, this episode divulges everything. Opening on her initial encounter with the Bent-Neck Lady and then proceeding to chronicle the entirety of Nell's life, the episode is brilliant in how it is able to succinctly convey emotion at a whirlwind pace.

In a matter of minutes, the show is able to establish a genuine chemistry between Nell and Arthur that is believable and enduring. Similarly, the merely-minutes-long montage of their relationship growing and Arthur proposing, works way better than it ever should, inspiring positive comparisons to the opening montage of Pixar's Up.

On top of wonderful filmmaking achievements like this, this episode also houses the most horrifying moments in the entire series. Moments like Arthur's sudden death as Nell is encountering an episode of sleep paralysis or the finale, where she returns to Hill House are gripping and affecting.

Also, the ending reveal of the fact that Nell is the Bent-Neck Lady, being forced to relive her most traumatic moments is utterly heartbreaking. The success of this entire episode is also thanks in-no-small-part to actress Victoria Pedretti astounding performance, which manages to root the audience in both her joys and her immeasurable pain.

The Haunting of Hill House is a series that explores the depths of childhood trauma and the ramifications of it on adult life, and no episode more effectively chronicles this than The Bent-Neck Lady.