October 11, 2024 | Jesse Singer

Revealing The Biggest Twists From TV And Movies


Spoilers Alert

Some of these you'll know and others you won't. So, one more time....SPOILER ALERT!

The Empire Strikes Back

Where else to begin than maybe the greatest reveal/spoiler of all time. Ready for it? Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father. Surprised?

Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode VLucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

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The Sixth Sense

This is the surprise that established M Night Shyamalan as the master of the plot twist:

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Bruce Willis' character is killed at the beginning of the movie and is 

dead the whole time.

Screenshot of Bruce Willis from: The Sixth Sense (1999)Hollywood Pictures, The Sixth Sense (1999)

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Black Swan

In Black Swan, the ballet world isn't just cut throat, it's stabbing. It looks like Nina Sayers stabs Lily the night of the big performance—but it's later revealed to be a hallucination and the truth is that Nina stabbed herself.

Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers in Black Swan (2010)Searchlight Pictures, Black Swan (2010)

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The Prestige

A magician never reveals his tricks.

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But in The Prestige, the tricks are revealed to involve 

identical twin and clones.

The Prestige (2006)Warner Bros., The Prestige (2006)

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Fight Club

Brad Pitt and Edward Norton's characters are complete opposites in Fight Club. Well, actually, they are opposite personalities of Norton's character

Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden and Edward Norton as Narrator in Fight Club (1999)Twentieth Century, Fight Club (1999)

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Final Destination 5

The characters who escape death at the beginning of the film eventually all perish at the end in a plane explosion.

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It's not just any plane explosion though. It's the one that Alex Browning has his vision of in 

the first Final Destination film.

Final Destination 5 (2011)New Line Cinema, Final Destination 5 (2011)

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Oldboy

Oh Dae-su escapes 15 years of captivity. While getting revenge he falls in love with a younger girl named Mi-Do. However, it is later revealed that his captor had set up the meeting—Mi-Do is Oh Dae-su's daughter.

Choi Min-sik as Dae-su OhCJ Entertainment, Oldboy (2003)

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Saw

Adam and Lawrence are chained up in a room with a lifeless body and a saw and instructions that they must kill the other one if they want to live.

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At the end, 

the lifeless body in the room rises and is revealed to be Jigsaw (their captor).

Saw 1 (2004)Twisted Pictures, Saw 1 (2004)

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Primal Fear

Edward Norton plays a man accused of murder who pleads innocent on account of having a split personality. Richard Gere is the lawyer who gets him off the hook.

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It's only then that Norton reveals his true nature as the evil part of his personality 

(the quiet, innocent part was an act).

Edward Norton as Aaron in Primal Fear (1996)Paramount, Primal Fear (1996)

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The Village

Another M Night Shyamalan twist ending—The Village, which appears to take place in the early 1900s, is actually in the present day.

The Village (2004)Touchstone, The Village (2004)

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The Usual Suspects

Who is Keyser Söze? Verbal Kint, tells the authorities all about the mysterious Keyser Söze—when in fact, it's him.

Kevin Spacey as Verbal in The Usual Suspects (1995)PolyGram, The Usual Suspects (1995)

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Dallas

Season 3 ended with JR Ewing getting shot, and all summer people were asking—"Who shot JR"?. It was his sister-in-law, Kristin Shepard.

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Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing in DallasCBS, Dallas (1978–1991)

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Gossip Girl

So, who was Gossip Girl? It wasn't a girl at all. It was Dan.

Penn Badgley as  Dan HumphreyWarner Bros., Gossip Girl (2007–2012)

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Squid Game

Oh Il-nam was just an old man participating in the Squid Games as a fun thing to do before he perished. No he wasn't. He was, in fact, the mastermind behind the Squid Games.

Oh Yeong-su as Oh Il-nam in Squid Game (2021–2025)Netflix, Squid Game (2021–2025)

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Westworld

Season 1 of Westworld had multiple interesting storylines and a number of shocking moments—but none more shocking than when Bernard was revealed to be a Host.

Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe in  Westworld (2016–2022)HBO, Westworld (2016–2022)

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Supernatural

Chuck is God.

