TV Plot Twists That Made Our Jaws Drop In 2023

Loki's journey shows Marvel's real wins. He starts in Thor.Tom Hiddleston's Trickster God is first an enemy to Thor, then to the Avengers, starting in 2011. He appears sometimes to cause trouble for the good guys, seeking his "glorious purpose." He believes he must sit on a great throne and rule.

Disney+'sLoki.Loki moves from a minor villain to an antihero and then a hero across two seasons. He finds the Kafka-like TVA, falls for his variant Sylvie, and finds his friends. This leads him on a hero's journey that makes Joseph Campbell proud.

In the final episode, Loki sees any effort to save the universe from the Temporal Loom's destruction will fail unless he makes a final sacrifice.

"I know what I want. I know what kind of God I need to be. For you. For all of us."

Loki passes through radiation doors without a suit. His TVA uniform dissolves into his classic Loki look. He grabs timelines and stitches them together. Then, he becomes the universe's savior. He chooses isolation, the thing he feared most, so his friends can live. He changes the Sacred Timeline's structure, placing himself at the center, holding it together forever. Finally, we see Loki alone at the center, on his throne.

The third season of.Star Trek: Picard.Star Trek: Picard finally finds its voice after two shaky seasons. The original crew reunites, along with friends and a top foe.

In episode nine, Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) helps Capt. Picard's (Patrick Stewart) son Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) on a vision quest. Jack sees flowers, vines, and a red door. Troi guides the young man, showing him the images come from a childhood memory of visiting a botanical garden with his mother, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). Jack latched onto the idea that the connection felt right and was a reminder of an old enemy's past beliefs.

Troi leads him to a red door in his mind. Entering it, she instantly fears him and runs. Reporting to the crew, she says she found a familiar cube and hears a voice calling Jack. It is the Borg Queen.

The Borg's return is a surprising, welcome twist. This makes sense because Picard, once Locutus, passed Borg traits to his son, making him vital for Borg survival. They need him and have been reaching out to him without knowing. Jack also wants to go back to them.

The return of.Good Omens.Good Omens ends with heartbreak for fans and a true cliffhanger, leaving Season 3 possible.

Focusing on Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and Crowley (David Tennant), the story covers their relationship and their actions saving humanity again.Good Omens 2.Aziraphale sees an offer: take Gabriel (Jon Hamm)'s place as archangel, who plans to run off with Beelzebub (Shelley Conn). Metatron (Derek Jacobi) sweetens the deal by offering to return Crowley to angel status.

Aziraphale immediately accepts the offer, ignoring Crowley's needs or humanity's good. Crowley finds the offer appalling; he views both Heaven and Hell as broken systems with bad setups.

Crowley changes the dynamic for both the angel and the viewers. Realizing his feelings for the angel, the demon Crowley offers Aziraphale a different deal: run away with him, just like Gabriel and Beelzebub. Aziraphale is shocked; the rule-following Aziraphale cannot accept going against heaven, even if it means leaving his best friend for thousands of years.

Crowley kisses Aziraphale in a desperate moment. This shocks both the audience and the stunned angel, who responds with the exact wrong words:

"I forgive you."

Crowley leaves, heartbroken like the audience.

After years of yearning, dealing with insults from his vampire family, and enduring abuse and mockery from a community that clearly rejects him, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) finally gets his wish in the season finale of What We Do in the Shadowsto become a vampire with all its powers and traits, including drinking human blood and taking human lives.

This is something he never thought about.

Guillermo's gentle nature stops him from killing without cause. He has killed before, but only to protect, never to feed.
The guilt overwhelms him; he cannot handle the true nature of being a creature of the night.

Nandor (Kayvan Novak) knew this all along. Nandor did not just string him along for ten years; Nandor knows his familiar cannot handle vampirism's bloodiness and seeks to shield him from it.

Guillermo rejecting his vampire calling and Nandor protecting Guillermo change the finale from bittersweet to simply sweet. Like A+ blood. Or so they heard.

ThroughoutThe Fall of the House of Usher, Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood) gets texts and calls from his granddaughter Lenore (Kyliegh Curran) that he ignores, focusing on telling his story to C. Auguste Dupin. But the final episode shows Roderick revealing the youngest Usher was dead the whole time.

Madeline uses Lenore's online profile to build an A.I., creating a digital version of Lenore that sends constant texts to Roderick saying "Nevermore." Her haunting messages remind him of his bargain years ago and the price her life represents.

This sad reveal about the only good, innocent being in the Usher family crushes the audience, who hoped she could escape unharmed.

Joel and Ellie's journey unfolds.The Last of UsJoel (Pedro Pascal) falls for Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as a surrogate daughter. This father-daughter bond is the only human connection left in the apocalyptic drama. They travel to give Ellie to the Fireflies' 'safety.'

The Fireflies are not the answer they seek.

