17 TV Scenes That Were So Smart, I Can't Believe Someone Thought Of Them

Grey's Anatomy waiting 14 YEARS to make one callback reference.

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which TV moment was so clever, they couldn't believe someone actually thought of it. Here are the genius results.

🚨 SPOILERS AHEAD, PEOPLE 🚨

1. In Community, when they spent the first two seasons casually mentioning the name "Beetlejuice," and the third time, an actual Beetlejuice appeared in the background, just like in the movie.

NBC

"In the movie, Beetlejuice appears after you say his name three times. So in Community, after Annie says 'Beetlejuice' for the show's third time, someone dressed as Beetlejuice walks across the screen in the background. It’s so subtle and you barely notice it, but when you do, it’s pretty funny and clever."

—emo_or_die

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

2. In How to Get Away With Murder, when the series ended the exact same way it began, only the professor changed from Annalise Keating to Wes's son, Christopher.

ABC

"The show had so many great plot twists, and you never knew who to trust, but that ending was perfect."

—anitar411db647a

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

3. In Fleabag, when the Priest could sense that Fleabag was breaking the fourth wall and looking at the camera, and then he did it too.

BBC One

"I absolutely loved every time the Priest noticed that Fleabag was breaking the fourth wall and talking to us. It showed that he really saw and understood her. Also, the ending of Fleabag was so clever when she turned to the camera and shook her head 'no' to the audience, as if she was choosing to leave us and focus more on the relationships she had in real life."

—districtrue

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

4. In This Is Us, when Rebecca first saw Jack's lifeless body in the hospital, and there was a split-second flashback to young Jack, almost as if she were trying to preserve her memory of him.

NBC

"That flicker to young Jack was perfect. It was as if Rebecca went back to her earliest memory of Jack, and he was gone in the blink of an eye, sort of like she was trying to relive their whole relationship. What a brilliant touch to an incredible scene."

—Spencer Althouse

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

5. In Jane the Virgin, when the show finally revealed that Jane's son was actually the narrator, five seasons later.

The CW

"My jaw dropped! They had this planned for five seasons."

—sydneygarcia

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

6. In The Good Place, when Eleanor realized that they were actually in the Bad Place, and everything you originally thought was a lie.

NBC

"It seemed so obvious when she said it, but up until that moment, there was so little giveaway! After the reveal, I could not get over how I didn't figure it out first! It was so smart."

—Nikki Mendez

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

7. In Sherlock, when Sherlock cleverly figured out Irene Adler's cellphone password.

BBC One

"All of Sherlock was genius, but when he deduced the password to Irene Adler's phone...it was incredible. The two of them had been playing a flirty battle of wits for the whole episode, but the end to it was peak Sherlock Holmes. Such clever writing."

—iloveyou3000

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

8. In Grey's Anatomy, when Dr. Bailey had to give birth without her husband in Season 2, so George stepped in for him. Then, 14 years later, Dr. Bailey returned the favor to Amelia when she had to give birth alone.

ABC

"In Season 2, Miranda Bailey’s husband got in a car crash when she was in labor. He couldn’t be there for the delivery, so George O’Malley stepped up. He got behind her on the bed and held her shoulders and told her encouraging things while she was pushing. It was such a sweet moment. Then, in Season 16, Dr. Bailey did the same thing for Amelia Shepherd when Link couldn’t be there for the delivery of their baby. She remembered what George had done for her and carried on his legacy while helping her friend. TEARS."

—hawkeyefan0215

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

9. In Brooklyn Nine-Nine, when Jake cleverly got Philip Davidson to reveal how he pulled off the perfect murder.

NBC

"The whole 'The Box' episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is so clever. In this particular scene, Sterling K. Brown’s character finally cracks during Jake and Holt's interrogation, and he reveals in detail how he murdered the dentist. It was just so smart and so well thought out!"

—allyh495cbd328

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

10. In That '70s Show, when the series ended with everyone counting down to the new year, and the screen cut to black one second before it became the first day of the new decade.

Fox

"I mean, the show was only about the '70s, so this made perfect sense. It was such a smart way to illustrate it and to end the series."

—Kayla Yandoli

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

11. In The Haunting of Hill House, when the identity of the Bent-Neck Lady was revealed, and Nell realized that she was being haunted by herself the whole time.

Netflix

"I was so shocked when it was revealed. Her whole childhood, she was being haunted by herself..."

—melissaverniest

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

12. In Doctor Who, when River Song's true identity was revealed, and everyone found out that she was actually Amy's daughter.

BBC One

"The writing is so clever in pretty much any episode of Doctor Who, but ESPECIALLY during the reveal of River Song’s identity. I never saw it coming. The writers are genius, and that entire season is brilliant."

—erinburkmanr

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

13. In Game of Thrones, when Arya tried to kill the Night King, but he pinned her arm back, so she dropped the dagger, caught it with her other hand, and stabbed him.

HBO

"I don’t think this list can be made without the jaw-dropping moment when Arya goes to attack the Night King, just for him to turn around and grab her by the neck. You think that’s the end for the biggest badass in the show, but then Arya reminds us why she has this title when she drops the dagger and catches it with her other hand and stabs the Night King and kills the Walkers. The emotional roller coaster that occurred in 45 seconds is what puts this moment in a league of its own."

—anthonym456cee462

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

14. In Black Mirror's "White Bear" episode, when Victoria found out that her punishment was basically to be part of an amusement park where people paid to watch her get "hunted" and tortured every day.

Netflix

"It was definitely one of the biggest twists I've ever seen. It was so brilliantly executed. I remember not being able to move after I watched it the first time! Well done to whoever came up with that concept."

—saxophonesandowls

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

15. In Sense8, when Will tricked everyone by physically standing in the same room as Whispers instead of appearing as an apparition through eye contact connection.

Netlix

"Throughout the whole show, they only communicated with each other through the eye contact connection (meaning they were never actually in the same room), so I jumped when Will shoved Whispers and we found out he was actually there. It was so beautifully done."

—hannahcane and lizgrove82

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

16. In American Horror Story: Murder House, when Violet (and the viewer) realized that she was actually dead and her spirit was trapped in the house.

FX

"That big reveal was wild. Everything unfolded and started to make sense when she pieced it all together."

—Mia Wallace

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

17. And in Mad Men, when the show ended with Don Draper meditating on a mountaintop, and you originally think he's smiling because he found peace, but really it's because he just came up with the concept for a new Coke commercial.

AMC

"Don Draper coming up with the Coke advert at the end of Mad Men is brilliant. You first think he'll find peace on that mountain, but then you realize that he doesn't really change at all. Instead, he learns he can exploit a whole new movement and group of people, just like he exploited the sentimental throughout the rest of the series. A genius ending."

—fayeolivia90

Here's the full scene:

youtube.com

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.