20 Amazing TV Plot Twists You Wish You Could Relive

Like many other TV shows on this list, 24 is one that absolutely mastered the art of the twist; at least, it did before it declined in quality during later years. Late in its exemplary first season, it dropped a reveal so stunning that it would've been pretty much impossible to ever top it, and sure enough, although many of the subsequent 24 seasons are great, none of them matched this. 

In the penultimate episode of season one, it turns out that Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke), seemingly a likable and decent CTU operative, is a mole who's been working with the season's antagonists all along. This was a gob-smacking, soul-crushing betrayal in every conceivable way, and it made audiences feel like Breaking Bad's Hank Schrader when he discovered that Walter White, his brother-in-law, was the drug kingpin he'd been pursuing. 

It was a shattering turn of events... especially when Nina then proceeds to cruelly murder Jack's wife, making the finale of 24's first season one of the most powerful and brilliant season finales of all time. It really established 24 as a program for the ages, one which helped to usher in TV's golden age. 

Startling and unexpected, yet also logical enough to be believable within the context of the story, this is a practically perfect rug-pull. Nina Myers is the twist villain most other twist villains wish they were as good as.