These plot twists completely changed the show. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most shocking plot twists that permanently altered a show’s trajectory.
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00:00 But we have a plan. And for all we know, it worked.
00:04 It's gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be alright.
00:08 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most shocking plot twists
00:13 that permanently altered a show's trajectory. And we're discussing major plot points.
00:18 A spoiler warning is in effect.
00:20 - And I think it's safe to say... - No, stop, Vicky. They figured it out.
00:26 Number 10. Nina is the Mole. '24.
00:30 Few TV shows define the 2000s quite like '24, with magnificent plotting and a unique structure.
00:36 The show captured the imaginations of millions.
00:39 The first season was a cultural phenomenon and saw Jack Bauer being blackmailed into assassinating Senator David Palmer.
00:46 Do you really think that anybody's going to believe that I shot David Palmer?
00:50 Efforts are made to prevent the assassination, but a mole inside the counter-terrorist unit
00:55 makes it extremely difficult. At the end of the season, this is revealed to be Nina Myers,
01:00 the second-in-command at the CTU.
01:03 Do you believe that we would have kept the witch alive?
01:08 Are you sure?
01:12 Yes, I'm sure.
01:16 To make the twist even more shocking, she proceeds to kill Terry Bauer once her cover is blown.
01:21 This twist not only shocked the nation, it radically altered the course of the show,
01:26 while sending Jack down a particularly dark path.
01:29 I trusted you.
01:31 - I was just doing my job. - Your job?
01:36 Number 9. The Bent-Neck Lady. 'The Haunting of Hill House.'
01:40 Despite being based on a novel that's over half a century old, this show had a few surprises up its sleeve.
01:49 The most famous, of course, is the reveal of the Bent-Neck Lady.
01:53 Young Nell is haunted by a creepy ghost with a broken neck, and after a brief respite,
01:58 it reappears in adulthood, causing Nell to lose her mind.
02:02 She travels to Hill House and takes her own life with a noose.
02:05 - Daddy. - Honey, are you okay? What time is it?
02:10 Do you remember the Bent-Neck Lady?
02:14 Yes. She's back.
02:22 And in a startling but wonderfully edited sequence, both we and Nell learn that she is the Bent-Neck Lady,
02:29 and that she was haunting herself all along.
02:32 The twist was widely praised, both for being unexpected and emotional.
02:36 It also completely changed the show by killing off Nell.
02:40 - Mom? - It's okay, honey.
02:44 Number 8. 'The Man in Black' is William Westworld.
02:54 HBO really had something with Westworld, and while the rest of the series was never able to recapture the magic of that first season,
03:01 what wonderful magic it was.
03:03 And then I realized, winning doesn't mean anything unless someone else loses.
03:10 Which means, you're here to be the loser.
03:15 The show takes place in the near future, with guests visiting Old West-style theme park populated by robots,
03:21 some of which later become sentient.
03:24 One of the guests is the mysterious Man in Black, a sadistic individual looking for a hidden level of the park.
03:30 - What is this? What does it mean?
03:35 - I solved it once. I had the answer.
03:40 In a twist that many fans saw coming, 'The Man in Black' is revealed to be an older version of William,
03:45 and that the events involving young William are actually taking place in the past.
03:50 - I really ought to thank you, Dolores. You helped me find myself.
03:59 - William.
04:04 The twist was widely discussed on social media, and it sent both characters in wild new directions for season 2.
04:11 Number 7. The Trinity Killer Offed Rita.
04:14 Dexter. Many people agree that Dexter peaked with season 4, in which the titular character does battle with the Trinity Killer.
04:21 Real name, Arthur Mitchell.
04:23 - He doesn't belong here. It doesn't make sense.
04:26 Dexter eventually catches and kills Arthur, but returns home to face a devastating truth.
04:31 Arthur had killed Dexter's wife, Rita, before being caught, and her body is found by Dexter in a bathtub filled with blood.
04:38 - Rita's inside. It was me.
04:42 It's one of the most iconic images in television history, signaling a massive sea change in the story.
04:48 And yes, the quality of Dexter.
04:51 Nothing was the same after this, and Rita's death had a profound effect on Dexter's character, impacting him emotionally, morally, and psychologically.
05:00 - I gotta tell you, Dexter, don't say things like "it was me." People will misunderstand.
05:06 In fact, I don't understand. What did you even mean?
05:10 Number 6. Lalo Kills Howard. Better Call Saul.
05:14 For the longest time, Better Call Saul played with two different storylines.
05:18 - So you weren't in town to visit our mutual acquaintance, James Morgan McGill?
05:22 Or maybe you know him as Saul Goodman.
05:24 There was the lawyer side, with Jimmy and Kim, and there was the more breaking baddie cartel side, with Mike and Gus.
05:31 But the two horrifically intersected in season 6, when Lalo killed managing law firm partner Howard in front of Kim and Jimmy.
05:38 - Howard, you need to leave.
05:40 - Who are you?
05:42 - Me? Nobody.
05:45 I just need to talk to my lawyers.
05:47 And, well, that was pretty much it for the once-loving couple.
05:51 Kim blames them for causing Howard's death, and soon after leaves Jimmy out of grief and regret.
05:57 This, in turn, causes Jimmy to fully embrace his Saul persona.
