The 2010s marks the peak of television’s golden age, an era that cemented the series of the small screen as prestige drama every bit the equal of cinema as a thriving and illustrious entertainment medium. It is no coincidence that with this surge in quality, there was also a noteworthy elevation in storytelling ambition, a notion supported by the many extravagant and unforgettable twists TV saw across the decade.
With everything from Game of Thrones to Jane the Virgin represented, the biggest television twists of the 2010s consist of everything from narrative-shattering turns to chilling horror revelations, devastating dramatic developments, and even comedy kickers. The one thing all these plot twists have in common is they left television lovers the world over speechless and are now regarded to be among the most iconic moments the medium has ever seen.
10
Mateo Is the Narrator
‘Jane the Virgin’ (2014–2019)
Wildly eccentric and playfully charming, Jane the Virgin ran for five seasons through the 2010s as a quaint and appealing sitcom that satirized elements of the telenovelas that are popular in Latin America. It follows Jane (Gina Rodriguez), a young religious woman who falls pregnant after being artificially inseminated by accident during a visit to the gynecologist, a situation that only grows more complex when she learns the biological father is her boss and past crush. The series follows her as she adjusts to the pregnancy and, later, motherhood as she raises baby Mateo.
The entire series is narrated by Anthony Mendez, who is often credited as Latin Lover Narrator, injecting each episode with sharp doses of comedy while still developing as a character with his erratic and hyperactive nature. It is revealed in the series finale that the narrator is actually an adult Mateo who is narrating a telenovela based on Jane’s writings about her life and experiences. It is a cute twist that ensures the series ends with charm and closure, even if some fans were less than enthused with some of the other narrative decisions the show made towards the end of its run.
- Release Date
-
2014 – 2018
- Network
-
The CW
- Showrunner
-
Jennie Snyder Urman
- Directors
-
Melanie Mayron
9
“Mastermind” Elliot Is Not the Real Elliot
‘Mr. Robot’ (2015–2019)
A series full of cerebral twists and unexpected jolts, Mr. Robot embedded itself as one of the more iconic series of the 2010s with its searing narrative dare and complexity. It focuses on Elliot (Rami Malek), a cybersecurity engineer living with several mental health conditions who moonlights as a hacker targeting felons. His life is uprooted when he is recruited by a mysterious anarchistic hacktivist known as Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) and tasked with attacking the major client of the cybersecurity agency he works for.
One part of the reason why Mr. Robot remains so engaging throughout its four-season run is the unpredictability and unreliability of the protagonist, largely because of his dissociative identity disorder (DID). The biggest twist in this regard, and the most shocking turn of the series, comes in the finale when it is revealed that the “Mastermind” Elliot that audiences have been following isn’t the real Elliot, but rather a persona he created to deal with his feelings of anger towards the world. While it is always risky to end a series with a twist ending that recontextualizes the entire story, Mr. Robot executes it with grace to deliver a rewarding and surprising conclusion to the hit series.
8
Homelander Is Evil Too
‘The Boys’ (2019–)
Not every huge television twist of the 2010s came in the series finale. The Boys‘ pilot episode is a prime example of this. It transpires in a world where superheroes are real and are revered as beloved celebrity icons, but their publicity is a veneer for their harmful selfishness and recklessness that has left countless victims in its wake. The series starts with A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) accidentally atomizing Hughie’s (Jack Quaid) girlfriend as he runs down the street at super speed, thus setting Hughie on a trajectory for justice and revenge.
The episode also follows Starlight’s (Erin Moriarty) induction into the elite superhero squad, The Seven, where it is revealed that most of the other superheroes are just as corrupt as A-Train, supposedly with the exception of their upstanding leader, Homelander (Antony Starr). However, any notion of his heroism is shattered in the episode’s final moments when he shoots down a private jet, killing a political rival of Vought and everyone on board, including the politician’s young son. While Homelander’s villainy is well known today, this moment was still a heart-sinking shock that not only displayed the superhero’s vast and terrible power, but recontextualized the enemy Hughie and his new allies were preparing to confront.
7
Frank Kills Zoe
‘House of Cards’ (2013–2018)
While House of Cards did have its legacy tarnished by actor scandals and a calamitous final season, the high-octane and wickedly sharp political thriller still offered one hell of a tumultuous ride through the first two-thirds, at least, of its tenure. The Netflix original series follows conniving politician Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) as he works with his equally sly wife to gain ever more power in Congress and climb higher up the ranks of the government while exacting his revenge on those who have opposed him in the past.
Given its focus on power plays and backstabbing, House of Cards contains many shocking twists, with none being more impactful than when Frank shoves reporter Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) in front of a train following her suggestion that Congressman Peter Russo’s (Corey Stoll) death was a murder. While it wasn’t the first dramatic death in the series, it is one of the most abrupt and visceral. It highlights Frank’s ruthlessness and complete amorality, and, given Zoe’s prominence in Season 1, it was a ferocious and attention-grabbing moment to put in the Season 2 premiere.
6
Walter Poisoned Brock
‘Breaking Bad’ (2008–2013)
While it started with Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as a sympathetic antihero thrown into a desperate situation, Breaking Bad revels in the complex protagonist’s gradual descent into total moral corruption and outright villainy. However, he and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) are often left with no choice but to carry out unspeakable tasks in defiance of greater, more powerful evils. This seems to be the case in Season 4’s “End Times” when Brock (Ian Posada), the young son of Jesse’s partner, is poisoned by Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) in a bid to frame Walter and turn Jesse against him. The ploy fails, and Jesse and Walter team up to take down their common enemy.
