Alright, buckle up, my fellow mushroomheads. If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already been blessed (or cursed?) by the surreal fever dream that is Common Side Effects. So let’s just say it: this show has no chill. One minute you’re giggling at some animated banter, and the next you’re staring at your screen, jaw fully detached.
From psychedelic visions to government raids and spontaneous acts of extreme… self-experimentation, Season 1 gave us moments so bonkers, even the characters needed time to recover. Here, we count down the five scenes that left fans reeling, rewinding, and immediately texting their group chats with “WTF did I just watch?!”
5. Frances’s Mom Pulls a Lazarus
Episode 4, titled “Dumpsite,” flips the switch from quirky thriller to emotional gut-punch real quick. Frances, our favorite reluctant drug rep turned fungal crusader, does the unthinkable—she gives her ailing mom a dose of the mysterious Blue Angel mushroom.
And boom. Just like that, decades of dementia? Gone.
Why We Couldn’t Believe It:
- The mushroom’s capabilities had been teased, but this hit different.
- Seeing a broken mother-daughter relationship suddenly reconnect? That one hurt (in the best way).
This moment doesn’t just sell the idea of the Blue Angel as a miracle drug. It screams it. And fans absolutely felt the weight of it. Reddit lit up. Think pieces dropped. And somehow, amid all the surrealism, the show made something incredibly human happen.
4. The Bicycle Chase From Hell
Also in Episode 4 (seriously, that ep was stacked), we get Marshall being hunted like a squirrel on caffeine. Our guy’s fleeing on a bicycle—yes, a bicycle—through a wooded area, pursued by very serious men in black with very deadly intentions.
And then… a mine goes off. Kaboom. Gone. Just like that.
What Made It So Wild:
- That tonal whiplash. One second: goofy bike chase. Next: full-on military-grade boom.
- It was the moment we all realized: nobody is safe.
The explosion hit hard, literally and narratively. Marshall isn’t just poking around anymore—he’s in real danger. And from this point on, the show’s tension ramps up to 11.
3. Marshall’s Jail Time From Hell
By Episode 6 (“In the System”), our dear Marshall lands behind bars. And not the cartoon-y kind. No, this was gritty, dangerous, and genuinely stressful. Inmates don’t like him. Guards aren’t exactly helpful. And Marshall’s in no shape to play tough guy.
But somehow, against every odd, he makes it out.
What Hit Hard:
- The jail scenes turned the heat up. Way up.
- Seeing Marshall nearly break? Gave us chills.
This storyline showed us a more fragile side of him. Vulnerable, cornered, desperate. It also made the shadowy systems feel more sinister. And it reminded us: this world doesn’t just chew people up. It grinds them into powder.
2. The DEA Comes Knocking – With Guns
The season finale doesn’t ease us out gently. Nope. It straight-up detonates.
In Episode 10 (“Raid”), the DEA storms the secret compound where Marshall and his gang had been cultivating their not-so-legal mushroom garden. What follows is a blaze of bullets, chaos, and devastation. People die. The Blue Angel stash? Torched.
Why This Was Next-Level Intense:
- It felt like a war zone. Nobody got out clean.
- This wasn’t just a loss—it was a collapse.
Fans were left reeling. Some shouted at their TVs. Others started wild Twitter threads about “who really sent the DEA” and what this means for Season 2. All we know is: it changed the whole game.
1. Hildy Shoots Herself… On Purpose
And here we are. The most “WHAT IN THE FUNGI JUST HAPPENED” moment of the season.
In Episode 3 (“Hildy”), Marshall visits his eccentric old mentor. Hildy, ever the wild card, wants to experience the Blue Angel’s power directly. Her method? Oh, just shooting herself in the chest.
Yes. On purpose. With a gun.
She trusts that Marshall will use the mushroom to heal her. What follows is a mind-bending, animated hallucination sequence that includes her head aging, exploding, and regrowing. Over. And over. And over again.
Why This Scene Lives Rent-Free In Our Brains:
- Hildy’s faith in the mushroom is downright terrifying.
- The animation? Pure trip. You could watch it a dozen times and still miss something.
The scene instantly went viral. Memes? Everywhere. Think pieces? Poured in. This was the moment Common Side Effects fully declared: “We’re not like the other shows.”
A Few Bonus Shocks (Because Five Just Isn’t Enough)
Honestly, it was hard narrowing this down. So here are a few more scenes that had us shouting at the void:
- Connor Gets Silenced – Jonas Backstein doesn’t hesitate. In Episode 2 (“Lakeshore Limited”), he casually kills Connor to keep the mushroom secret. Cold.
- Frances Lies About Nick – She claims she’s marrying Nick, then backtracks. It’s messy. It’s real. And it starts a blow-up.
- Marshall Fakes His Death – In Episode 8 (“Amelia & Wyatt”), Marshall gets declared legally dead. Not creepy at all, right?
Each of these moments pushes the limits. They deepen the characters. They muddy the morality. And they remind us: trust no one. Especially not your mentor with a pistol.
What Just Happened and When’s More Coming?
So here we are, Season 1 in the rear-view, and we’re still blinking. Common Side Effects didn’t just deliver weird. It delivered meaningful weird. The kind that gets under your skin, crawls into your dreams, and dares you to look deeper.
Will Marshall ever get a break? Is Frances going full renegade? What even is Jonas planning next?
Season 2 can’t come fast enough. But until then, we’ll be here. Watching. Rewatching. Digging for clues. And trying very hard not to take any strange mushrooms from sketchy botanists.
