39 Shocking Teen Drama Scenes That Shook My 17-Year-Old Heart To Its Core

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Hi, my name's Hannah, and I'm the queen of teen dramas.

The CW

I didn't have a life as a teenager, so I decided to live vicariously through literally every teen drama I could get my hands on. And the few I hadn't seen I've watched in the years since, with only a few exceptions.

I love teen dramas for a lot of reasons — the fashion, the nostalgia, the soapiness, and of course, the drama. In fact, as a teenager I used to bookmark my favorite dramatic moments on my 2000s pink Dell so I could munch Eelio's pizza and watch them in succession on a wild Friday night and mouth along to the words.

Freeform

*I also did this with romantic and heartbreaking teen drama scenes. The ones I watched depended on the vibe of that particular night.

While I don't still have those bookmarks, the best and most dramatic moments of teen dramas have stuck with me to this day. Here's a masterlist of 39 of the best shocking teen drama moments and plot twists!

The CW

Note: For shows that go on super long and follow characters in their adult lives, I'm only using seasons that still qualify as "teen/high school drama" — both to keep this list from getting too long and also because I feel like some of the fun of shocking moments on teen dramas are that they're happening to teenagers, making a lot of them even more unrealistic.

1.When Nathan and Haley got MARRIED in HIGH SCHOOL on One Tree Hill:

holding up her left hand with a ting on it, Haley tells Lucas she got married to Nathan the night prior

Watch the scene here:

2.When Serena told Blair she'd killed someone on Gossip Girl:

crying, Serena says "I killed someone" to Blair, who looks shocked

I LOVE THIS SCENE SO MUCH. It's SO unexpected, and the music drop is ON POINT. The new Gossip Girl WISHES it could have a moment this truly shocking and intense.

The CW

Watch the scene here:

3.When Fez beat up Nate on Euphoria:

Fez says "it's a new year, playboy" and clinks glasses with nate then smashes a glass into the side of his head and beats him up

I still watch newer teen dramas, y'all!! This was shocking, yes, but also really satisfying (even though it was super violent). Nate is an abhorrent person and it was kind of nice to see somebody act against him.

HBO

4.When Marissa shot Trey on The O.C.:

Marissa shoots Trey

Watch the scene here:

5.When Marissa died on The O.C.:

Ryan says "Marissa, marissa" and holds her as she dies

Still one of the most shocking teen drama deaths, tbh. Marissa deserved better.

Fox

Watch the scene here:

6.When Abby fell in the water and drowned on Dawson's Creek:

Abby hits her head then clutches it and trips over the railing into the water as Jen yells "abby!"

Dawson's Creek was super melodramatic, but a lot of things were drawn out rather than being sudden and shocking — except Abby's death. It happened so quickly and almost randomly, literally giving viewers everywhere trust issues.

The WB

Watch the scene here:

7.When Dan shot and killed Keith on One Tree Hill:

Dan shoots Keith as Lucas says in a voiceover: "Does this darkness have a name? Is it your name?"

What the scene here (Warning: besides obviously featuring a murder, the below clip starts with a suicide — neither are graphic, but just to let you know):

8.When "Elena" revealed herself to be Katherine on The Vampire Diaries:

Katherine cuts off John's fingers, and he realizes she's not Elena. She says hello and then goodbye with her face revealing her to be a vampire

This is one of my favorite season finale endings EVER. After hyping up Katherine and her villainy all season, we finally meet her in the present day in a truly fantastic twist ending.

The CW

Watch the scene here (it's a bit graphic):

9.When Rachel and Cooper's limo went off the bridge on One Tree Hill, then Nathan jumped in to save them and got stuck in the car:

the limo goes off the bridge and Haley sits at the edge in her wedding dress screaming for Nathan as Nathan calls for her and for help stuck in the car below

Not to mention that in the same CODA, we discover someone knows Dan's a murderer, Karen is pregnant, and either Haley, Brooke, or Rachel are ALSO pregnant. This has seriously got to be one of the best ending five minutes to a finale of all time.

The WB

Watch the scene here:

10.When Haley (who was pregnant) got hit by a car, Nathan seemingly killed the guy who did it and Dan took the blame, then Lucas had a heart attack on One Tree Hill:

Haley getting hit by a car, Nathan beating up the guy who did it and Dan saying he'll take the blame for him, and Lucas having a heart attack

Sorry to include so many OTH moments, but come on, could I really just not include this? This almost beats the Season 3 finale mentioned above because it all happens in two minutes instead of five. Wild.

The CW

Watch the scene here:

11.When Elena became a vampire on The Vampire Diaries:

Elena dead then waking up

Another great season finale reveal. Elena dies, and we have no idea she has vampire blood in her system until seconds before we flash to her waking up. And then we had to wait a whole summer to see what happened next!

