14 TV Shows With Huge Plot Twists In Their First Episode

Game of Thrones appears on the list of 14 TV shows with huge plot twists in their first episode.Game of Thrones developed a reputation for shocking viewers. The first episode ends with one of the show's most surprising events.The Stark family is part of Game of Thrones.The Stark family also faces a tense relationship with the King and Queen of Westeros when the royals visit Winterfell. King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) is an old friend of Stark patriarch Ned (Sean Bean). Queen Cersei (Leana Headey) is cold and does not seem to care for her husband as much as she cares for her position. The Queen's two brothers, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), join the royal trip north.

Early in the episode, Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright), a younger Stark child, climbs the tall walls of his castle. This sets up a twist in the pilot's final scene. Bran climbs the wall, hears a strange sound, and looks into a window. He sees a couple having sex—Queen Cersei and her twin brother Jaime. Jaime catches Bran looking and shoves the child out the window, making him appear to fall to his death. This combination of the incestuous affair, the implication that Jaime and Cersei plan to remove King Robert, and Bran's fall gives viewers a strong desire for more episodes.

The Good Place is on the list of 14 TV shows with huge plot twists in their first episode.The Good Place begins with a surprise. Eleanor Shellstop (Kristen Bell) wakes in a pleasant office. Michael (Ted Danson) calmly tells her she is dead but earned a spot in the “Good Place” for being extraordinary on Earth. Michael shows Eleanor the afterlife for good people, praising her actions: working as a defense lawyer for death row innocents and championing human rights. Eleanor agrees as Michael introduces her to her afterlife soulmate, Chidi (William Jackson Harper), an ethics professor. After Eleanor confirms Chidi will remain loyal to her, she drops a big twist.

Eleanor admits a cosmic mix-up after Michael's intro. She did not perform the heroic acts Michael claimed. Eleanor was not good; she sold bad medicine to sick and old people and made money scamming innocent folks. Knowing Eleanor does not belong, the show's main idea becomes clear: Chidi must help her act ethical so she stays in the Good Place. Another twist happens in the pilot: Eleanor's lies cause the magical neighborhood to descend into chaos.

Jon Favreau made one of the biggest shows on Disney+.Star WarsThis spin-off showThe MandalorianPedro Pascal plays Din Djarin, a masked member of an extinct race with great fighting skills who works as a bounty hunter. Mando talks with his contact, bounty-giver Greef Karga (Carl Weathers). Karga gives Mando a different, more delicate job. Mando finds out his target is fifty years old and must be captured alive. Mando does not see the target's picture, but he gets the location.

Mando goes on to finish his job, reaching a guarded compound. While checking the area, Mando sees a bounty-hunting droid, IG-11 (voiced by Taika Waititi), move toward the building and start a big fight with the guards. Mando joins them, and the two defeat the guards and shoot down the last door. They find their target is not a typical fifty-year-old man; it is a baby—specifically, a baby of the same long-living race as Yoda (hence the nickname “Baby Yoda” even though it is a different character). This twist, making the bounty target a baby instead of a hardened criminal, is both funny and surprising, making viewers want to know why the child matters.

The Netflix comedy-dramaDead to MeThe show shows two different personalities finding each other during hard times. Jen (Christina Applegate) is angry and cynical because her husband died in a hit-and-run accident. Judy (Linda Cardellini) is cheerful, even though she recently lost her husband to a heart attack. They meet and bond at a support group for grieving partners. Jen makes a shocking discovery at Judy's house. She finds Judy's husband did not die of a heart attack. Instead, the relationship ended because he blamed Judy for miscarriages. Jen gets upset, but after a scene at the support group, they reconcile. Judy apologizes for her lie, or more accurately, she apologizes foroneof her lies.

Jen invites her lying friend to stay in her guest house after seeing her poor living situation, but a bigger twist hits. As Judy packs things from a storage unit, the camera shows her car with a big dent, revealing thatshe is the driver who hit Jen's husband. This wild twist makes viewers want to see how Judy lies to her new friend and what happens when Jen finds out the truth.The driver hit Jen's husband. This wild twist makes viewers want to see how far Judy lies to her new friend and what happens when Jen finds out the truth.

Westworld quickly starts its daily work. Human-passing robots run a Western-themed town, acting like an amusement park. Visitors talk to the androids called "Hosts," who live out cowboy dreams. Teddy (James Marsden) talks to a beautiful Host named Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) like they know each other from before. He takes her to her ranch, but things go wrong upon arrival.The show quickly starts, setting up the daily work of a Western-themed town of human-passing robots operating as an amusement park. Visitors talk with the androids called “Hosts,” who live out their cowboy dreams. Teddy (James Marsden) talks to a pretty Host named Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) like they know each other from before. He takes her to her ranch, but something goes wrong upon arrival.