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SupernaturalWarner Bros. , Supernatural (2005–2020)

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Twin Peaks

Who killed Laura Palmer? The answer was revealed in the seventh episode of season 2 when we all learned that it wasn't exactly Bob—like many thought—it was Laura's father, Leland Palmer, who was possessed by Bob.

Screenshot from Twin Peaks  (1990–1991)Lynch, Twin Peaks (1990–1991)

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Breaking Bad

Vince Gilligan—the creator of Breaking Bad—often talked about how Walter White's journey was set up as a character arc from Mr Chips to Scarface. And just like Scarface, Walter White perishes at the end from machine gun fire.

Breaking Bad (2008–2013) ScreenshotAMC, Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

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Now You See Me

FBI agent Dylan Rhodes was in on the scheme.

Screenshot Now You See Me (2013),Summit Entertainment, Now You See Me (2013)

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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Steve Martin and Michael Caine play con men working to trick Glenne Headly out of $50,000.

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But in the end, it is they who are swindled by Headly, who 

turns out to be a con artist herself.

Screenshot Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)Orion, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

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Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

Snape kills Dumbledore.

Screenshot of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)Warner Bros., Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

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Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part One

Dobby the elf dies.

Screenshot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)Warner Bros., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

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The Sopranos

The final moment of the series sees Tony and the family sitting at a diner when a man walks through the door.

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Tony looks up and 

the screen cuts to black (was Tony killed? That is what many think it means).

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in The SopranosHBO, The Sopranos (1999-2007)

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Seinfeld

Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer are found guilty of criminal indifference and sentenced to one year in prison. The series ends with them behind bars.

Seinfeld end of tv showNBC, Seinfeld (1989–1998)

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Murder On The Orient Express

They all did it.

Murder on the Orient Express ScreenshotTwentieth Century, Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

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Crazy, Stupid, Love

Ryan Gosling starts dating Emma Stone who we later find out is Steve Carell's daughter.

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Screenshot of Crazy, Stupid, LoveCarousel Productions, Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

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Memento

Leonard Shelby has memory problems. As he searches for the person who killed his wife, he eventually learns that he is the one that killed her via an insulin overdose.

Guy Pearce in Memento (2000) in suitNewmarket Capital Group, Memento (2000)

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The Others

Grace Stewart and her two kids are ghosts.

Screenshot of The Others (2001)Miramax, The Others (2001)

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Orphan

The adopted child Esther is really Leena—a murderous, stunted-growth, 33-year-old woman.

Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther in Orphan (2009)Warner Bros., Orphan (2009)

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Phone Booth

The man the authorities take down at the end isn't who had made the phone call and held Stuart captive in the phone booth. 

Phone Booth (2002)Twentieth Century, Phone Booth (2002)

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Planet Of The Apes

The Statue of Liberty at the end of the movie lets us all know that we've been on earth the whole time.

Planet of the Apes (1968)Twentieth Century, Planet of the Apes (1968)

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The Good Place

They are actually in the Bad Place.

The Good Place (2016-2020)Fremulon, The Good Place (2016-2020)

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Friends

The end of season 4 is Ross and Emily's wedding.

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But during the "I dos," 

Ross says "Rachel" instead of "Emily".

Ross and Emily weddingWarner Bros., Friends (1994–2004)

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Game Of Thrones

Ned Stark is beheaded in the ninth episode of the first season.

Sean Bean as Ned Stark in Game of ThronesHBO, Game of Thrones (2011–2019)

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Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Ward was actually working for HYDRA.

Agent Ward was actually working for HYDRAMarvel, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020)

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24

Nina was working for the enemy.

Sarah Clarke as Nina Myers20th Century, 24 (2001–2010)

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The Mandalorian

Luke Skywalker shows up in the season 2 finale.

The MandalorianLucasfilm, The Mandalorian (2019-)

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How I Met Your Mother

After his wife (the mother) dies, Ted pursues the love he always had for Robin—and they end up together.

How I Met Your Mother20th Century, How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014)

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St. Elsewhere

This critically-acclaimed medical drama ran for six seasons on NBC in the '80s.

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But guess what? In the final episode, it is revealed that the entire show actually took place in the head, and 

imagination, of an autistic boy.

St. ElsewhereNBC, St. Elsewhere (TV Series 1982–1988)

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