Top 30 TV Plot Twists of the Century So Far

#30: Wanda All Along

“WandaVision” (2021)
When Wanda Maximoff is captured by Agatha Harkness, we’re certain that the latter has been manipulating the Scarlet Witch through the TV-inspired scenarios depicted in the show too. However, as Agatha takes Wanda down memory lane through a series of flashbacks, we learn the truth - Wanda trapped a whole town in her fantasy. Her grief over losing Vision leads her to create the elaborate TV illusion, imprisoning the town’s residents and essentially being revealed as a tragic villain protagonist. And sure, she doesn’t get a catchy song to go along with this revelation, unlike Agatha, but we’d argue it’s a better twist.

#29: Who is Lady Whistledown?

“Bridgerton” (2020-)
Throughout much of this Regency period drama, high society remains fascinated by the writing of the mysterious Lady Whistledown. Her gossip papers expose embarrassing secrets for many, including the eponymous Bridgertons and their neighbors, the Featheringtons. Eloise Bridgerton is especially interested, playing detective in search of Whistledown’s identity. She believes she has discovered the right answer - Genevieve Delacroix[a], a modiste to high society ladies. However, in the finale, Eloise learns that Madame Delacroix was absent from a crucial party and with her brother Benedict at the time, discounting her as a suspect. Instead, the audience learns that Lady Whistledown’s true identity is in fact Eloise’s best friend and noted wallflower, Penelope Featherington. Eloise just couldn’t see someone so close to her.

#28: The Truth About Lorca[b]

“Star Trek: Discovery” (2017-24)
Game changing twists aren’t usually in “Star Trek”’s wheelhouse, but the first season of this show has a doozy! While in the Mirror Universe, Michael Burnham tries to convince her counterpart’s adoptive mother, the Emperor Philippa Georgiou, to release her captain, Gabriel Lorca. Georgiou expresses reluctance, citing her universe’s Lorca as being duplicitous and conniving. As she discusses her Lorca, Burnham recalls some odd coincidences. And at first, you’re thinking, “Huh, I guess the two Lorcas are similar.” But then, Georgiou reveals that she and other humans from the Mirror Universe are all photosensitive - just like the Lorca Burnham has been following. The whole season, Lorca’s actions have been a long con for him to return to overthrow Georgiou. You think you know someone…

#27: Peter’s Not From Here

“Fringe” (2008-13)
The first season finale of this often overlooked sci-fi series sees the Fringe team pursuing David Robert Jones, a man whose goal seems to be crossing between universes. Dr. Walter Bishop goes to an old beach house with his son Peter to retrieve a device. While there, Walter explains that he too once crossed between worlds, hoping to retrieve something he once lost. The team stops Jones, hooray, and everything starts to wrap up. And then, we see Walter visiting a grave. The name on the grave - Peter Bishop. The implication being that Walter’s original son died, and he abducted another version of Peter, our Peter, from the other universe. “There’s more than one of everything” indeed.

#26: Family Phone Call

“The Boys” (2019-)
Outrageous twists are kind of the order of the day in this dark superhero series. Although Butcher’s wife still being alive did leave us (and Butcher) shook, there’s an even more shocking development in “The Boys.” Throughout season 3, it gradually becomes apparent that All-American hero Soldier Boy isn’t all he’s cracked up to be, much like his successor, Homelander. However, after interrogating Mindstorm, Soldier Boy departs and makes a call to Homelander himself. “G.I. Jackass” reveals to Homelander that he provided Vought scientists with his, uh, genetic material - he’s Homelander’s father. The monster desperate for family had one after all.

#25: Who’s Infected

“The Walking Dead” (2010-22)
Season 2 of this long-running zombie apocalypse show gets a bad wrap, but it ends with quite a game changer. Shane’s long-simmering jealousy and resentment of Rick leads him to try to kill his former friend. Rick kills him instead. However, despite not being bitten by a “walker,” Shane still turns into one after death, forcing Rick’s son Carl to kill the undead Shane. The next episode, when the group wonders how this is possible, Rick reveals what Jenner at the CDC told him - they’re all infected. Whatever disease causes zombification after death, getting bitten only hastens it, it’s not the cause. This revelation changes everything, because it means even a “safe” place won’t be safe if someone dies there.

#24: Howard Confronts Kim & Jimmy

“Better Call Saul” (2015-22)
Howard Hamlin is a bit of a stick in the mud, but not a fundamentally bad guy. So, after Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman and Kim Wexler use elaborate means to ruin Howard’s reputation, we feel bad for him…even if he is a lawyer. Howard angrily confronts the duo at their apartment, delivering a speech lambasting them for setting him up. However, while Howard has seen through his old colleagues’ cruel prank, he doesn’t see Lalo Salamanca[c], Jimmy’s cartel client, sneak into the room. Jimmy and Kim try to get him to leave, but Howard is concerned for them…right up until Lalo puts a bullet in his head. This shocking death sees Jimmy’s criminal and professional lives collide in an astonishingly violent way.

