Fans screamed when The Mandalorian revealed that the mysterious Jedi answering Grogu’s call was none other than Luke Skywalker. It was a well-guarded secret that brought classic Star Wars magic into the new era and broke the internet overnight. Ned Stark’s beheading wasn’t just unexpected—it let us all know that no one was safe in Westeros. It flipped fantasy storytelling on its head and set the tone for the show’s ruthless reputation. These are some of the best episodes ever made from the greatest TV shows of all time. Only Murders in the Building is one of the highest-rated comedies of the 2020s on IMDb, anchored by a hilarious trio of extraordinary performances by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez.
Crazy, Stupid, Love (
Via a single, seemingly innocuous line of dialogue, it’s revealed that Bernard is a “host”, one of the androids of Westworld that he himself has been programming. Ford soon has Bernard dispose of his former lover, and we’re left with our jaws on the floor long after the episode has ended. Just when you think The Boys can’t get darker, the show reveals that Homelander has a secret son—born from his assault of Becca. It shifts the show’s stakes from satire to disturbing family drama and makes Homelander even more terrifying. Every season of Orphan Black seemed to add another layer, but the early reveal that Sarah isn’t just one clone—but one of many—took viewers by surprise. The multiplicity opened the door to mind-bending sci-fi questions and showcased Tatiana Maslany’s incredible range.
Prestige dramas are becoming more common with streaming platforms taking the reins, and TV shows no longer play it safe. They dive right into the most mind-bending sci-fi thrillers, horror slow-burns, and tangled family sagas. And at the heart of these TV shows of the 21st century are surprises that turn the entire narrative around. From identity reveals to long-laid secrets, these plot twists deepen character arcs, subvert well-worn tropes, and keep us pressing “next episode” every time. In 2018, Netflix released The Haunting of Hill House, and although it is based on the novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson, audiences continued to be awed by the various plot twists apparent in the show.
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Yet somehow in that episode, which the show’s creator, Vince Gilligan, wrote and directed, he gets unfathomably worse. In the closing minutes, we learn that Jesse’s girlfriend’s son Brock—who’s been in the hospital with a mysterious illness—will be OK. The 14th anniversary of The Prestige felt like as good an excuse as any to create a package devoted to the movie and TV twists through the years that have stunned us, destroyed us, and changed the way we think.
But the real genius of The Usual Suspects lies in how it weaponizes the audience’s trust. When Agent Kujan realizes that Verbal spun a story from random items on the bulletin board, it’s too late—Verbal walks out, transforming into the elusive Söze. Crazy, Stupid, Love juggles its intersecting love stories with breezy charm—until it drops a nuclear-level twist mid-argument. Turns out, the suave player Jacob (Ryan Gosling) is dating Hannah…who is Cal’s (Steve Carell) daughter. Get Out is not only a great thriller but also a critique of White America and so-called Neoliberal politics. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, Catherine Keener and Betty Gabriel.
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Like, for example, when everyone learned that Violet indeed did take her own life and that she was actually a ghost. Much of the story of Elliot Alderson, the main character in Mr. Robot played by Oscar winner Rami Malek, revolved around his mental health. If Breaking Bad had some good plot twists, of course, Better Call Saul did, too.
Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle. Narrated by a bored office worker, Fight Club turns from satire to psychological thriller when we learn that Tyler Durden—brash, violent, anti-establishment—is the Narrator’s split personality. It’s the twist that launched a thousand thinkpieces…and frat boys quoting it endlessly. Less a “twist” than a perfectly executed plan hidden from the viewer, Shawshank’s finale is glorious. Andy Dufresne, mild-mannered banker and convicted prisoner, has quietly dug his way out of lock up over decades, hiding the hole behind a poster. Verbal Kint’s slow, meandering tale of Keyser Söze plays out like a detective novel.
Early in the series, it’s revealed that advertising genius Don Draper is actually Dick Whitman, a man who stole another top 10 movies soldier’s identity during the Korean War. “Alias” ( )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.
They travel back to the origin world and prevent Tannhaus’ family from dying in a car crash so he would never invent time travel. As they succeed, their bodies start to flicker and fake, which suggests that they have destroyed both their worlds as well and broken the cycles. Of course, those familiar with the games’ story saw this one coming from a mile away, but those who had no idea had their jaw on the floor at the sight of what this second season decided to kick things off with. It’s a twist as well-executed as this that proves why The Last of Us is one of the best drama shows of the decade so far.
When Jack meets his fellow crash survivor and love interest Kate at the end of the episode, it becomes clear that the parts of his story off the island aren’t flashbacks at all. They’re flashes forward to a time after he and Kate have managed to escape the island. Suddenly, everything we thought we knew about Lost’s main character has become something else, in surely the single-most ingenious plot twist of any TV show. For a show predicated on mystery, Only Murders in the Building’s season-ending reveals tend to be more entertaining than awe-inspiring. But the revelation of who killed Bunny Folger in Only Murders season 2 is a different story altogether. The show plays its hand beautifully by setting us up for the hard-earned but somewhat predictable twist of pinning Bunny’s murder on celebrated murder mystery podcaster Cinda Canning.
To this day, mentioning the red wedding to a fan is still bound to bring a tear to their eye. “Breaking Bad“ ( )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.
Daisy May Cooper is most well known for her comedic role in This Country, but that in no way means she doesn’t have the chops to pull off an all-time plot twist. Jordan Peele’s second thriller cemented his place as king of the big reveal. It stars Lupita Nyong’o as a grown woman who experienced trauma in her childhood after wandering away from her family and entering a funhouse with mirrors. As an adult, she’s got her own family to focus on, but her past is coming back to haunt her—and it’s got some help in the form of some gruesome dopplegängers. If the end of this tearjerker doesn’t rock you to your core, we don’t know what will.
The film follows an embezzler on the run who is killed at a run-down motel operated by the shy Norman Bates. However, when her lover and sister look into her disappearance they learn the truth about the hotel’s owner. While romcoms don’t usually feature twist endings, Crazy, Stupid, Love proves it can work in the genre. The film was directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and stars Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon. It follows a man going through a divorce, Cal, and a slick-talking lady’s man, Jacob, who helps him get back into playing the field. At the same time, Jacob loses his womanizing ways as he falls for a girl.