21 Plot Twists From The Last Minute Of A TV Season That Literally Had My Jaw On The Floor
1.On Jane the Virgin, when the last seconds of Season 4 revealed that Michael was actually alive:
I mean, yes, Jane the Virgin is based on telenovelas, but STILL. Bringing back a character from the dead went beyond anything the show had ever done, and it's still one of the most shocking moments ever from a comedy. It was absolutely the last thing I expected Rafael's secret to be, and it happened just when it looked as if Jane and Rafael might finally live happily ever after!
2.On Game of Thrones, when Jon was killed at the end of Season 5:
NOT OLLY!!!!! I absolutely did not see this coming, even in a show that had already aired the Red Wedding. Jon did come back, but we didn't know he would at the time — and GoT proved yet again that it's unmatched in delivering on twists and turns (err...all least until that last season).
3.On Dead to Me, when Season 1 ended with Steve's dead body floating in the pool:
I really wondered how Dead to Me could keep up its momentum into Season 2 with Judy's secret exposed, but they proved my wrong with this twist. It was the perfect setup for Season 2, and let's be honest...it was kind of nice to be rid of Steve. Still, very shocking!!!
4.On Lost, when Jack told Kate they needed to go back to the island — telling the viewer that the scenes we were seeing were not in the past or in a flash-sideways, but in the future:
We've been seeing all these flashbacks as usual (well, we think they're flashbacks, given that Jack mentions his dad), only to get to the very end and realize that these scenes are actually taking place in the future — meaning Jack and Kate both get off the island. And not only that, but Jack thinks they need to go back...there's a reason this line is so famous!
5.On Loki, when Mobius didn't recognize Loki and Loki realized that Kang was in charge:
Loki is my favorite of the Marvel series, and I didn't even like Loki before! (I do, however, LOVE Owen Wilson.) The whole series delivered a number of amazing twists, so I shouldn't have been surprised its ending did too — and yet I was left utterly gobsmacked by this ending, where the present had been changed so that Kang was already in charge and Mobius didn't even know Loki.
6.At the end of Stranger Things 4, when the Upside Down came to the real world.
Did I really think Vecna had been beaten and the Upside Down was no more? No, because I knew there was going to be a Stranger Things 5. Still — this reveal that not only were Vecna and the Upside Down alive and well, but the Upside Down was invading Hawkins, was done so well. It is so visually terrifying and sets up the final season perfectly.
7.In Sharp Objects, when Amma confirmed she was the killer all along with her final line of the series:
Yeah, I know I write about this moment a lot!!!! It's still one of my favorite plot twists, even though it happens in a series finale. (I don't usually like series finales to end on cliffhangers!) It just leaves you with such a sense of mixed horror and inevitability — because the clues were there all along.
8.On Breaking Bad, when it was revealed that Walt had poisoned Brock at the very end of Season 4:
Walt had a lot of points of no return, but to me, this is the most chilling. The way the camera just quietly zooms in on the plant in Walt's backyard was somehow more effective and creepy than showing Walt actually poisoning Brock, and it was just another great moment of betrayal from Walt.
9.On Twin Peaks, when the first run of the show (before its revival in 2017) ended with the reveal that it was Cooper's doppelgänger controlled by BOB, not Cooper, who had come back from the Black Lodge.
Every single Twin Peaks season finale is absolutely horrifying in its last seconds, but this one still takes the cake for me — especially because it seemed like the end of Twin Peaks. The fact that our protagonist was essentially gone and one of the most terrifying TV villains of all time was in his place...I mean, what a note to end on.
10.In the Season 2 finale of The Flash, when Barry went back in time and saved his mom:
Barry, you stupid, selfish boy!!!! I have to admit, I stopped watching The Flash not long after this because I was just so frustrated by Barry's actions. Still, this moment was great because it was SO unexpected. Barry KNEW he was essentially going to fuck up the entire timeline — and everyone's lives (like, he literally made it so people DID NOT EXIST) — if he did this. I was left staring at my screen like, oh shit, EVERYTHING is about to change, and there is no going back EVER.
11.In House of the Dragon, when Aemond accidentally killed Lucerys:
This is another great "oh shit" moment, to the point where it's almost humorous. I felt bad for Lucerys and for Rhaenyra, but it's still a great moment that reminds us of GoT when it was at its best: absolutely brutal. The lead-in to Rhaenyra's furious expression is the perfect note to end on, because we know that there is now no way Rhaenyra and Alicent will ever be able to reconcile.