An attack starts. Teddy fights two men attacking Dolores's father. Dolores enters and cries over her dead father's body. Then, the Man in Black (Ed Harris) walks in. The Man in Black hits her and talks about visiting Dolores for 30 years. Suddenly, Teddy returns to save the day. He shoots the evil man directly, but the bullets miss. Teddy's weak shots and the Man in Black's boredom show the truth: Teddy is not human; he is also a Host. While other Hosts create scenarios for visitors, Marsden's character arrives in town daily on the train, acting like a new adventure, but he has done this every day for decades. This reveal shows that nothing in Westworld is what it seems. Scenes in the pilot suggesting Dolores knows more than her creators think make viewers want more.

Only Murders in the Building is a funny, charming show. Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez light up the screen. They are true-crime fans who team up to solve a murder in their building while podcasting their experience. Like every good mystery, the first season uses many false leads and dead ends to keep the case going. A big twist starts the mystery.This show is one of television's funniest and most charming. Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez light up the screen as three true-crime fans team up to investigate a murder in their apartment building while podcasting. Like any good mystery, the first season uses many false leads and dead ends to keep the case going. A major twist starts the mystery.

Oliver (Short), Charles (Martin), and Mabel (Gomez) meet after their building gets evacuated by an alarm. They gather at a restaurant and connect over true crime podcasts. They learn the evacuation happened because a body was found. This makes the trio decide to investigate the death of their neighbor, Tim Kono (Julian Cihi). The three claim they never met Tim, except for a quick elevator interaction earlier. As they talk, the men find out Mabel used to investigate 'crimes' in their building as a kid with friends called The Hardy Boys. This detail seemed like character background, but the episode's end shows otherwise. Mabel's laptop shows a photo of her and friends—'My Hardy Boys'—with Tim Kono in it. This reveal that Mabel lies about not knowing Tim immediately makes people suspect she might be involved in his murder.

The first episode of Heroes.Heroes.The first episode introduces characters discovering new superpowers. Claire Bennett (Hayden Panettiere) is a cheerleader with healing abilities. Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) is a Japanese businessman who warps spacetime. Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera) is an artist who paints the future. Many others appear. Most pilot stories show heroes finding powers. One story ends the first episode with a shocking scene.

Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) is a nurse. He repeatedly dreams of falling off a skyscraper and seeing a man before he hits the ground and levitates. These flight dreams continue during his day. He meets his brother Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), who is running for congress and fears Peter's behavior will hurt his campaign. The episode ends when Nathan gets out of a cab and finds his brother standing on a skyscraper edge, talking about his destiny. Peter leans over and falls, closing his eyes and trusting his powers. When he opens his eyes, he flies, but Nathan flew up to catch and save him. Peter's dreams seemed to hint at flight, but Nathan's destiny was the whole time.

Modern Family.The pilot of 'Modern Family' does not look like a show starting with a twist. However, viewers at its debut find a big surprise. The mockumentary series follows three families with very different backgrounds. Phil (Ty Burrell) and Claire (Julie Bowen) form the typical white suburban family with their three kids. Jay (Ed O'Neill), a white man, has a much younger Colombian wife, Gloria (Sofia Vergara), and a gay couple, Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam (Eric Stonestreet). The three families proceed through their 'typical' days as the episode moves on.Phil and Claire struggle to properly discipline their kids and maintain boundaries. Jay tries to connect with his stepson, Manny (Rico Rodriguez), despite sharing no interests. Mitch wrestles with telling his family that he and Cam adopted a baby.Jay fights to discipline his kids and keep boundaries firm. Jay attempts to bond with his stepson, Manny (Rico Rodriguez), though they share no common interests. Mitch debates telling his family about adopting a baby with Cam.

The episode itself starts the long-running sitcom with humor. The ending scene connects everything and finishes the story neatly. Cam eases the burden on Mitch to awkwardly announce their baby by inviting everyone for dinner with 'big news.' Claire, Phil, Jay, Gloria, and their children arrive at Mitch and Cam's. The episode shows these are one big family, not three separate ones, since Mitch and Claire are Jay's children from his first marriage. Viewers joining later will not be shocked, but those watching for the first time will find it a surprise.

LostLost starts with a plane crashing on an unknown island. Survivors then try to understand the island, mixing in flashbacks to their past lives. In the crash chaos, Jack (Matthew Fox), a doctor and natural leader, works to treat injuries. A day later, survivors find their bearings and head out to search for the cockpit, which broke from the main cabin and landed in the jungle. They seek a radio to call for help. Jack, Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) find the cockpit in a tree. Climbing up, they find the pilot alive. He explains the plan went off course, so any rescue team searching will look in the wrong spot. This bad news is small compared to what follows.

