Top 30 TV Scenes That Were More Important Than You Realize

Seinfeld (1989-98)

The Seinfeld finale was shrouded in secrecy, although few couldve predicted the series would end with the funny foursome going to prison. Although many felt blindsided, the second episode of Season 8 subtly hinted that the gang would eventually wind up behind bars. The episode opens with Jerry and George discussing whether inmates could use a nail clipper as a weapon. Jerry argues that the big toenail is more dangerous than any clipper. The two become increasingly intrigued by prison, with George contemplating if theyll go to one someday. It seems like a meaningless exchange, and at the time, it was probably written as such. If Seinfeld has taught us anything, though, its that nothing can unexpectedly snowball into something.

In Season 1, the arrogant Jamie attempts to smooth things over with his girlfriend Keeley. Jamie clearly doesnt even know what he did to upset Keeley, who tries to impart a lesson about accountability. The word sorry is empty without sincerity. The scene marks the couples breakup, but it carries a deeper meaning that pays off in Season 3. When Keeley is shamed for a leaked video, Jamie comes to her aid. Although Keeley doesnt blame Jamie, he still feels responsible for what happened. The least he can do is apologize to Keeley for his reckless actions. While Jamie still carries a torch for Keeley, he isnt trying to score points with her. He expresses genuine remorse, finally understanding that being accountable matters.

Stranger Things (2016-)

This cult show introduces us to several characters through Dungeons & Dragons. Mike speaks of a shadow on the wall that can swallow you into darkness. Confirming the gangs worst fears, Mike unleashes the Demogorgon. With a roll of the dice, Will realizes that the Demogorgon got him. On a rewatch, fans are inclined to notice that the campaign predicts whats right around the corner. Will returns home, where an actual Demogorgon pulls him into the Upside Down. Despite being a dimension away, Will can still communicate through the walls of his house, echoing Mikes words. Considering that the Upside Down is later described as a dark reflection of their world, its fitting that the boys fantasy would parallel their future reality.

In the first episode, Sgt. Sally Donovan predicts that one day theyll discover a body that Sherlock Holmes is responsible for. The episode culminates in Sherlock entering a game of wits with a murderous cabbie, who takes lives through the power of persuasion. After a conversation, the cabbie is confident Holmes will meet the same fate as his other victims. Holmes ultimately outwits the cabbie, walking away alive. While the cabbie dies, he was working for another mastermind: Moriarty. In the second series, Moriarty makes good on the cabbies promise, backing Holmes into a corner. Out of options, Sherlock jumps off a roof, seemingly meeting his end. Although Sherlock survives (somehow), the pilot was several steps ahead of the audience, much like the titular detective.

Season 4 of the Karate Kid sequel series sees the return of fan favorite villain Terry Silver. John Kreese enlists his old Vietnam War buddy to bring down his rivals. In an ironic twist, Kreese unleashes his own worst enemy. Silvers betrayal is foretold when Bert mentions that he resembles a Highlander, alluding to the 1986 film. Nathaniel points out that its the Highlander, as there can be only one. It seems like a throwaway, nerdy reference to 80s pop culture, which is common in Cobra Kai. Just as there can be only one Highlander, though, Silver finds that this dojo isnt big enough for two senseis. As their teaching methods begin to deviate, Silver frames Kreese, taking his place as the one.

Season 1 of The Good Place plays differently on a rewatch, now knowing that the characters are truly in the Bad Place. As shocking as this twist was, there were signs this supposed paradise wasnt what it appeared to be. The same goes for its architect, Michael, a demon in disguise. Michael lets his dark side shine through in the second episode when he spots a dog, mistaking it for a glitch. Kicking it into the sun, Michael wears a sinister grin, hinting at whats underneath. Its soon revealed that the dog wasnt a glitch, although we think Michael always knew that. Even if the animal was a glitch, would a servant of the Good Place dispose of it in such a gleefully mean way?

