10 TV Show Twists Absolutely EVERYONE Hated
8. The Westphall Universe (St. Elsewhere)
It gave a start to A-listers like Denzel Washington and Tim Robbins, but the ‘80s hospital drama is now remembered better for its bravura - and bananas - ending than anything else. Taking the “it was all a dream” scenario to its logical(?) conclusion, St Elsewhere concludes with the revelation that the previous six seasons were imagined by an autistic child.
To say that this came out of leftfield would be an understatement. After a typically dramatic final episode full of big decisions and catharsis, the last thing viewers expected was for the rug to be thoroughly pulled out from under them. The final scene reveals that Dr Westphall, one of the main protagonists, is in fact a construction worker, and the hospital and all its inhabitants have been conjured from the mind of son Tommy, using a hospital-themed snow globe (naturally) for inspiration.
Why the creators chose this path is questionable, but if it was in an effort to get people talking, it certainly worked. St Elsewhere’s finale is remembered as one of TV’s most baffling. St Elsewhere’s various crossover episodes have led to a hypothesis that a large number of TV shows take place within Tommy Westphall’s mind. It’s not a conventional ending, but it’s quite the legacy.