However, the conclusion of the following episode reveals that it was in fact Walter who had poisoned Brock using lily of the valley as part of an elaborate con to get Jesse on his side against Fring. It is a shocking revelation that illustrates just how far Walter has fallen, from being an opportunistic family man trying to make some quick money to a master manipulator and murderer indifferent to endangering the life of a child. Given the twist comes in the final moments of Season 4, it brilliantly whets the appetite for what could occur in Season 5 while leaving viewers in a stunned silence.
5
Will Is Shot in Court
‘The Good Wife’ (2009–2016)
A searing legal and political drama, The Good Wife follows Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) as she is forced to return to work as a junior litigator after 13 years to provide for her children when her husband, the State’s Attorney of Cook County, Illinois, is imprisoned for his political corruption and sex scandals. A key player in regard to Alicia’s return to practicing law is her old friend and romantic flame, Will Gardner (Josh Charles), a name partner at the firm.
Will’s relationship with Alicia is full of tumultuous turns, but the biggest twist of the series comes in the Season 5 episode “Dramatics, Your Honor,” when Will is shot and killed in court by his client. It is a jolting, gutting moment that is only made more devastating by its presentation through Kalinda’s (Archie Panjabi) perspective and the episode’s damning conclusion, in which Alicia and Eli (Alan Cumming) are informed of his death.
4
The Good Place Is the Bad Place
‘The Good Place’ (2016–2020)
A fun-loving and charming fantasy sitcom, The Good Place follows deceased saleswoman Eleanor (Kristen Bell) as she inexplicably winds up in a paradisiacal afterlife and strives to ensure her true nature isn’t exposed. However, this pleasant premise is flipped on its head towards the end of Season 1 when it is revealed that Michael (Ted Danson), the well-meaning and cheerful architect behind the Good Place, is actually a demon, and the main characters have been residing in the Bad Place all along.
It is a jolting yet fun twist, one that initially staggers viewers but serves as a catalyst for the series to delve deeper into its exploration of morality and humanity in the ensuing seasons without sacrificing any of the effervescence that defined the majesty of Season 1. It also works a treat as it recontextualizes the characters’ journeys and forces them to strive for improvement and moral purity with more consideration. In essence, while it is a seismic turn, it is a brilliantly implemented one, and it imbues the series with new possibilities that it took full advantage of throughout the remainder of its four-season run.
3
Nell Is the Bent-Neck Lady
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ (2018)
A glorious gem of small-screen horror that has fast become a genre classic of the medium, The Haunting of Hill House is a superb modernization of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 gothic horror novel of the same name. In 1992, the five children of the Crain family move into the dilapidated Hill House as their parents hope to renovate and sell the mansion, but unexpected delays see the Crains forced to linger longer than anticipated, even as terrifying paranormal occurrences torment the children. The nightmarish experiences in the show plague the siblings in their adult lives until a tragic death brings the estranged family back together.
Portrayed by Victoria Pedretti, Nell is a particularly tragic figure in the series. She is the youngest in the family and never truly overcomes the trauma she sustains being confronted by a ghost with a broken neck that she calls the Bent-Neck Lady. Following a personal loss that sees her visions of the ghost return, Nell decides to visit Hill House again in a bid to break the hold it has on her mental wellbeing. In a heart-breaking and deeply distressing twist, however, the manor manipulates Nell into hanging herself. As she breaks her neck, it is revealed that she was herself the Bent-Neck Lady all along.
2
Amma Is the Real Killer
‘Sharp Objects’ (2019)
No matter the medium, crime-mystery drama has always been a hot zone for some of the best and most devastating plot twists of all time. Based on Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name, Sharp Objects delivered one of the most brutal turns the medium has ever seen. The miniseries at large follows crime reporter and recovering alcoholic Camille (Amy Adams) as she returns to her hometown after being discharged from a psychiatric hospital to investigate the murder of two young girls. In addition to handling the disturbing case, Camille must also confront demons from her past as she rekindles her difficult relationship with her mother, Adora (Patricia Clarkson), and half-sister, Amma (Eliza Scanlen).
The miniseries seems destined to end in shocking fashion with Adora convicted of the murders, thus leaving Camille and Amma to pick up the pieces of their lives. However, one final decimating twist rears its head when Camille tends to Amma’s dollhouse and discovers the floor of its interior is made entirely of human teeth, affirming that she was in fact the murderer. Coming right at the end of the series, and emphasized by the credits sequences that show Amma’s murders, Sharp Objects contains a profoundly stupefying curveball that leaves viewers speechless for quite some time.
1
The Red Wedding
‘Game of Thrones’ (2011–2019)
Not only a plot twist of near-unparalleled significance, but one of the most iconic moments in the history of television entertainment, the infamous Red Wedding sequence in Game of Thrones is the ultimate small-screen spin. With the epic fantasy series following the sprawling war for the Iron Throne in Westeros, House Stark emerges as something of a protagonist, with Robb Stark (Richard Madden) being one of the story’s defining heroes as he vows to avenge his father’s execution and bring House Lannister and its allies to justice.
Season 3’s “The Rains of Castamere” seems like another decisive chapter in his conquest, with the union of House Tully and House Frey bolstering Stark’s army only for the vexed Walder Frey (David Bradley) to betray the Starks and form a truce with the Lannisters. As if the abrupt narrative shift wasn’t impactful enough, the sequence is realized with devastating violence as beloved characters are brutally murdered. The end result is an episode that left viewers with a debilitating numbness, a true shock-and-awe spectacle that shattered the hearts of millions of fans while completely recalibrating the trajectory of the series.