10 Surprising Twist Endings (In TV Shows You Wouldn’t Expect)
How I Met Your Mother knew how to bring the surprises.
Who doesn’t love a twist ending? You know the feeling: You're sitting on the couch watching a TV show, you think you're on top of everything and then boom, an unexpected event or revelation flips your entire viewing experience on its head.
An effective twist is capable of staying with you long after the end credits: You probably still recall the tingle of surprise you felt when Sherlock's long-lost sister was unmasked in Sherlock, or during the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones or at the end of every episode of The Twilight Zone.
What do all those shows have in common? They're high-grade, primetime dramas. The type of show we expect to have strong twist endings. However, it's important to remember that such endings can be found anywhere, in any genre of television show.
Even the dumbest of comedies, most formulaic of children’s shows, and the silliest of animations can and have had episodes with quality twist endings capable of shocking the Dorito crumbs off viewers' laps.
Let’s have a look at 10 (spoiler-heavy) examples...
10. The Simpsons - Maggie's Murder Attempt
"Who shot Mr. Burns?" Those were the words on everybody's lips after the 1995 Simpsons episode of the same name in which the evil billionaire was shot by an unknown assailant. With everyone in Springfield having a reason to shoot him (and with an incompetent local police department) it seemed unlikely that the shooter would ever be found.
Viewers had to wait several months to see the case be solved in part two and were collectively dumbfounded when the shooter was revealed to be baby Maggie Simpson.
Why it's surprising: No one, not even the U.S. President and First Lady, expected The Simpsons to be anything more than a ridiculous comedy show. This episode stunned all doubters, showing that The Simpsons could give us a mystery capable of gripping the world with an ending that nobody saw coming.
Even more impressive was how the writers were able to build to that ending, sprinkling in an array of clues that pointed at Maggie's guilt the whole time. "Who made the audience look like suckers?" The Simpsons did.