#23: Who’s the Snitch?

“Succession” (2018-23)
The three Roy siblings are forever at odds with their domineering father, Logan. In the season 3 finale, they learn of a clause in their mother’s divorce agreement that allows them voting rights in the company, finally giving them one up on Logan. However, the conclusion reveals that Logan has renegotiated the divorce agreement, effectively shutting them out and retaining his power. In the final moments, Shiv realizes that her often downtrodden husband Tom is the one who revealed their plans, selling them out to Logan to secure his own rise. There are betrayals aplenty in “Succession,” yet this is by far the most unexpected!

#22: Angela Picks Cal’s Brain

“Watchmen” (2019)
The wildest twist in this dark superhero miniseries concerns Dr. Manhattan, the MIA nuclear superman the people of this alternate world treat like a god. Lady Trieu[d] reveals to Angela Abar that Manhattan isn’t on Mars, as most of the world believes, but in Tulsa, living as a normal human - and in danger from a white supremacist group. Although Angela is incredulous, Lady Trieu points out that Angela doesn’t ask who Dr. Manhattan is - the implication being that she already knows. While that gets our minds turning, they just about explode when Angela returns home and pries open her husband Cal’s head with a hammer! Cal has been Dr. Manhattan, unknown to both us and him!

#21: Mikkel[e]’s Fate

“Dark” (2017-20)
As perhaps the most complex time travel show ever, “Dark” has an enormous number of twists. However, one of its first is arguably its biggest. Jonas Kahnwald is dealing with a lot in season 1 - the death of his father, Michael, his feelings for Marta Nielsen, and the disappearance of Mikkel, her younger brother, who has been sent to the past. Things start to make his and our heads spin when Jonas finally gets the note his father left behind. In it, Michael explains that as a boy, he was sent to the past - he was Mikkel! This twist opens the whole show up to dozens of crazy developments, not the least of which is that Jonas has been crushing on his aunt!

#20: George O’Malley is the John Doe

“Grey’s Anatomy” (2005-)
Shortly after George announced he’d be leaving the Grey Sloan Memorial hospital to become a trauma surgeon, a heavily injured John Doe came in. HIs face was unrecognizable because he had been hit by a bus while saving an innocent bystander. They spend the episode struggling to save the mystery man without realizing his true identity. When the man is able to communicate, he draws out a 007 with his finger. Since George was previously given this Bond themed nickname, fans instantly knew that he was the injured John Doe. This tremendous twist shook viewers more when he started to slip away from the mortal coil. It’s safe to say that no one was expecting George’s journey to wrap up like this.

#19: Peggy Is Pregnant

“Mad Men” (2007-15)
Over the course of season 1, Peggy had to endure negative comments and issues with her clothes due to her sudden weight gain. She was able to push past these problems and pursue her goals until the season finale. When Peggy starts to feel particularly awful, she sees a doctor and learns that she’s pregnant. Before she can grapple with this unexpected news, he goes into labor. Peggy's delivery is quickly followed by an impactful scene where she decides to give up her child. The choice to end Peggy’s season one arc with this emotional story beat made an already iconic “Mad Men” character stand out more amongst the ensemble.

#18: The Bent-Neck Lady’s Identity

“The Haunting of Hill House” (2018)
Although learning that Nell was a ghost at the end of the first episode was surprising, there was another twist left in store about her life for viewers. Before her passing, she’d gotten terrifying visits from a spectre known as The Bent-Neck Lady. Nell eventually tries to get the bottom of where the spirit came from by going back to the creepy Hill House. She proceeds to have a few ghostly encounters that unfortunately lead to her getting a broken neck. As Nell dies, she travels backwards through time and becomes the Bent-Neck lady at various points in her life. This devastating and absolutely heartbreaking twist still haunts us today.

#17: Frank Ends Zoe’s Career

“House of Cards” (2013-18)
Reporter Zoe Barnes seemed like an integral part of “House of Cards”. Her close relationship with Frank and complex storyline seemed to guarantee her safety. So, we didn’t see anything wrong with her meeting up with Frank in a train station during the first episode of season 2. However, we found ourselves gasping when he suddenly pushed Zoe towards the train tracks. Her sudden end made us realize that anything could happen on “House of Cards”. Unfortunately, Zoe wasn’t the last person who would fall victim to one of Frank’s shocking betrayals.

#16: Violet Is a Ghost

“American Horror Story” (2011-)
When Violet took a large amount of sleeping pills after seeing haunting visions, a ghost named Tate appeared to save her. Over the next few episodes, she avoids going to school and blowflies start appearing in the house. It’s only when Violet tries to leave the house that she has to come face-to-face with the truth. Sadly, Tate wasn’t able to stop her from passing away and becoming a ghost. He hid this fact from her so that she would be spared the tremendous shock that we all felt watching this episode. The combination of the subtle story hints that led up to this moment and its ramifications on Violet’s story forward made it a horrifying effective reveal.

