7 Stunning TV Twists You Never Saw Coming

Half the fun of watching TV is trying to predict plot twists. Whether a show is a mystery, comedy, or drama, it always has half-truths and partially finished storylines that keep viewers hooked because they want to find out the solution to the puzzle.

Sometimes plot twists are predictable and disappointing, but more often than not, the story goes in a completely different direction than expected. The best plot twists surprise and shock viewers without feeling random or tacked-on.

7) Eleanor is not in The Good Place (The Good Place)

The Good Place‘s innovative premise was that a woman who hadn’t really been a good person while alive had somehow ended up in Heaven and needed to learn how to conduct herself appropriately — or so it seemed. At the end of the first season, it was revealed that Eleanor was actually in the Bad Place, which had been set up to seem like Heaven to a bunch of sinners who needed eternal punishment.

The Good Place‘s brilliant twist worked so well because it never made sense that someone like Eleanor would end up in the Good Place to begin with, and many of the other residents of the afterlife had equally questionable ethics. However, the show threw everyone off track by including Chidi, who seemed like an annoying goody-two-shoes who would fit in perfectly in Heaven.

6) Nicky Is Alive (This Is Us)

This is Us often used its non-linear structure to trick viewers and distract from the truth before big reveals. One of its biggest and most shocking plot twists is also one of its most controversial: the reveal that Jack’s younger brother Nicky was alive.

There were a significant number of flashback scenes suggesting that Jack never stopped mourning the loss of Nicky during the Vietnam War. Thus, when it was revealed that Nicky was alive but estranged from Jack, it provoked as much anger as shock, because this twist seemed to undermine the strong emotions behind everything viewers thought they knew.

5) Laura Palmer Was Killed By Her Possessed Father (Twin Peaks)

Twin Peaks broke all of the rules of narrative storytelling, often using surrealism, symbolism, and bizarre occurrences to move seemingly contemporary stories in supernatural directions. However, when the series first began, it seemed like a straightforward story about the murder of a teenage girl in a small town.

By the time it was revealed that Laura’s father had killed her while possessed by an evil spirit named BOB, many viewers had guessed that Leland was guilty, but almost nobody thought a demonic entity was involved. This twist was powerful and shocking because it was so close to what everyone had predicted, while being completely different from what was expected.

4) Dead Characters Were Really Held Prisoner In a Parallel Version of New Salem (Days of Our Lives)

Days of Our Lives dabbles in the supernatural more than most other daytime soaps and has had stories such as devil possessions and people magically being resurrected with a potion that restores life. However, this was not always the case, and one of its earliest such stories was completely shocking. In 2004, many of the soap’s most popular characters met a gruesome end at the hands of a serial killer known as the Salem Stalker.

These deaths enraged long-term fans, but later it was revealed that the characters were not dead at all — they were being held on an island called Melaswen (New Salem spelled backward). If this wasn’t surprising enough, they’d all been put there by Marlena Evans, who had been brainwashed by André Dimera into “killing” her friends and family. This twist ushered in a new era of the soap while resolving the problem of bringing back dead beloved characters that viewers wanted back on-screen.

3) Ben is Dead (Scrubs)

Scrubs had many experimental episodes. It tried its hand at a TV version of The Sixth Sense during its third season, and it ended up being one of the most emotional episodes in the series. Of course, this twist only works once because it relies on the shock of learning that a seemingly alive character is dead, but it still is a novel and surprising story.

Ben was a friend of Dr. Cox’s who JD had diagnosed with leukemia in a previous season. Throughout this sequel episode, Dr. Cox tries to get Ben to accept treatment, only for it to be revealed at the end that Dr. Cox is at Ben’s funeral, and his friend died before his first appearance in the episode. In retrospect, the twist makes perfect sense because Ben didn’t directly interact with anyone but Dr. Cox, but this clue is so subtle that most viewers miss it the first time they watch the episode.

2) Madeline Matlock is Really Madeline Kingston (Matlock)

The twist at the end of the Kathy Bates Matlock reboot was such a hit with fans that anyone who missed the premiere probably learned what it was before they watched. The series had been touted as a reboot of the classic Andy Griffith legal mystery series, but this wasn’t entirely accurate.

The entire pilot revolved around Madeline deciding to go back to work at the age of 75 and convincing Jacobson Moore to hire her as an attorney. At the end of the episode, however, Madeline returns home to her supposedly dead husband, and we learn that she took the pseudonym “Matlock” in honor of her favorite TV lawyer and approached Jacobson Moore because she wants to prove the law firm’s actions contributed to her daughter’s death from an opioid overdose 12 years ago.

Matlock offers twists at the end of every episode, but this one was the most unexpected. It completely changed the premise of the show from what viewers thought they knew to a more complicated and emotional plot about a grieving mother who wants justice for her daughter.

1) River Song is Amy and Rory’s Daughter (Doctor Who)

River Song was one of the most enigmatic characters on Doctor Who. Her plotline was similar to the novel The Time Traveler’s Wife — she knew and loved the Doctor, but because their timelines were mixed up, he had no idea who she was.

As River’s story progressed, it was clear she and the Doctor were in love in her past and his future. However, few people guessed that she was actually the daughter of his companions, especially since she seemed to be an enemy masquerading as a friend. This reveal also offered a clever play on words, as River Song’s name was a synonym of her birth name, Melanie Pond.

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