TV Shows With The Most Jaw-Dropping (And Even Heartbreaking) Twist Endings

Warning: Major spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

Who doesn’t secretly enjoy a plot twist? Whether you truly love them, or simply love to hate them, there’s nothing quite like the stomach drop one feels when a major, unforeseen TV moment comes out of nowhere, potentially leaving you gasping for air or wallowing in tears.

And while certain shows earn their stripes through endless plot twists—here’s looking at you, Game Of Thrones—there are some shows whose twist endings you’re never prepared for.

Of course, a gripping and jaw-dropping twist ending isn’t only reserved for dramas or horror-centric series’, but can often be found amidst the most popular comedies and wholesome offerings that completely blindside fans of the show.

Looking to lament over the TV show twist you’re still thinking about? Below, we’ve rounded up the best, most jaw-dropping (and occasionally heartbreaking) TV show twist endings of all time.

Behind Her Eyes

Almost six months after it premiered on Netflix, the jaw-dropping (and rather confusing) twist at the end of Behind Her Eyes still has us scratching our heads. The show itself follows Louise, a single mother who starts an affair with her married boss, David. However, their immoral tryst is the least of viewers’ worries. From drug taking to suspicious fires and astral projection, Louise, David, his wife Adele and her friend-turned-enemy, Rob, take out the season in a jaw-dropping case of body-hopping, leaving the audience unsure as to who is who.

Check out Behind Her Eyes on Netflix here.

You

Luckily for us, the first two seasons of You each come with their own mind-boggling endings. The show itself follows Joe, a bookstore owner-turned-stalker, who becomes infatuated with a writer, named Beck. However, what happens to Beck at the end of the first season left us lost for words. And in the show’s second season, the same looked ready to happen for Joe’s latest target, a chef called Love. However, season two dropped jaws yet again, after a wild plot twist by Love shows the sweet cook in a completely different light.

Check out both seasons of You on Netflix here.

Maniac

A psychological dark comedy, Maniac sees Annie and Owen take part in a dangerous drug trial that attempts to replace therapy by taking psychoactive pills. Owen, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia, opts into the trial to earn some much-needed money, while Annie relies on the pills to numb her guilt over accidentally killing her sister in a car crash. The pair meet and grow close while navigating their way out of a series of drug-induced dreams. But in the show’s final moments, when they reunite for the first time in the real world, their perception of reality may not be what the viewer thinks. Trust us, it’s worth the watch.

Check out Maniac on Netflix here.

The Haunting Of Hill House

If, like this writer, you are petrified of anything remotely horror-related, The Haunting Of Hill House is well worth the scare. One of the most heartbreaking, incredible and shocking storylines on TV, this season of the anthology series saw a plot twist that still gives goosebumps to this day. The show follows the Crain family’s horrific experiences growing up in Hill House, and the personal (and literal) ghosts and ghouls that continue to traumatise them. But it’s the show’s most jaw-dropping twists that fans will remember the most: the Bent Neck Lady’s real identity, and of course, the meaning of the Red Room that they seemingly could never enter, when they’d unknowingly been in it all along.

Check out The Haunting Of Hill House here.

The Good Place

The Good Place follows Eleanor Shellstrop who enters ‘the Good Place’ upon her death, thanks to her righteous life on Earth. The destination is highly selective and similar to the concept of Heaven, run by afterlife ‘architect’ Michael. But Eleanor soon realises no one knows of her morally imperfect past. And while the audience, like Eleanor, are under the impression that she is getting away with her untruthful stint, it turns out, she wasn’t. And quite honestly, *that* revelation still sends shivers down our spines.

Check out The Good Place here.

Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life

Nine years after the original Gilmore Girls ended, Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life heads back to the whimsical Connecticut town to catch up on Lorelai’s relationship with Luke, which has unnervingly plateaued; Rory’s promising journalism career in New York going nowhere; and Emily’s search for meaning in life, following the sudden passing of her husband, Richard. However, it was Rory’s final line in the show that left fans on the edge of their seat and the storyline back where it started in 2000.