12.On The Boys, when Season 1 ended with the shocking reveal that Butcher's wife, Becca — along with her son with Homelander, Ryan — was actually alive:
We spent the whole season thinking Becca was dead, and all of Butcher's actions were driven by that fact — so seeing her alive was certainly a shock that changed everything. Not only that, but Homelander's son is alive, and Homelander now knows about him. It set up future seasons in such a great way and made the conflict between Homelander and Butcher even more layered and complicated.
13.When Dexter found his wife dead in the bathtub in the last seconds of the Season 4 finale of Dexter:
You think Dexter has finally won against Arthur and then get slapped in the face with this horrifying reveal. It's one of the most shocking TV deaths ever, even for a show about murder.
14.On Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when the last moments of Season 6 revealed that Spike now had a soul:
The show makes it seem as if Spike is fighting to remove the chip in his head, so this reveal is extra unexpected. I mean, we didn't even know vampires could get their souls back, despite Angel's unique situation. The fact that Spike fought for it too and wasn't cursed with it...it made me so excited for Season 7.
15.On Sherlock, when Sherlock was revealed to be alive in the last moments of Season 2:
YOU BASTARD, SHERLOCK. I'm still mad at him for faking his own death, but I have to admit, I was relieved when the camera showed him very much alive after his dramatic fall. There was a looong break before the show came back, and it was years of agony waiting for John to discover the truth.
16.Also on Sherlock, when Moriarty appeared to be back:
Unfortunately, this reveal ended up being way more exciting than its follow-up, which was a major letdown considering that Moriarty wasn't actually back at all. Still, this was a great shocking note to end on, and I was excited that they seemed poised to bring back the show's best villain.
17.On Pretty Little Liars, when the Liars escaped the dollhouse, only to realize that they were still trapped in the middle of a remote forest:
I know, it's a silly teen drama — and this is the FIFTH season, no less. Still, I gotta hand it to Pretty Little Liars — they knew they had to keep raising the stakes to remain interesting, and they did just that. Having A trap the Liars in a literal dollhouse with replicas of their rooms is creepier than literally anything else I have seen on a teen drama, but it seemed as if it would just be a one-episode thing for the finale. When the finale ended with the Liars unable to escape, showing that A was, as always, one step ahead — and now very, very angry — it was SO chilling and great. I could tell Season 6 was about to get even darker, and considering how dark the show had become, that was pretty shocking to me.
18.On The Vampire Diaries, when "Elena" revealed herself to be Katherine:
Yeah, yeah, I know I write a lot about this one too! But I just love a good villain reveal, ESPECIALLY when that villain has been teased for an ENTIRE SEASON. TVD nailed this moment, when we finally got to meet Katherine in the present day, and she was just as deliciously twisted and evil as we wanted.
19.And in The Vampire Diaries, when Elena woke up as a vampire in the last seconds of Season 3:
Elena has spent the whole show emphatically denying that she wants to be a vampire, with every other character lauding her for her humanity and empathy. The whole show revolved around her heart, in fact. So to see her become a vampire — especially with NO warning, as we had no idea she'd been given vampire blood until a second before this — was so shocking and well done.
20.In Killing Eve, when Eve stabbed Villanelle when it seemed as if they were about to kiss:
Eve and Villanelle finally reunite after a long, intense cat-and-mouse game has turned mutually obsessive, and as viewers, we think this is the moment we've all been waiting for: Finally, they will cross the line they've been toeing for so long. Instead, Eve stabs Villanelle, shocking even herself — and then Villanelle escapes, bleeding out. It was the perfect twist for a perfectly twisty season of television, and I wish the latter seasons had kept up the same level of intrigue and suspense.
21.And finally, let's end on one that is a bit more fun and that we are about to get a resolution to: at the end of Season 2 of Only Murders in the Building, when Paul Rudd showed up, only to immediately be murdered:
God, I love this show. Now, it's not as if Paul's character was beloved (we just met him), but anytime you see Paul Rudd cameo onscreen, you know you're in for a treat. Killing him right after that was cruel, yes, but it gave us a double dose of shock (Boom! Paul Rudd is here! Boom! Paul Rudd is dead!) and set up the next season perfectly — and I, for one, can't wait for Season 3.