Sheldon Cooper is a man of science. So, hes naturally skeptical when Penny drags him to a psychic in Season 7. The psychic is wiser than Sheldon assumes, telling him that his professional pursuits and personal life are intertwined. Once he fully commits to Amy, everything will come into focus. Sheldon refuses to accept that a so-called fortune teller could know more than him, waiting another three seasons before popping the question. Right before tying the knot a year later, Sheldon and Amy have an epiphany, laying the groundwork for super-asymmetry. It puts them on the path to winning the Nobel Prize, something that mightve happened much sooner had Sheldon listened to the psychic. Amy was always the key to the equation.

The White Lotus (2021-)

Rick can never see whats right in front of him, constantly ignoring his girlfriend Chelsea while dwelling on the past. Had Rick paid more attention to Chelsea, he mightve realized that almost everything she says is a premonition of their tragic fate. The earliest example comes in the Season 3 premiere when Chelsea tells Rick that hes a victim of his own decisions. Throughout the season, Chelsea makes several other comments about death coming for her and being with Rick forever. As on the nose as Chelseas words sound in retrospect, its still jaw-dropping when Ricks quest for revenge results in the death of the woman he loves. Ricks choices turn him into a victim as well, taking a permanent vacation with Chelsea.

After losing his girlfriend Janice, acting coach Gene Cousineau considers joining her. His weapon of choice? A gun from his former roommate and fellow actor, Rip Torn. While Cousineau doesnt turn the gun on himself, it alters the course of his life. In the final season, a paranoid Cousineau accidentally shoots his son Leo with the gun. While Leo survives, Barry isnt so lucky when Cousineau resurfaces years later. Although the authorities believe Cousineau was behind Janices death, Barry is the true culprit. Barry is on the verge of coming clean until Cousineau murders him using the Rip Torn gun. While Cousineau gets his revenge, hes killed the only person who can clear his name. Thus, Cousineau finds his life ripped and torn apart.

The Sopranos (1999-2007)

Upon airing, The Sopranos finale angered and confused numerous viewers, who were unable to fathom why David Chase would end the series with an abrupt cut to black. The answer may lie in an episode from earlier that season when Tony and Bobby contemplate what its like when somebody gets whacked. Bobby theorizes that you probably dont even hear it. This eerily mirrors Tonys final scene. Not only has the screen gone black, but the music playing in the background can no longer be heard. Although some may debate Tonys fate, his conversation with Bobby is the most telling clue. Tony more than likely died in that diner, backing up Bobbys theory that in death, silence is the only soundtrack.

Twin Peaks is a weird, weird show, full of cryptic messages and sometimes its just bizarre for the sake of bizarre. One of its most intriguing recurring elements are the Black Lodge segments set in the red-curtained room, where characters have a strange, backwards speech pattern. In one of these scenes, the murdered Laura Palmer talks to FBI agent Dale Cooper, telling him shell see him in 25 years. Low and behold, the revival series is set and filmed in 2016, even if it was released a year later. Did creator David Lynch plan for this? Probably not, but it does lend a certain mystique to the scene in hindsight.

Some shows take a long time to pay off jokes, but few of them set up years in advance. But most shows arent Community. As anyone familiar with the movie Beetlejuice is aware, the titular ghoul appears after you say his name three times. Community takes this and runs with the idea, with the character being mentioned in passing once in season 1, a second time in season 2, and then a third time in season 3, after which a character in the background dressed like Beetlejuice appears! Now thats dedication!

Arguably the defining moment in the life of the Winchester brothers is the death of their mother, Mary, at the hands of a demon. It sets them on the path to hunting supernatural creatures, due to being trained by their father, John. So when the boys encounter their mothers ghost, Sam is puzzled when she apologizes to him. Several seasons later, we learn that Mary is apologizing because she made a deal with the same demon that killed her and fed demon blood to Sam; permitting him to enter her house in exchange for Johns life. Marys apology is for her own role in the brothers lives turning out the way they have.

Page boy Kenneth is a little unsettling, despite his chipper demeanor and we dont just mean his permanently toothy grin. Throughout the show, there is a running gag that Kenneth is somehow much older than he appears, and while this can range from subtle scenes, such as his making reference to pop culture of the 1940s and 50s, and being affected by sounds only heard by people over 40, at other times things get a bit more blatant, such as his paranoia about his age and his apparent first words to his mother. While this could just be a character quirk, it all pays off in the finale, where a scene in the distant future reveals Kenneth in charge of NBC and looking exactly the same.

