16 Plot Twists That Got People Hooked On TV Shows, And 15 Plot Twists That Made People Want The Show Canceled Immediately

    Pretty Little Liars started having too many plot twists, and they were rarely good.

    Ajani Bazile-Dutes
    by Ajani Bazile-Dutes

    BuzzFeed Staff

    We've asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us what they considered to be the worst and best plot twists on TV shows. Here's what they had to say:

    🚨Obviously, there are massive spoilers ahead!🚨

    1. Good plot twist: When it was revealed that the dead body the students were burning was Annalise's husband, Sam, on How to Get Away with Murder.

    Michaela, Connor, Wes, and Laurel burning Sam's body in the woods
    ABC

    "It's probably one of the best pilots I’ve seen that made my jaw drop to the floor, plus the rest of the show did NOT disappoint with crazy unexpected plot twists."

    —xdaniellax

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    ABC / youtube.com

    2. Bad plot twist: When Ezra revealed he met Alison and knew who Aria was and that she was underage before they "first" met in the bar on Pretty Little Liars.

    Ezra telling Aria that he knew who she was when they met
    Freeform

    "Ezra was originally working undercover and planning to seduce Aria for his book about Alison, which he also had a thing with."

    —miscblogger92

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    youtube.com

    3. Good plot twist: When Ted said, "And that's how I met your Aunt Robin" at the end of the How I Met Your Mother pilot.

    Ted telling his kids about how the story he was telling about the woman he liked was about meeting their Aunt Robin not their mother
    CBS

    "Watching the show as a teen, for me, that was a big plot twist. But we all know how downhill that went."

    —sushisaahimi

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    CBS / youtube.com

    4. Bad plot twist: When Love Quinn told Joe that she was also a stalker and murderer on You.

    Love Quinn confessing to Joe that she killed Delilah
    Netflix

    "It was stupid and clearly only done so the finale would have a plot twist. Ruined the show for me."

    —samanthah45178ee47

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    Netflix / youtube.com

    5. Good plot twist: When it turned out all of the families were related at the end of the Modern Family pilot.

    Cam, Claire, Jay, Gloria, and Phil all hugging before Cam and Mitchell's big announcement
    ABC

    "For some reason, I remembered being shook that all of the families on Modern Family were related. It makes total sense when you think about it, but I was so invested in the separate stories that I hadn’t yet considered they were related."

    —jentevanwingerden

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    ABC / youtube.com

    6. Bad plot twist: When Alex left Seattle to be with Izzie on Grey's Anatomy.

    Meredith Grey reading Alex's goodbye letter
    ABC

    "The entire show, he grew from being hated to being a great surgeon in a stable relationship with Jo just to abandon ship. I understand the actor left abruptly, but I would have rather his character died with his integrity than to be written off in a way that destroyed his entire story arc."

    —emmakayk

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    ABC / youtube.com

    7. Good plot twist: When it turned out that Rebecca and Jack's scenes in the This Is Us pilot took place in the '80s and that Kevin, Kate, and Randall were actually their children.

    Jack in the hospital looking at his newborns while the background behind him reveals that the setting is in the '80s
    NBC

    "I literally gasped and then cried. Learning how everyone was connected, they did such a fantastic job of showing that. It was really a great first episode!"

    —nutmeg

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / youtube.com

    8. Bad plot twist: When Cece was revealed as "A" on Pretty Little Liars.

    Freeform / Via Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Aside from the many other plot holes and misguided writing choices, making a trans character, Cece, the super villain is an overused and extremely offensive trope. Additionally, using a cisgender actor to play a trans role takes away an opportunity from a trans actor."

    —ayatesro

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    Freeform / youtube.com

    9. Good plot twist: When Eleanor revealed that she had no idea what she was doing in the Good Place and she was not the person everyone thought she was in The Good Place.