Check out Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life on Netflix here.

Dead To Me

Dead To Me follows the friendship between Jen and Judy that blossomed after the recent death of Jen’s husband. Using therapy, exercise and other methods to come to terms with her loss, the pair grow close as a result. However, Judy is hiding a juicy secret, and it has to do with Jen’s husband, Ted. But that’s not all, it turns out, she also had a role to play in the disappearance of her ex-fiancé, Steve.

Check out Dead To Me on Netflix here.

This Is Us

This Is Us follows the trials and tribulations of siblings Kevin, Kate and Randall and their parents, Jack and Rebecca. Taking place mainly in the present and in flashbacks to the family’s past, the show’s latest season left fans perplexed thanks to a certain wedding scene. In a sequence taking place four years in the future, viewers are fooled into thinking Kevin is working on his vows to Madison. But it turns out, he wasn’t getting married at all. Another member of the family was walking down the aisle, but not to whom you’d think.

Check out This Is Us on 10 Play here.

American Horror Story: Murder House

An anthology series, American Horror Story‘s Hell House season had a plot twist so out of the blue, it is still just as shocking to watch as it was the first time. The series follows the Harmon family, Dr. Ben Harmon, Vivien and their daughter Violet, who move to Los Angeles after Vivien witnesses Ben having an affair with his student. Once in Los Angeles, they move into an old mansion, unaware that the ghosts of its former residents and their victims still haunt the house. But as for Violet, her fate has reached a somewhat unexpected conclusion, come episode 10.

Check out American Horror Story: Murder House on Binge here

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Jane The Virgin

Jane The Virgin follows Jane Villanueva, who is determined not to follow in her mother’s footsteps of falling pregnant as a teenager, and chooses to remain a virgin until she’s married. But, after a routine doctor’s visit, her life is turned upside down. However, the show’s plot twists were far from over. Come season three, fans were left heartbroken and emotionally shattered as a result of an altercation with Michael and drug lord Sin Rostro. If you know, then you know.

Check out Jane The Virgin on Netflix here.

Lost

Fast-paced, suspenseful, and surreal, Lost follows a group of people who survive when their commercial passenger jet, Oceanic Airlines Flight 815, crashes on a remote island. The survivors must work together to get home, but instead, discover eerie mysteries about the island. But when it came to the series finale, get ready to be completely baffled. From the flash-sideways to the final moments in the church, fans still question the show’s last scenes: Was it purgatory? Were they dead all along? Did they all go on to live full and happy lives?

Check out Lost on Stan here.

Offspring

A quintessentially Australian series, Offspring follows Melbourne-based, obstetrician Nina Proudman, and her relatable family, as they navigate the chaos of life. And while Nina’s escapades—and dream sequences—may not seem all that realistic to the comings and goings of real life, there was one earth-shattering, completely unexpected moment that not only stopped the nation in its tracks but was a healthy dose of realism. And yes, it involved Patrick. Need we say more?

Check out Offspring on Netflix here.

How I Met Your Mother

While it came off as a light-hearted comedy, How I Met Your Mother follows the adventures of Ted Mosby and his love life as a single straight male. Narrated by his future self talking to his children about how, you guessed it, he met their mother, the series ends by showing us who the infamous “mother” was, and her rather shocking fate, that still has fans scratching their heads.

Check out How I Met Your Mother on Stan here.

The Bold Type

The Bold Type centres around three best friends Jane Sloan, Kat Edison and Sutton Brady who meet while working at women’s fashion and lifestyle magazine, Scarlet. Navigating their lives in New York City, from career trajectories to romantic relationships, it was the series finale that still has many fans shocked. Jane, whose ultimate goal was to become editor-in-chief, turns down the role, just to give it to Kat—who was previously fired after she and the board didn’t align on moral issues—who agrees to take on the lead role. As for Sutton and Richard, well, their fate was just as out-of-the-blue.

Check out The Bold Type on Stan here.