Game players see the Fireflies not protecting the infection-immune Ellie as a shock. They want to dissect her to find the immunity's cause and seek a cure.

Learning this, Joel acts. He kills the Fireflies and possibly humanity's only survival chance. Viewers know Joel's choice is wrong, but they understand his action. Watching him lose another loved one breaks people.

Gen Va spinoff ofThe Boys, This series is a dark, twisted chapter on manufactured superheroes set in college. Wannabes become heroes-in-training, then find Godolkin University tests students and develops a plague to eliminate supes.

Students Cate (Maddie Phillips) and Sam (Asa Germann) attack the school, killing humans. Hemokinetic Marie (Jaz Sinclair) and her friends try to stop them. Marie stops Cate's attack. Homelander (Antony Starr) then appears, calls Marie a monster, and knocks her out.

Marie and her friends, who saved students, teachers, and most staff, are blamed for the massacre. Cate and Sam receive praise as heroes. The first season ends with the friends locked in a cell with no exit.

This dark ending shows audiences not to trust heroes made by the media.

Pulling the wool over fans' eyes for a few seasons is one thing. Completely changing an entire mythos and timeline, possibly going back a decade, is something else.

That is the case withMarvel's Secret InvasionFans were shocked when they learned Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle) became a Skrull sinceCaptain America: Civil War.

Marvel Studios never confirmed it, but Kevin Feige implied thatKevin Feige suggested something. “we can only assume he’s been a Skrull since [Captain America] Civil War.”

This plot twist does more than just changeSecret Invasionit changes every scene featuring Rhodey in Marvel outings afterCivil War, including key moments fromInfinity War and Endgame, shifting the tone of many Marvel moments to something much darker.

The first season ofYellowjacketsLottie's (Simone Kessell) mental health has been fragile. Her parents put her on medication in high school. After the plane crash, she spirals. After rescue, she went to a Swedish psychiatric hospital for ten years before starting her "wellness spa" (a cult).

During filming, the audience sees Lottie seeing a therapist. She tries to help herself and others. In episode 7, she tells her therapist she thinks an evil entity followed the girls from the forest, which is why they are reuniting at her "spa."

The therapist takes a turn. She asks Lottie why she struggles to accept the supernatural force in her life, telling her to welcome it. Lottie is shocked. The audience is shocked too.

Lottie is shocked, but not as much as when the therapist becomes the Antler Queen, the forest entity.

From this point, it is clear there was no therapist. Lottie cannot be trusted.

Hulu's third season.Only Murders in the Building.The show adds more cast icons. Besides Martin Short and Steve Martin, along with Selena Gomez, audiences see Paul Rudd, some Matthew Broderick, and Meryl Streep.

Streep plays Loretta Durkin. Loretta is an actress striving for a big break with a starring role in Oliver's (Short's) new musical.Death Rattle.More exists in Loretta than it seems.

When Oliver finds Loretta's scrapbook of Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd), she seems like a disturbed fan wanting to appear in the play to reach Ben. Her backstory shows she gave up a child as a young actress. That son became Dickie Glenroy, Ben's overworked and unappreciated brother. She watched him, not his selfish brother.

This revelation makes sense. It changes how people view Loretta, moving her off the suspect list.

HBO's.Barry.Barry has given viewers a roller coaster of emotions over four seasons. This comes partly from the cast's strong acting. They turn the dark comedy of a hired gun into some of the most heartbreaking scenes on television.

The story of NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) and Cristobal (Michael Irby) is an unusual love story many fans wanted as the end. NoHo Hank is the antagonist, but his love for Cristobal is a forbidden romance. Audiences quickly supported them. The head of the Bolivian mob and a member of the Chechen Mafia must overcome many problems to be together.

In episode 4, after a fight about mass murder, betrayal, and a Wile E. Coyote-style trap with sand, Cristobal breaks up with Hank. Hank begs Cristobal not to leave, saying, “You don't get it. You can't go. Please. Please. You can't leave.”

Hank begs Cristobal not to leave or he will die. Neither Cristobal nor the audience knows this.

Because of who they are and what Cristobal saw, he needs to die. Hank's men silently murder Cristobal. Hank sobs uncontrollably for Cristobal because he cannot stop it.

Viewers feel terrible if they miss this final moment for a favorite couple.

In theBlack MirrorEpisode "Loch Henry." Filmmaker Davis (Samuel Blenkin) returns to his childhood home with his girlfriend Pia (Myha'la Herrold). They plan a film about serial killer Iain Adair. Davis's father solved the case years ago. The duo gathers footage from the home, where Pia finds a shocking discovery.

Janet (Monica Dolan), Davis's mother, saved videocassettes of old crimes shows. One recording shows Davis's parents torturing a missing couple from the '90s. Davis's parents did the real serial killers.The killers were not just Iain Adair; the throuple murdered Adair when the married couple saw him as weak.Not just Iain Adair; the throuple were thrill killers. They had to kill Adair when the married couple found he was a weak link.