#15: All the Characters Are Connected

“This Is Us” (2016-22)
In the “This Is Us” pilot, we see how excited Jack and Rebecca Pearson are to welcome their triplets into the world. We’re also introduced to two siblings who share the same birthday with a businessman who just found his biological father. Since each character had distinct plotlines, we didn’t expect their stories to be woven together. But after a tragic scene where the couple loses one of their triplets, they adopt a baby who was left behind at a fire station. It’s only then we realize that Jack and Rebecca are the parents of the other three characters we’ve been following. As soon as “This Is Us” pulled off this ridiculously clever time jump, we knew we had to watch every episode.

#14: Arthur’s Final Victim

“Dexter” (2006-13)
Before his final confrontation with Arthur aka the Trinity Killer, Dexter Morgan tried to get his wife Rita to get to safety. The two men then struggle to stay ahead of the other. But their game of cat and mouse finally ended when Morgan captured and slayed the villain. Upon arriving at a dark home, Dexter listens to a voicemail that reveals Rita returned to their house earlier. When he calls her phone, it rings in the next room. Dexter soon finds that his wife has been slain and that his child has been left at the crime scene. This shocking sight still stands as one of the show's most striking and sobering images.

#13: Arriving on Earth

“Battlestar Galactica” (2003-09)
The space faring humans on Battlestar Galactica endured a devastating surprise attack, survived a conflict with Cylons and had to overcome internal struggles in an attempt to reach Earth. They finally got a chance to achieve their goal in season 4. Upon finally finding the planet, they have a big and justifiable celebration. But they should’ve taken a closer look at Earth before they started to cheer. If they had, the Battlestar Galactica crew would’ve known that the planet was now uninhabitable due to a past nuclear conflict. The pain of this harsh truth can be seen on everyone's faces as they stumble around the surface. It was clear that the crew would never be the same after losing their hope for Earth.

#12: Sydney’s Time Skip

“Alias” (2001-06)
After discovering that her best friend was replaced by an assassin, Sydney is forced to fight her in an intense battle. Although the heroine prevails, she ends up passing out at the end of the fight. Sydney and the audience were stunned when they saw her wake up in Hong Kong a short time later. However, the rug was pulled out from under us again when we learned that there had been a major time skip while she thought she was unconscious. The mystery of how two years could have gone by without her knowing immediately left us hungry for more. This “Alias” twist was a great way to keep us guessing about what would happen next in Sydney’s story.

#11: Dr. Cox Loses A Friend

“Scrubs” (2001-10)
During the “My Screw Up” episode, Dr. Cox is visited by his friend Ben. The camera-toting guest mentions that he hasn’t seen a doctor since his cancer went into remission. Meanwhile, J.D. loses a patient who had an irregular heartbeat. These two plotlines crash together in a jaw-dropping reveal. After Dr. Cox overworks himself while tending to patients to make up for the one that was lost, he heads out of the hospital with Ben. When the doctor arrives at a grassy location, he realizes he’s at his friend’s funeral. This devastating turn was cleverly foreshadowed by details like Ben’s lack of camera late in the episode. Whether you caught on early or not, this was one of the show’s most heart wrenching plots.

#10: All the Main Characters Are in the Bad Place

“The Good Place” (2016-20)
This fantastical sitcom centered around four flawed humans who tried their best to fit into a heavenly paradise called “The Good Place”. However, they constantly ran into problems with their sanctuary and each other. Eventually, the group is forced to send two of their members to the ominous Bad Place. But it’s then that Eleanor realizes they’ve been in the dark realm the entire time. This genius reveal reframed the actions of all the Good Place employees, made us do a double take and shook up the show’s entire premise. The comedy would go on to shake the show’s formula up with wilder twists as it continued. But the Bad Place reveal stands as the show’s most defining turn.

#9: Fitz Betrays the Team

“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (2013-20)
It was devastating and shocking to learn that the loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Ward was actually a HYDRA infiltrator. But the show had a bigger betrayal in store. In season 4, the kind Agent Fitz became a sinister villain when he was inside a virtual simulation. His evil self later returned as a separate entity and committed horrible misdeeds. When the good Fitz tried to stop his sinister counterpart, he learned it was impossible because there was no evil entity. It turns out that Fitz had a dissociative episode and committed all those twisted deeds. While the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had one of their own turn on them before, this Fitz twist was the biggest gut punch.