The CW

Watch the scene here:

12.When Hanna was hit by a car on Pretty Little Liars:

Hannah lays on the ground after being hit by a car as the girls read the message: "she knew too much — A"

There are so many shocking PLL moments, I didn't even know which ones to include on this list. But I feel like this was the first truly shocking moment, and it's such a good, creepy one that I have to include it.

Freeform

Watch the scene here:

13.When Quinn got in a car crash while texting on Glee:

Quinn texting "on my way" then getting hit by a truck

Watch the scene here:

14.When the bus crashed on Veronica Mars:

Veronica looks out at the water as Gia says "they're all dead"

Watch the scene at 1:30 here:

15.And when it was revealed Beaver was responsible — and also that he was the one who'd raped Veronica:

Veronica sends text saying Beaver's the killer and Beaver later says "so beaver's a killer, that's a pretty serious accusation"

A chilling, super dramatic conclusion to a chilling, super dramatic season. The roof scene is just great.

UPN

You can watch the scene when she confronts him here:

16.When John B figured out Ward killed his father in Outer Banks:

Ward says "it wasn't my fault. it was your father, okay? it was your father that tried to-" then john b grabs ward's weapon and they fight

I love a good villain reveal, especially when the villain's been right in front of our eyes all along. We also get a nice intense fight scene here for good measure.

Netflix

Watch the scene here:

17.And then in Season 2, when it was revealed John B.'s father was alive:

John's dad tells Limbrey "I can help you. But you have to help my son."

WHAT WAS THE POINT OF SEASON 1 THEN??? Still, they sure shocked us.

Netflix

Watch the scene here:

18.When Ruby and Olivia were shot at Olivia's quinceañera on On My Block:

Ruby and Olivia with gunshot wounds

This isn't quite as bad as the bus crash, but it's up there. Ruby and Olivia are literally kids and it's supposed to be a happy occasion. The drastic tone shift here makes it extra gut-wrenching.

Netflix

Watch the scene here:

19.When JT was stabbed and died on Degrassi:

Jt is stabbed by a car then slides to the ground where Liberty finds him and screams for help

I'll be honest, Degrassi is one of the only teen dramas (I feel like I have to call it a teen franchise now) I've never seen. BUT, I know it well enough to know that this was the most dramatic and heartbreaking moment to a lot of people. Poor JT. :(

CTV

Watch the scene here:

20.When Angel lost his soul on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

Angel says "Buffy...oh no..." then a woman asks if he's okay, and Angel gets up and says the pain is gone then bites the woman

One of the best plot twists of all time, tbh. It's so fun to watch brooding, romantic, heroic Angel turn into the delightfully evil Angelus.

The WB

Watch the scene here:

21.And then Buffy had to send him to hell:

Buffy kisses Angel and they say I love you to each other, then she tells him to close his eyes and stabs him, pushing him into a hell portal

Also one of the most heartbreaking teen drama scenes. Angel finally gets his soul back and is himself again, but it's too late — Buffy has to sacrifice him to save everyone. I'll never stop being mad at Xander for not telling Buffy that Willow was doing a spell to give Angel his soul back.

The WB

Watch the scene here:

22.When Allison died on Teen Wolf:

a pole is driven through Allison's stomach and Lydia screams "ALLISON!"

I really thought Isaac was going to die in this scene. They faked us out so hard, gave us a little hope by having Allison kill one of the Oni, then drove the knife in hard (kind of like the pole in Allison's stomach...too soon?) by quickly killing her. Oof. I'm still not over this death.

MTV

Watch the scene here:

23.When it was revealed that Peter was the alpha on Teen Wolf:

Derek realizes Peter is the alpha and yells at Stiles (over the phone) to get out — Stiles puts down his phone and turns and sees Peter, who says "you must be stiles

Teen Wolf Season 1 may be extra campy, but damnit, is it good. I truly did not expect Derek's catatonic uncle to be the alpha, and the reveal is the perfect amount of creepy, especially because Stiles is the one to witness it and not one of the other werewolves, like Scott.

MTV

Watch the scene here:

24.And then he attacked Lydia:

at the lacrosse field, Lydia sees someone walking towards her and asks "Jackson, is that you?" then turns when she hears Stiles running towards her and yelling at her to run — she turns back and is attacked by Peter, then falls to the ground
MTV

Watch the scene here:

25.When Effy's psychiatrist killed Freddie on Skins:

the psychiatrist tells Freddie he can't let him out, and Freddie shouts to get off him as we see blood on the window

This death makes me so mad. Freddie deserved so much better, and so did Effy. She was just barely healing then her psychiatrist kills her boyfriend?? And we don't even see the aftermath!