06:00 - I have had the time of my life with you.
06:05 But we are bad for everyone around us. Other people suffer because of us.
06:11 Basically, Howard's death marked the turning point we had all been waiting for. The end of Better Call Saul, and the beginning of Breaking Bad.
06:20 Number 5. Annalise - How to Get Away with Murder
06:23 Besides being a vehicle for Viola Davis's exceptional talent, How to Get Away with Murder is also really, really good at telling its story.
06:32 - I'm sorry.
06:35 - No, it's just... those poor parents.
06:44 - I bet you the boyfriend did it.
06:46 Through the use of numerous conventions, including flashbacks, flash-forwards, and present-day in medias res, we unravel the mysterious death of Sam Keating, husband of Davis's Annalise.
06:57 The show's ninth episode contains not one, but two excellent twists.
07:02 - You're a monster.
07:03 - Monster, huh? Is that all you got? You could do better than that.
07:07 First, we learn that it was Wes, one of Annalise's interns, that killed Sam. Not only that, but Annalise knew about the murder, and had been involved all along.
07:17 These twists completely un-pended the show by finally revealing mysterious truths, implicating the Keating Five in Sam's death, and most substantial of all, turning Annalise into a villain.
07:28 - Let me help you. Let me help you. Because if you do, I promise, you will get away with this.
07:38 Number four, The Bad Place, The Good Place. The show is called The Good Place, but they find out that they're actually in the Bad Place.
07:46 - All I ever wanted was for this neighborhood, my first neighborhood, to be perfect. Somehow I blew it, and you're all suffering. And for that, I'm deeply sorry.
07:57 We'd say that's pretty darn show-changing. The Good Place is essentially presented as Heaven, a utopian afterlife to which Eleanor Shellstrop is sent.
08:06 But some clues are sprinkled in that not everything is really how it seems. For example, Eleanor was sent to the Good Place accidentally, having not actually earned enough points in life to win a spot there.
08:17 - There's been a big mistake. I'm not supposed to be here.
08:26 - Wait, what?
08:27 The truth is ultimately revealed in the first season finale. The Good Place is actually the Bad Place, and Michael is a demon, testing them in a psychological experiment.
08:37 The setting is changed, Michael is changed, and heck, the very nature of the show is changed. Now that's how you do a twist.
08:45 - Oh man, I can't believe you figured it out. Oh God, you ruined everything, you know that?
08:57 Number 3, The Red Wedding, Game of Thrones. Early Game of Thrones was widely recognized for its risk-taking, as it brazenly killed off major characters with surprising speed.
09:08 - So long as I'm your king, treason shall never go unpunished. Ser Ilyn, bring me his head.
09:18 This is best exemplified by The Red Wedding, a horrific event that saw the deaths of Robb, Talisa, Catelyn, and even Robb's poor direwolf.
09:29 This event changed everything, not just for Game of Thrones, but for television. Suddenly, more shows were willing to take risks, inspired by the sheer confidence of pulling off The Red Wedding.
09:54 The Starks were virtually eliminated, the Lannisters gained immense power through their alliance with the Freys, and two of the show's most noble characters were killed off in brutal fashion.
10:04 You couldn't hop on social media without hearing about this astounding television event.
10:09 - It's too late.
10:15 Number 2, It's the Past, Battlestar Galactica. Spaceships, distant planets, androids, Battlestar Galactica is the pinnacle of sci-fi TV. And like virtually all science fiction, it takes place in a distant future.
10:29 - Is that what this is about?
10:31 - Does everything have to be reduced to your personal feelings about Cara Thrace?
10:37 Right? Well, no, actually. The thing about this show is that it never explicitly tells you when it takes place. We just assume that it's the future because that's what we've been conditioned to believe.
10:47 - This is insane. You know that, right?
10:50 But in the series' final surprise, we see the characters land on a prehistoric Earth, settle in ancient Africa, and assimilate with tribal humans. Battlestar Galactica was telling the story of our past, not our future, and offering an alternate origin story of our time on Earth.
11:07 - She lived in what is now Tanzania over 150,000 years ago.
11:13 - Along with her silo mother and human father.
11:18 Science fiction indeed. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
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11:34 Number one, it's the future, Lost. In 2007, Lost pulled the reverse of what Battlestar Galactica did, and it's probably the coolest twist in the history of TV.
11:46 - Why do you want to leave the island? What is it that you so desperately want to get back to? You have no one.
11:52 During the previous season's episodes, Lost alternated between the present island storyline and flashbacks of the various characters.
11:59 The season three finale looked to continue that tradition, with a depressed Jack struggling with a recent death.
12:05 - Don't you look at me like that. Don't you pity me.
12:09 - I'm trying to help you.
12:10 - You can't help me!
12:12 And then Kate appears. What? Did they know each other before crashing on the island? Nope, this is actually the future, and both Jack and Kate had made it off the island.
12:22 It wasn't a flashback, but a flash-forward, and it changed Lost forever. It introduced new storylines and a new central mystery.
12:30 How did they get off the island? Say it with him now.
12:33 - We have to go back!
12:35 What did you make of these plot twists? Let us know in the comments below.
12:39 - And now I finally understand what you were trying to tell me. The thing you've wanted since that very first day.
12:49 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo. And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
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