In season 2 of Parks and Rec, Leslie Knope is set up on a bind date with an MRI tech, Chris, by her friend Ann. Their date isnt exactly romantic, since he takes her to have an MRI after learning shes never had one. He also makes some awkward comments regarding her womb, claiming that she could have triplets the first time she gets pregnant. Although certainly a bit creepy, Chris medical opinion proves accurate, since, a few seasons later when Leslie becomes pregnant by her husband Ben, they do indeed have triplets!

Late in Friends first season, Ross ex-wife gives birth to their son. While waiting around for the birth, the gang, particularly Monica, has babies on the mind, with her lamenting that she doesnt have one of her own; demanding why a passing mother gets to have two. Chandler then offers to get together and have one with her in a nice gesture that goes hilariously wrong. Not only does this scene foreshadow Chandler and Monica getting together, years in advance, it also takes on added significance once the two of them adopt twins from a new mother in the final season.

Mad Men was still in its heyday during its fifth season, and this episode only helped raise the excitement. In the 12th episode, Lane Pryce hangs himself after being forced to resign for stealing money from the company. However, if you paid close attention throughout the season, this act by Pryce would be no surprise to you. Examples include Pete discussing life insurance in the event of self-harm, Pryce himself ironically exclaiming, Ill be here for the rest of my life!, and even Don sketching a noose. Suffice it to say that the shows writers knew exactly where they were going with Pryce.

Much of the plot of the third season of this anthology horror series depicts Fiona Goode, a witch, and her search/murder spree for the next Supreme Witch after herself, who will make herself known by displaying the seven wonders, or seven magical abilities. However, the answer as to who will be the next Supreme is actually teased in the opening credits! Fionas daughter, Cordelia, is played by Sarah Paulson, whose name in the title sequence is displayed next to Mexican death saint, Santa Muerte, also known as the lady of the seven powers. Anyone familiar with the iconography certainly had a leg up over other viewers.

While Ricks explanation about rabbit snares foreshadowing Terminus was also considered, we elected to go with these deadly sports-related clues instead. Baseball, Americas pastime, right? Well, not so much in an apocalyptic zombie wasteland. Some serious foreshadowing stepped up to the plate in Season 5 for Glenn, who, at various points in the season, was pictured picking up baseball bats and also nearly meeting his end via a bat beating. Well, that nearly vanished a couple of seasons later, when Neegan took a swing . . . and didnt miss, in one of TVs most shocking and brutal moments.

Agents of SHIELD may not be as connected to the MCU as many would like, but its still got plenty of great little connections within the show itself. One such occurs when Grant Ward and Leopold Fitz are on a mission together in season 1 and theyre captured. Ward, while making plans to escape, inquires how long Fitz can hold his breath underwater. Although Fitz has no idea at the time, he is forced to find out not long after, at Wards hands, as he betrays the team, dropping Fitz and Simmons out of a plane to sink to the bottom of the ocean. In order to escape the underwater prison, Fitz enacts a daring scheme that forces him to hold his breath.

This season 4 episode is not only notable for being written by Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad fame, but also for introducing a major story element. Unruhe sees Mulder and Scully track down a killer who gives lobotomies to women. When he captures Scully, he tells her that she has howlers in her head that he wants to remove. Fast forward to a few weeks later in the 12th episode, when it is revealed that Scully has brain cancer, and wouldnt you know it its in the exact same place that the lobotomy killer pointed to.

Even for as binge-able a show as Arrested Development is, there are some things that escape viewers the first time through, which is what makes rewatching it so rewarding. One of the most notable is the frequency of early hints that Buster Bluth will lose a limb. From the fact that a loose seal is responsible (his mothers name is Lucille, folks), to the numerous sly references to Buster losing a hand, we just have to give a hand to the creators of the show for being this on the ball with the build-up to this plot point.