E4

Watch the scene here:

26.When Chris died in Skins after it seemed like he'd be okay:

Cassie looks shocked as she holds a seizing Chris, who says "Jal..."

Why must every Skins generation include a horribly shocking death of a beloved main character??? This was the first one, and it really got me. RIP Chris. :(

E4

Watch the scene here:

27.When Matty, Liv and Grace's car flipped in Skins (eventually leading to Grace's death):

Matty looks at Liv's body

Of course, they had to have a shocking death in Generation 3, too. Poor Grace. :(

E4

Watch the scene here:

28.When Annie hit someone with her car then drove away on 90210:

Annie

It was especially out of character for nice Midwestern girl Annie, and I'm honestly kind of impressed 90210 went there. I can't believe Annie didn't get in more trouble for this, though it did lead to a season of guilt and angst.

The CW

Watch the scene here:

29.When James killed the professor on The End of the F***ing World:

James stabs the professor and he falls dead to the floor, where alyssa (covered in blood) and james look at him

Look, we knew this was a show about a teenager who wanted to commit murder. But it was still pretty shocking to see him actually kill someone (albeit, someone who probably deserved it).

Netflix

Watch the scene at 1:55 here:

30.When Toby was "revealed" as A:

Mona says "I'll see you soon" to someone in a hoodie — the person turns and it's Toby

This also came right after Emily and Paige almost died, Emily killed Nate, and Caleb was shot. And it still overshadowed those! Sure, he was only on the team to help Spencer, but we didn't know that at the time.

Freeform

Watch the scene here:

31.And when Spencer found him "dead":

Spencer sees Toby's tattoo on the body on the ground and cries

I kind of knew this wasn't for real, but it was still really shocking. Spencer really went through it that season.

Freeform

Watch the scene here:

32.When the girls were kidnapped from their prison van and woke up in a life-size dollhouse with perfect replicas of their rooms on Pretty Little Liars:

Spencer wakes up in her room then sees she's in her prison jumpsuit and her whiteboard says "welcome home" —Hannah calls for her mom and tries to open a locked door — Emily notices a security camera and calls for her friends

Watch the scene here:

33.When Cheryl's dad was revealed as Jason's killer on Riverdale:

Betty, Archie, Veronica, Jughead, and Kevin watching the footage of Clifford killing Jason

Watch the scene here:

34.When The Farm was revealed to be an organ farm on Riverdale:

Betty sees boxes of organs hidden away in a closet

Watch the scene here:

35.When Adrian revealed she could be pregnant on The Secret Life of The American Teenager:

Adrian says you have to be on the pill for a month before it's effective, then wonders if that's why her period is late, saying she recently switched birth control — she then realizes she had a condom break when she slept with Ben

This was especially wild considering the entire show was about Amy being pregnant and becoming a teen mom. They were really gonna get another main character pregnant a season later? Not only that, but Adrian was Amy's baby daddy's ex, and she was pregnant with Amy's ex-boyfriend's child.

Freeform

I can't find the scene on YouTube, but it comes at the end of episode 23 of Season 2. You can watch the show on Freeform or Hulu.

36.And then when she lost the baby a season later:

Ben's dad says Adrian lost the baby as Ricky and Amy cry, then Amy holds Adrian as she breaks down

Not only was this one of the most shocking teen drama moments, it was also one of the most heartbreaking. I literally cried just screen-capping this scene.

Freeform

Watch the scene here:

37.When Katherine (essentially) killed Jeremy on The Vampire Diaries while disguised as Elena:

Katherine pushes Jeremy's neck to Silas, and he falls down dead.

Yep, we got another Kat/Elena switch on the list. Silas did the killing, but Katherine was to blame here. It was so quick and sudden that even though Jeremy had died before (lol), it was still shocking. Especially because we knew this would awaken Silas, and we'd spent a whole season building him up.

The CW

Watch the scene here:

38.And then Elena turned off her humanity because of it:

Damon says he can help Elena, telling her to turn her humanity off

Elena was supposed to be the moral center of the show, with her empathy and kindness being her greatest gift — so her turning her emotions off was SUPER dramatic and wild. I have to say, it was kind of fun to watch Elena be bad.

The CW

Watch the scene here:

39.And finally, a BUNCH of 13 Reasons Why moments that I'm not going to name or link because they're super triggering and felt irresponsibly done for shock value, but if you know, you know:

Tyler cornering Monty in the bathroom on 13 Reasons Why

I literally had to stop watching the show after the above scene.

Netflix

What teen show moments did you find shocking? Let us know in the comments below!