    Eleanor telling Chidi she is in the wrong place
    NBC

    —ahsoka401

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / youtube.com

    10. Bad plot twist: When 13 Reasons Why revealed that Justin Foley had HIV-1 that progressed to AIDS, and then he suddenly died.

    Justin Foley unconscious on the dance floor at prom and then in a hospital bed
    Netflix

    "How do you give a character who had so much growth — he was a person we hated in the first season and eventually became the absolute favorite — that kind of ending?"

    —ashriyathampi

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    Netflix / youtube.com

    11. Good plot twist: When Alex showed up at the same prison as Piper in Orange Is the New Black.

    Alex walking up to Piper in prison and saying "Maybe this is a bad time to say hi, huh?"
    Netflix

    "Throughout the episode, Piper remembered some of the memories with Alex that got her into prison in the first place and then Alex appeared at the end."

    —dikatkeith

    12. Bad plot twist: When Rory told Lorelai she was pregnant at the end of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.

    Rory telling Lorelei that she's pregnant
    Netflix

    "I know these were Amy Sherman-Palladino's treasured final four words if she had written Season 7, but the fact of the matter is, she wasn’t writing Season 7. She was writing a revival that took place nearly a decade later and she ruined tons of character development because she didn’t get to write Season 7. Nobody wanted Rory to end up pregnant with Logan’s baby while he’s engaged to someone else. And the whole 'full circle' explanation is a complete cop out and it’s really lazy writing."

    —jadekoalas

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    Netflix / youtube.com

    13. Good plot twist: When the smoke monster appeared in the first episode of Lost.

    Everyone on the island looking at a big black cloud of smoke that's making a roaring sound
    ABC

    "I knew from then that this was going to be about a lot more than a plane crash."

    —charlottebeswick30

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    ABC / youtube.com

    14. Bad plot twist: When Logan was killed off on Veronica Mars.

    Logan stepping outside the house and then a sudden explosion
    Hulu

    "Not only was it a terrible move for the show, but the WAY in which he died was even more infuriating to lots of fans. It kinda felt like a big 'screw you' after such long-term dedication from fans."

    —meanie22

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    Hulu / youtube.com

    15. Good plot twist: When Sarah spotted the woman who jumped in front of an oncoming train, and they had the same face on Orphan Black.

    Sarah walking toward a woman at the train station and the woman turns around, revealing they have the same face
    BBC America

    —nurseyneesej

    Watch the scene here:

    View this video on YouTube
    BBC America / youtube.com

    16. Bad plot twist: When Chuck found out his father, Bart, had faked his death on Gossip Girl.

    Chuck opening a door and finding his father Bart talking to a woman
    The CW

    "It was so pointless and random, and he was just going to die the next season. He should have just stayed dead."

    —emmaloveschocolate

    View this video on YouTube
    The CW / youtube.com

    17. Good plot twist: When the pilot of Mad Men ended with Don going home to his wife after the episode made him seem like a bachelor.

    Don sleeping with a woman, then saying a speech about how love doesn't exist, and then later going home to his wife and kids
    AMC

    "It was so well done."

    —shouldistayorshouldeggo

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    AMC / youtube.com

    18. Bad plot twist: When How I Met Your Mother is revealed to actually be a story about Ted's love for Robin and not the mother.

    Ted holding a french horn outside Robin's window as she looks out with her dogs
    CBS

    "The ending is all kinds of messed up, and quite frankly, disrespectful to Tracy."

    —marleymcallister

    Watch the moment at the 4:50 mark here:

    View this video on YouTube
    CBS / youtube.com

    19. Good plot twist: When it was revealed that Judy was the driver in the hit-and-run that killed Jen's husband on Dead to Me.

    Judy looking at her car with a busted headlight
    Netflix

    —casey99

    20. Bad plot twist: When Riverdale revealed that Charles and Chic were dating.

    Charles from Riverdale visiting Chic in jail both expressing their mutual love
    The CW

    "I really groaned at the scene. Charles, Betty’s long-lost half brother, was dating Chic, the guy who pretended to be Betty's long-lost half brother."