The pilot is snatched from the cockpit. Red blood splashes across the window as Jack, Kate, and Charlie quickly escape the wreckage. They split up and run through the jungle. They meet again and find the pilot's mangled corpse in tree branches, dropped there by a massive, unseen monster. Surviving now means facing natural dangers for food, water, and shelter, plus a supernatural being.

Orange Is the New BlackOrange Is the New Black made a huge splash as Netflix's first original drama, hooking viewers in the first episode. Piper Kerman's memoir sets the story. Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), a privileged white woman, goes to prison for moving drugs with a criminal girlfriend years ago. She says goodbye to her straight-laced boyfriend (Jason Biggs) and enters Litchfield Penitentiary. She faces a cold welcome because she doesn't know how to act around other inmates.

Piper comments on the bad food, making an enemy of Red (Kate Mulgrew), who runs the kitchen. Red gives Piper a 'special' sandwich with a used tampon, making Piper flee the cafeteria while inmates laugh. Turning down the hallway, Piper sees Alex (Laura Prepon), her ex who got her into the drug deal. Piper feels distressed realizing she is stuck with her ex in prison long-term. Viewers want the next episode to see how this unfolds.

Based on Philip K. Dick's 1962 novel of the same name.The Man in the High CastleThe Man in the High Castle presents an alternate history. It starts with the idea that Axis powers won World War II, giving the Germans and Japanese control over most of the world. The story opens in a German-occupied United States. It features much mystery and intrigue. A shocking turn happens at the end of the pilot episode.

Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank) joins rebels fighting the Nazi regime to reclaim New York. Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos), living in Japanese-occupied San Francisco, gets a package for her sister containing footage of the Allies winning the war. She tries to find the video's source and joins the resistance, meeting Joe, a friend who seems to guide her through danger. Just as Juliana finds someone to trust, Joe calls a German officer, reporting his progress. He reveals he is not a resistance member; he is an undercover Nazi spy. This betrayal makes the audience worry for Juliana and deepens the intrigue of the alternate history.

Mad Men is on the list of 14 TV shows with huge plot twists in their first episode.Mad Men's Don ends the pilot episode by returning home late and sleeping with his wife, Betty (January Jones), despite meeting Midge early on and flirting with a client, Rachel Menken (Maggie Siff).Advertising executives in the 1960s. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) starts as New York City’s coolest bachelor. He has deep talks at fancy bars. Don attracts every woman. He romances an artist named Midge (Rosemarie DeWitt). However, Don Draper’s image of the 'ideal bachelor' breaks: he is not a bachelor.

The episode's presentation shows Don's affairs before showing his family, turning his infidelity—which could be simple exposition—into a reverse twist. Don pursues several relationships outside his multiple marriages throughout the series; these are just one part of his double life.

For the duration of the Friday Night Lights.Friday Night Lights is on the list of 14 TV shows with huge plot twists in their first episode.All Dillon, Texas townsfolk see the high school football team's success as extremely important. The Panthers feel good about the upcoming season because of quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter)'s talent. New Eric Taylor is the coach for Friday Night Lights. (Kyle Chandler) faces challenges. He must manage the conflicting personalities of his other star players, Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) and Brian “Smash” Williams (Gaius Charles). Despite friction, Street appears to be the perfect young TV lead. He is kind and humble despite the constant pressure. He is confident, not arrogant, with a bright future in college and professional football ahead, until the final play.

The pilot shows the Panthers' first game starting well. Then, one play goes wrong, and Street gets tackled. Losing the star QB mid-game is bad enough. But Street cannot stand up; he has a spine injury. This ends his football career and might stop him from walking. Backup quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) plays heroically to finish the first game. Still, the team faces a QB problem and lacks a plan for the rest of the season.Friday Night LightsThe show builds drama as Saracen tries to play QB. Street accepts his new life as a quadriplegic. Coach Taylor works to rally the team after the terrible injury.

The show begins as a normal politics story. Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins leads a team protecting former U.S. President Cal Bradford. Collins is a single father, a fact shown early, but he struggles with personal issues. Collins, along with agents Billy Pace and Jane Driscoll, performs duties expected of Secret Service agents.

Flashbacks show the bond between Collins and Bradford. They also hint at deeper issues in both men's lives. When Bradford dies, Collins delays reporting it because a strange item is missing from his room's safe.

By the pilot's end, subtle looks and comments reveal the truth. A disturbance in Colorado mentioned early on was tied to a disaster that happened. The current situation for Collins, his agents, and everyone else is not what it seems. They live and work in a mountain habitat built to help humanity survive the disaster.Described by Jackie StrausefromThe Hollywood Reporteras “The Truman ShowmeetsThe Leftovers,”Paradisewill, according to show creator Dan Fogelman, “provide a complete meal” by the end of the first season, but open new questions as the show moves forward.