10 Best TV Show Cliffhangers, According To Reddit | ScreenRant
The cliffhanger ending has been a staple of television storytelling for years now. Leaving the audience with a big shocking moment and a lot of questions about what will happen next helps to ensure that they will keep watching to get those answers.
Many of the most memorable cliffhangers have come at the end of a season finale to give fans something o talk about before the show returns. And while it can seem gimmicky and cheap if done poorly, fans at Reddit remember some of the best television cliffhangers that left them hooked.
10 Holmes Fakes His Death - Sherlock (2010-2017)
It should come as no surprise that Sherlock was a show filled with mysteries and it was a thrill watching the famous detective piece them all together. However, Sherlock himself left a rather large mystery at the end of season 2 when he jumped to his death in order to save John Watson's life. However, despite the improbability, he was shown to still be alive in the show's final shot.
If there was anyone who could successfully fake their own death, it is Sherlock Holmes, but it was still a big question to leave fans with. Redditor firefish777 admitted the "amount of theorizing I did about that was unreal."
9 Who Is Negan Going To Kill? - The Walking Dead (2010-2022)
Though The Walking Dead introduced a lot of interesting antagonists, Negan stood out as a particularly big threat. He quickly proved this during his brutal introduction at the end of season 6. Wielding a baseball bat and with the show's heroes at his feet, he picks one of them to kill only for the season to end before the victim is revealed.
Redditor MossEliot acknowledged that it was not a popular moment in the show's history and many fans were angry about it. But they also felt that regardless of a fan's feeling towards it, the moment "remained a hell of a cliffhanger."
8 Jim Kisses Pam - The Office (2005-2013)
Sitcoms are not generally seen as the type of show to feature shocking cliffhangers, but The Office proved it was possible to leave fans utterly shocked. After the relationship between Jim and Pam had been building over the course of the first two seasons, the season 2 finale ended with Jim confessing his love for Pam and kissing her.
While the moment was something fans had been waiting for, it also left a lot of big questions about where it would go from there. Redditor Rogue_FX admitted the moment 'left me speechless."
7 Eleanor Figures It Out - The Good Place (2016-2020)
The Good Place began with a clever premise about a woman named Eleanor who dies and is brought to the afterlife paradise only to realize they mistook her for someone else and she doesn't belong there.
However, after she and the other characters torture themselves all season trying to manage life in this paradise, Eleanor realizes they are actually in the Bad Place being tormented. Not only was it one of the best television twists for fans, but Redditor InfernalSolstice called the first season finale a "pretty fantastic" cliffhanger.
6 Jon Snow Is Stabbed To Death - Game Of Thrones (2011-2019)
From the very first season of Game of Thrones, the show demonstrated that it was willing to kill off just about any character. But even with Ned Stark's execution, there were some characters who always felt safe. That's why it caught fans so off-guard when Jon Snow was betrayed and killed by members of the Night's Watch in the season 5 finale.
Despite being stabbed several times, few people truly excerpted that was the end for the show's hero and it inspired theories before the new season. Redditor Mddcat04 also pointed out that it was a cliffhanger for "both show and book readers" as that was how George R.R. Martin's latest book ended as well.
5 Lucy And Carter Are Stabbed - ER (1994-2009)
Along with being an intense medical drama ER also dealt with a lot of other intense situations. In the finale of the show's sixth season, Dr. John Carter and medical student Lucy Knight deal with a troubled patient attempting to help him with his severe headaches. But in the show's final moments, Carter is stabbed by the patient and as he lies wounded on the floor, sees that Lucy has been killed.
It was a shocking way to leave a finale with one character dead and another whose survival is in question. Redditor kpmgeek was particularly shocked by Lucy's death as "the character setup as the new Carter."
4 Hank Pieces It Together - Breaking Bad (2008-2013)
The final season of Breaking Bad was split into two halves and the ending of the first half really set up a wild conclusion to the story. While at a family barbecue, Hank uses the White's bathroom and discovers Walt's incrimination book given to him by Gale Boetticher, including the inscription.
Seeing Hank piece together that his own brother-in-law is the drug kingpin he's been chasing all these years was a game-changing moment. Redditor Sammy_Jankiss praised it as the "perfect cliffhanger."
3 The Hatch, The Raft And The Others - Lost (2004-2010)
With all the mysteries in Lost, it is not surprising that there were more than a few cliffhangers. The first season finale delivered several as Michael and others attempted to leave the island on a raft, they were set upon by The Others and Michael's son was taken. Meanwhile, Jack and Locke blew open the mysterious hatch leaving fans guessing what is inside.
In terms of cliffhanger endings, Redditor _talen referred to it as "famous." It was the kind of episode that ensured fans would return next season to get answers to their many questions.
2 Someone Is Shot - The West Wing (1999-2006)
The political drama The West Wing took viewers inside the chaotic day-to-day activities within the White House. While the show entertained viewers with its fast-paced energy and the memorable Aaron Sorkin dialogue, there were also plenty of edge-of-your-seat moments.
The ending of the first season set up an assassination plot against President Jed Bartlett with the final scene having gunshots ring out. Redditor just_another_classic remembered it as an intense ending leaving "everyone wondering who had been shot."
1 Who Shot J.R. Ewing? - Dallas (1978-1991)
The primetime soap opera Dallas was one of the biggest shows on television during its run and with iconic moments like this, it's not hard to see why. The series which focused on the in-fighting amongst a rich Texas family ended its third season as an unknown assailant shot the oil baron patriarch J.R. Ewing.
Leaving the season with a whodunnit mystery where all the show's main characters were suspects may not have been the original cliffhanger but it was a definitive one. Redditor SpockHasLeft remembered the ending "was talked about constantly at school that year."