    —jbmasta

    21. Good plot twist: When it was revealed that someone knew the girls were on the island in The Wilds and that them being "stranded" was intentional.

    Jeanette's dead body on the island and Gretchen watching the girls on the island via screens in a big office
    Amazon Prime

    "That show excels at plot twists in general. It is so intriguing and felt so well done."

    —aidanerinn

    22. Bad plot twist: When David turned out to be alive on Revenge.

    Conrad being followed by a van and the driver being revealed as David
    ABC

    "The whole point of the show was for Emily to literally get revenge on the people responsible for her beloved father’s death, only to find out he was still alive. To top it off, his character was pretty unlikable and nothing like this amazing loving father we’d been seeing in flashbacks."

    —ashmed812

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    ABC / youtube.com

    23. Good plot twist: When Prince Charming turned out to be alive and lying in a hospital bed on Once Upon a Time.

    Prince Charming dying in Snow White's arms and then later, in modern day, he is just lying on a hospital bed
    ABC

    "That moment was the whole reason I kept watching. I was hooked from that moment on."

    —kladue11

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    ABC / youtube.com

    24. Bad plot twist: When A.D. turned out to be Spencer's long-lost British twin on Pretty Little Liars.

    Spencer and her identical twin Alex Drake
    Freeform

    "It seemed like they took random fanfiction ideas and threw them together last minute. There were so many plot holes that it wasn't even possible that it would be the case."

    —angelag4e427edbe

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    Freeform / youtube.com

    25. Good plot twist: When it was revealed that Mabel knew Tim Kono, the murder victim, in Only Murders in the Building.

    A picture of Mabel, Tim Kono, and their two friends
    Hulu

    —foldinthecheese123

    26. Bad plot twist: When Rufus and Lily met their secret son on Gossip Girl.

    The CW

    "He was there for a couple episodes, then it was never mentioned again."

    —cynnamonwarner

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    The CW / youtube.com

    27. Good plot twist: When A-Train suddenly ran through and killed Hughie's girlfriend in The Boys.

    A-Train running through Hughie's girlfriend and killing her in the process
    Amazon Prime

    "I definitely wasn’t expecting that in the first five minutes."

    —cadenceb02

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    Amazon Prime / youtube.com

    28. Bad plot twist: When Olivia got kidnapped on Scandal.

    ABC

    —desireem401617d03

    Watch the moment here:

    View this video on YouTube
    ABC / youtube.com

    29. Good plot twist: When the princess was released by her captor right before the prime minister had sex with a pig on television because he was told that was a condition of her release in Black Mirror.

    The prime minister is about to have sex with a pig on TV and someone calling afterward to reveal the kidnappers let the princess go before the program started
    Netflix

    "Everything the prime minister put himself through to save her ended up being unnecessary."

    —ivannar2

    30. The last bad plot twist: When Jane found out that Michael was still alive on Jane the Virgin.

    Jane finding out Michael is alive and Rafael explaining how his sister faked his death
    The CW

    "I know it's a telenovela staple and the show is a parody of telenovela tropes, but we watched her grieve for YEARS and slowly fall in love with Rafael. Then they brought Michael back with amnesia and made him and Jane hate each other. They spat on Jane and Michael's relationship when it was originally really lovely."

    —ktk8895

    Watch the moment here at the 1:40 mark:

    View this video on YouTube
    The CW / youtube.com

    31. And the last good plot twist: When everyone found out that vice principal Martin Harris was Kate's kidnapper AND Kate accused Jeanette of seeing her while she was being held captive in Cruel Summer.

    Kate on national television saying that Jeanette Turner saw her while she was being held captive
    Freeform

    —liv2smile

    Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

    What do you consider to be some of the best and worst plot twists in TV history? Let us know in the comments!