Discovering that sweet, motherly Janet is a murdering monster creates a horrific plot twist. But when she chases poor Pia after her discovery, the episode shifts from thriller to horror fast.

Disney+ brought R.L. Stine'sIn episode 6, Mr. Bratt told the kids the sad story of Harold Biddle. He explained how their parents tricked him and burned him alive in the house. Mr. Bratt shared his pain from them. Slappy the Dummy was his only friend. When a kid asked how Mr. Bratt knew, he revealed he was Harold Biddle.into the modern age. It ramps up the scare factor, making the stories fit today. Justin Long, the reigning Scream King, joins the cast.

Audiences sensed something was wrong with the odd teacher, Mr. Bratt, the second he moved into the creepy old Biddle place. He acts calm about the gross things, talks to himself, and plans something for the parents and kids hiding a secret. His behavior gets weirder as episodes proceed.

Episode 6: Mr. Bratt tells the kids the sad story of Harold Biddle—how their parents tricked him and burned him in the house. He shows his pain and heartbreak from them. Slappy the Dummy was his only friend. When a kid asks how Mr. Bratt knows, he says Mr. Bratt is Harold Biddle.

Harold's skin burns away, revealing the burned, gnarled face of Harold, terrifying the teens.

A family descendant, Harold has been using Mr. Bratt's body to try and find Slappy.

Tom Wambsgans, married into the family and treated as the outsider, was not an early favorite. After the Roy children form a front against their father and the Waystar Royco board, the constant fighting among the Roy siblings hands Tom the company. Shiv's decision to betray Kendall and help Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) get the company sets off a chain reaction that puts Tom in charge.

The siblings fight hard to take Waystar Royco back. Matsson's GoJo acquires the company in a massive buyout, making Tom the American CEO.

Netflix made a great adaptation of the anime epic.One PieceOne Piece has become a surprise hit for fans and the streaming service. The live-action version features Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) and the Straw Hat Pirates.The Straw Hat PiratesThe show offers charming family moments. It includes rare instances of family killing, some nudity, and a strange scene of eating one's own flesh. All this happens in jest.

During the series, Garp (Vincent Regan), a vice admiral in the Marines, hunts Luffy. Garp seems determined to catch Luffy despite Luffy acting goofy as a pirate.

At the end of episode 4, Garp and his Marines attack.Luffy and his crewLuffy uses a spyglass to see his attacker clearly. He is shocked by what he sees.

“Grandpa?”

His crew is stunned. The audience is stunned. This moment is shocking.

In the anime, this moment happens much later. Still, the link between the stern Marine vice admiral and the happy-go-lucky pirate wannabe becomes a revelation that changes the character and the whole series going forward.

Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley)YouYou is many things. Handsome. Charming. Well read. Focused. Dissociative. Dangerous. Deadly. Over four seasons, audiences watched the mentally ill stalker move from woman to woman, causing long destruction. During his development, we see Joe change from stalker to something much worse.

Joe's new wealthy friend group gets murdered one by one. He thinks the serial killer is Rhys Montrose (Ed Speleers), an author with a rags-to-riches story. Then, Joe finds out the truth: it was him all along.

Joe is much sicker than we first thought. He has been disassociating for some time, murdering, kidnapping, and torturing people without realizing it.

That one twist seems enough. Another twist at the endsends shivers down our spines: Joe accepts this about himself and decides to embrace it. Teaming up with the upper-crust Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), Joe gets powerful and decides stalking is over. Killing is his strength now. Kate and Joe become a gruesome pair.You send shivers down your spine. Joe accepts this about himself and embraces it. Teaming up with upper-crust Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), Joe gains power. Joe decides stalking is over; killing becomes his specialty. Kate and Joe form a gruesome pair.

Amazon Prime's

Amazon PrimeSwarmSwarm is a roller coaster ride. The story tracks a stalker's obsession with singer Ni'Jah. Their delusions and mania grow through social media; this is a dark, fascinating trip.

After a years-long murder spree, Dre (Dominique Fishback) vanishes. Authorities cannot trace Dre's location. Yet, the final episode shows the audience following Dre as they reappear as Toni, now with Rashida (Kiersey Clemons), still obsessed with Ni'Jah.

For Rashida's birthday, Dre/Toni repeats selfish patterns. They use rent money to buy Rashida tickets to a Ni'Jah concert, despite Rashida hating the artist. Furious, Rashida yells at Toni. Toni makes her work two jobs to spend her money on this nonsense. The audience has seen this scene before: Dre/Toni put their wants above others, or ignored or refused to listen, causing chaos with bad choices.

In anger, Dre/Toni strangle Rashida, their life partner. The audience sees Dre has no redemption. Dre does not deserve it.