Buffy became a major contender for fantasy show of the decade, thanks in no small part to its numerous uses of foreshadowing. There were plenty of foreshadowing moments throughout Buffys run, from the early revelation of Willows sexuality via her vampire doppelganger, to Faith predicting Dawns existence during a dream sequence. But for this entry, were focusing on Joyces credit card, which has an expiration date of May 2001, as read out loud by Faith. Fast forward one season, when Buffy tragically dies by jumping into a portal. This episodes airdate? May 22, 2001. Looks like the expiration date of the credit card was actually referring to the expiration of Buffys life - and knowing Joss Whedon, there is no way that this was just a coincidence.

Time travel allows for plenty of callbacks and call forwards! Although the Bad Wolf mentions throughout the first series of the revival are quite good, when it comes to unexpected importance and foreshadowing, River Song is basically this concept distilled into a character. A mysterious woman the Doctor meets who seems to have knowledge of his personal future, River Song proves to have a lot of personal significance to the Time Lord in future seasons, being the daughter of some of his future companions, his wife, and his supposed murderer though not in that order. The fact that she name-drops some of their future adventures together, as well as calls back/forward to things she or he has said, makes Rivers appearances great to revisit.

This space western is notable for being planned out in advance from the beginning, so of course the head writer, J. Michael Straczynski, would drop many hints and bits of foreshadowing throughout its run. One of the best examples has to be when Walker Smith tells Chief Warrant Officer Michael Garibaldi that hes going to learn to watch his back. Well, you can guess what happens next. During the first season finale, Garibaldi is shot in the back in an attempt to keep an assassination plot a secret. If hed been watching it like Smith told him to, then maybe this wouldnt have been an issue.

In one of the feelsiest Scrubs episodes of all time, Bens famous death proves just how fine a line this show walks between comedy and drama. While Ben is a little irritating, he means well. He also always has his camera, even proclaiming that his camera will be with him until he is no longer alive. Well, later in the episode, his camera is mysteriously absent, and no one seems to acknowledge Ben except for Cox. Its not until the end of the episode that its all painfully put together.

Given that its based on a book series as thick as bricks, Game of Thrones has plenty of little seeds and hints of future events to be found throughout, and while choosing the reveal about Hodors name was tempting, one of its most easily overlooked happens in the very first episode. Ned Stark and his children come upon a direwolf mother and a stag which have killed one another, leaving 6 pups without a parent. Flashforward to the end of season 1, and Ned, head of House Stark, whose symbol is a direwolf, and Robert Baratheon, whose symbol is a stag, are both dead, with Neds 6 children largely left to fend for themselves.

How I Met Your Mother (2005-14)

Although the subtle countdown to Marvins death seen in the same episode was worthy of consideration, were taking a look at a different episode about the same topic. This is supposed to be a comedy! Thats what everyone yelled at their screen as they discreetly wiped away their tears after hearing of Marvins death via heart attack. However, an innocent throwaway joke predicted the event two seasons earlier. As Marshall cuts the Thanksgiving turkey in a flash-forward, his father Marvin is mysteriously absent from the family table. While this is obviously not a 100% accurate scenario, since, you know, light sabers, its still a haunting depiction of their family life in the near future when Marvin senior is no longer with them.

Lost is chock-full of foreshadowing, lore, and complexities, but thats what fans love so much about it. In its first season, as John Locke and Walt Lloyd play backgammon, Locke explains the game using the concept of light vs. dark. To all those English majors out there, its obvious that the scene is not just filler about backgammon, as it explains the moral complexities of the characters, and reveals the rivalry between Jacob (white) and the Man in Black (dark). And as it turns out, the island is just one big game of backgammon

Breaking Bad is a masterpiece on all fronts, and that includes plenty of hints at future events. As tempting as it was to pick certain moments like Walt spinning a gun actually being the moment he decides to poison a child, we went with an even more arresting image. Throughout season 2, black and white cold opens in some episodes feature a burned pink teddy bear in Walts pool. Although these scenes also herald the seasons finale, involving a plane crash, the bear itself, with its half-burned visage has drawn comparisons to Gus Fring, whose dramatic death several seasons later also saw him with a half-burned face. If it were any other show, wed chalk it up to coincidence, but come on its Breaking Bad! Of course, its intentional!

Can you think of any other scenes that were more important than we realized? Let us know in the comments.