#8: Oh Il-nam Created the Squid Games

“Squid Game” (2021-)
The cutthroat nature of these brutal, life-or-death games forces some shocking events. However, few are as emotionally devastating as a game of marbles, which sees protagonist Seong Gi-hun is forced to let his elderly friend Oh Il-nam die to save himself. However, the sting of loss turns to the sting of betrayal, as Gi-hun learns that Il-nam is not only still alive, but also the creator of the Squid Games. Their chat on Il-nam’s deathbed reveals that he developed the games to help himself and other wealthy people stave off boredom. Far from being a sweet old man, Il-nam is arguably the biggest monster of them all.

#7: River Song’s Identity

“Doctor Who” (1963-89; 2005-)
River Song was initially introduced as an extremely cool Professor that had a mysterious history with the Doctor that spanned across time. After making a few notable appearances, audiences finally got to see the surprising origins of this character. In the “A Good Man Goes to War” episode, the doctor's companion Amy Pond has a child named Melody. Since this infant was born with alien time lord DNA, she had the ability to regenerate into different forms. The doctor and his friends soon realize that Melody will eventually become the time-traveling River Song. As the series continued, this complex twist was further fleshed out and revisited. While it might take you a while to put River’s time bending story together, it’s definitely worth the effort.

#6: Bernard Isn’t Human

“Westworld” (2016-22)
On “Westworld”, synthetic beings known as hosts that look like real humans and animals are programmed to behave in certain ways. Throughout most of the first season, we thought Bernard was just there to help keep these artificial beings running. But the truth was much more shocking. It turned out that Bernard was a host the entire time and wasn’t consciously aware of it. While we were still reeling from this bombshell, his boss forces him to eliminate his love interest Theresa. Although some fans suspected Bernard was a host, none of them could’ve anticipated this one-two punch. It was a story development that made us question the nature of our reality.

#5: Elliot’s Been Imprisoned For Multiple Episodes

“Mr. Robot” (2015-19)
If we looked up the phrase “unreliable narrator” in the dictionary, we’d find Elliot’s face staring back up at us. Although we knew that his version of events could always be questionable, we still weren’t anticipating a huge season two twist. Elliot led us to believe that he spent six episodes of the second season staying with his mom and away from the typical cast. However, it’s eventually revealed that he was in prison for a big portion of the season. This unbelievable twist turned a huge chunk of his storyline upside down. Although Elliot apologized to us for the deception, we weren’t sure we could trust his perspective again after this.

#4: Walt Poisoned Brock

“Breaking Bad“ (2008-13)
When Jesse believes that the son of his love interest has been poisoned with ricin, he immediately accuses his cooking partner Walt of the crime. But after a tense scene, the two agree that crime lord Gus was the one responsible for this heinous action. Jesse and Walt then work together to bring the kingpin down permanently. After Gus has been dealt with, it’s revealed that Andrea’s son had consumed a plant known as lily of the valley. The camera then reveals that’s exactly what Walt has in his own backyard. Knowing that he was capable of poisoning an innocent person just to manipulate Jesse marked a shocking new low for the show’s protagonist.

#3: The Red Wedding

“Game of Thrones” (2011-19)
We were heartbroken and stunned when we discovered why Hodor could only say his own name. But the show’s most noteworthy twist took place at a wedding. After watching the heroic Robb Stark achieve great victories, he and his mother Catelyn attended a marriage celebration. But the festivities abruptly end once we see one of the ceremony’s guests is wearing chainmail. Over the next few minutes we see Robb, his wife Talisa, Catelyn and his dire wolf all meet gruesome ends. The horrifying events of this night upset the balance of power in the world while axing off a bunch of main characters at once. To this day, mentioning the red wedding to a fan is still bound to bring a tear to their eye.

#2: Nina Can’t Be Trusted

“24” (2001-10; 2014)
At the start of “24”, Nina was presented as a high-ranking agent who had some romantic tension with Jack Bauer. Neither he nor the audience was expecting the moment she revealed she was working for their enemies in the 23rd episode of the series. Nina quickly demonstrated her true twisted nature after she was exposed as a traitor by fatally shooting Teri Bauer. Having one of the show’s most prominent heroes become a despicable antagonist was a brilliant stroke of genius. Nina’s evil turn made fans want to go back and look for signs they missed. While we hate what she did to the Bauer family, we loved how this brilliant twist shook up the show’s status quo.

#1: Jack’s Scenes Are Flashforwards

“Lost” (2004-10)
Since “Lost” begins with people getting stranded on an island, the show used flashbacks to show us their lives before the crash. So, when we saw a series of scenes about a depressed Jack in the city, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. But everything changed when it was revealed that these story beats take place after he leaves the island. The implication that Jack would escape and meet up with fellow survivor Kate was game-changing. Not only did this twist make us rethink past events, but it opened the door for the show to play with time. While “Lost” had many great turns, the Jack flash forward reveal is the main plot twist we always go back to.

Is there a shocking TV twist post-2000 we forgot? Let’s talk in the comments about your favorites.

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