12 Of My Favourite TV Twists

I finished “Death Note” recently and enjoyed a clever twist in the mid-point of the story, and it got me thinking – what are some of my favourite TV plot twists? Not the ones you see topping every list online, but the ones I personally enjoyed or was shocked by the most?

This kind of list comes with MAJOR SPOILERS, for these shows in particular: Breaking Bad, Friends, Death Note, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Demon Slayer, Rick and Morty, Stranger Things, Avatar: The Last Airbender, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, The Good Place and Hannibal.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Walt Poisoned Brock (Breaking Bad)

It seems appropriate to start this list with my favourite show of all time, and with one of my favourite twists in all of television.

I’d argue that for the first four seasons of “Breaking Bad” Walt doesn’t do anything outright evil. He killed people, sure, but his back was always against the wall.

What can’t be excused, however, was how he poisoned Jesse’s girlfriend’s son Brock in order to manipulate Jesse back onto his side. We all assumed this level of depravity must’ve been Gus … and how wrong we were.

Chandler And Monica (Friends)

Oh yes, you’d better believe I’m going to be looking at comedic shows as well as dramas. There isn’t a show on earth, light-hearted or otherwise, that doesn’t have a twist or two to keep the audience on their toes.

I could’ve picked Ross’s red sweater, the twin reveal in the finale, or Ross saying “Rachel” at his wedding, but it’s the other big twist in London that shocked me and general “Friends” audiences more.

There were never any real teases of Chandler and Monica showing feelings for one another in the first four seasons (apart from throwaway dialogue here and there, maybe), so their hook-up in London is one of the most outrageous moments in the show. And yet … it works? I could tell they were going to make a good pair immediately, and I was proved right over the remainder of the series.

There’s A Second Kira (Death Note)

The twist that inspired this list, the “Assault” episode of “Death Note” is so clever because you never conceive the possibility of another Kira in the mix, and yet there were never any rules in place saying it wasn’t plausible.

People start dropping dead as soon as they arrive at the broadcasting station, and that’s bound to get the audience’s mind whirring – how is Light doing it? Doesn’t he need to see their face AND know their name? Does that mean he took the Shinigami Eyes deal and can see people’s names when he looks at them?

As it turns out, Light is just as much in the dark as we are. Another Kira, this one with the Shinigami Eyes, hatched a plan to broadcast messages via the station and then kill any who approached. And so began the tensest stretch of “Death Note” episodes …

River Song’s Identity (Doctor Who)

I don’t think “Doctor Who” is a show particularly known for its twists, but there were a few options I could’ve gone with – namely “You Are Not Alone” or the fact that Missy was the Master all along.

The twist that blew everyone’s minds came in “A Good Man Goes to War” when River Song revealed her true identity – specifically that she’s Amy and Rory’s daughter. It came completely out of leftfield, and yet it made sense as to why she kept crossing their paths time and time again.

To sweeten the deal, the following episode gives us yet another River Song bombshell – that she grew up as Amy’s best friend and regenerated in front of them. The finale of season six reveals that River is also the Doctor’s wife. So yeah, a character with twists coming out of her ears.

Moriarty Shoots Himself (Sherlock)

The best episode of “Sherlock” is easily “The Reichenbach Fall”. It’s the Moriarty vs. Holmes battle we’d waited two seasons for, and it delivered on all fronts.

The entire episode keeps pulling the rug from under the audience, but it’s the episode’s ending that stuck with viewers long after the credits rolled. Holmes is forced to jump off a building, and Moriarty shoots himself – seemingly to throw a spanner in the works. A fitting end for a madman.

(I’m going to pretend that the following episode didn’t undermine everything that came before …)

Charlie Understands Gaelic (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia)

One of the great running gags in “It’s Always Sunny” is Charlie’s illiteracy – something easily attributed to his stupidity. He’s never portrayed as the brightest bulb, so we all took it for granted that he couldn’t read and write English.

… Which made it a big surprise when the gang took a trip to Ireland and Charlie revealed he could read Gaelic, since he grew up with an Irish pen pal. This is one of those great character twists that is both funny in its own right whilst also shedding new light on all the jokes that came before.

Muzan’s Showdown (Demon Slayer)

I’m cheating a little for this entry – the last episode of the “Demon Slayer” Hashira Training Arc completely blew me away, and there were three separate moments (two big and one small) that I thought deserved a place on this list.

Muzan visits the Ubuyashiki mansion and has a tense conversation, but what follows is a one-two-three punch of insanity – the mansion explodes, the Hashira unite and Muzan is seemingly trapped in place by Lady Tamayo.

But then, just as the battle seems won, everyone – Hashira and normal Demon Slayers alike – are transported into the Infinity Castle for one final showdown. The explosion followed by the Infinity Castle twist left me reeling.

And bonus points for a badass third twist – Zenitsu is locked in and awake. I haven’t seen the Infinity Castle movie yet but I’m already hyped.

Will’s Body Is Found (Stranger Things)

“Stranger Things” Season One remains the peak of the series for me. It nailed the eighties nostalgia whilst still basking in that intense, unsettling atmosphere that made even the slowest of episodes hit hard.

After Will Byers’ disappearance, the whole town is on edge for days. That all ends when Will’s “body” is found in the lake. It’s a turning point for the investigation and for the characters … even though we the audience know that something sinister is at play behind the scenes.

This Is The Bad Place (The Good Place)

This is one of those twists that, if you’ve watched “The Good Place”, is bound to be on anyone’s list of favourite twists. The whole of the show’s first season is built around it.

It came as such a huge shock when The Good Place (i.e. Heaven) was revealed to be The Bad Place (i.e. Hell), as the setting was nothing short of a paradise throughout the whole series. The only hint was that the characters were living in a perpetual interpersonal nightmare… so this was a twist that made total sense in hindsight.

Zuko Is The Blue Spirit (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

I wouldn’t say “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is known for its twists, but there was one early on that I didn’t see coming.

Zuko made it his mission to capture The Avatar, ’cause that’s just what cartoon villains are like. At first, he was a character that wanted to reclaim his honour and not much else.

So when The Blue Spirit – the person who saved Aang from capture – was revealed to be the supposedly evil Zuko, I was perplexed and intrigued. Clearly this was a “villain” whose motivations ran deeper than what I first anticipated.

Abigail Hobbs Is Alive … And Dead (Hannibal)

Oh “Hannibal” writers, how cruel you were. You gave us back Abigail Hobbs after a whole season of teasing only to snatch her away at the final moment.

We’re never 100% sure whether Abigail Hobbs is alive throughout Season Two, so it blindsided both us and Will when she emerged in the finale. But Hannibal, being the sadist he is, slits her throat in the same way Abigail’s father once did. She and Will are left to bleed out on the floor … and my jaw was down there with them.

Mr. Poopybutthole Is Real (Rick And Morty)

By far the single GREATEST twist in all of television – no, all of media ever – has to be the reveal that the Smith family’s good friend Mr. Poopybutthole was real all along.

There were many great reveals across “Rick And Morty”, like the alternate universe Ricks / Mortys and the mysterious toilet hole episode’s ending, but I don’t think anyone expected Mr. Poopybutthole to be a real character. It plays out as the funniest joke in one of the funniest episodes of the show.

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: