15 Of The Most Shocking TV Cliffhangers of All Time

These days, it feels like every show on TV is competing for the biggest, buzziest season finale each year. Whether it is a surprise twist, the reveal of a big mystery, or the fate of a character being left up in the air, writers utilize cliffhangers to ensure that viewers will spend all summer obsessing and then tune back in when the show returns. These fifteen cliffhangers are some of the most shocking, insane, and frustrating cliffhangers in TV history: some changed the game, some were never resolved, but they all left viewers with their jaws on the floor.

Game of Thrones - Season 5: Is Jon Snow Dead?

Game of Thrones is known for fast-paced action and shocking twists. Still, few season-ending cliffhangers left Thrones viewers as shocked as the fifth season finale, which left off with one of the series’ main protagonists, Jon Snow, stabbed to death by members of the Night’s Watch. What was particularly agonizing was the nearly yearlong wait for the sixth season premiere. Game of Thrones had made a point of letting the audience know that no character was safe as far back season one when Ned Stark was shockingly beheaded in front of his own daughters. Even so, Jon Snow had become perhaps the series’ most iconic character, and producers swore over the long break that Snow was indeed dead. In truth, he was resurrected by the end of the sixth season's second episode.

Alias - Season 4: “My name isn’t Michael Vaughn.”

Before Lost, J.J Abrams was behind ABC’s intense spy-thriller Alias, which starred Jennifer Garner as CIA agent Sydney Bristow. The series made a name for itself by expertly executing insane plot twists and white-knuckle cliffhangers during nearly every episode. In particular, no show did season finales quite like Alias. For four years, Sydney worked alongside her one-time handler Michael Vaughn, who eventually became her fiancé. In the fourth season finale, the happy couple are driving to Santa Barbara after Sydney accepts Vaughn’s proposal. As the two make plans to elope, Vaughn interrupts that he needs to tell Sydney the truth about something – he says that they didn’t meet by chance, and that depending on whom she’d ask, he could be considered a ‘bad guy.’ “For starters, name isn’t Michael Vaughn.” Before Sydney can react, they are in a head-on collision.

Grey’s Anatomy - Season 5: “John Doe is George!”

If there’s one show that rivals Game of Thrones when it comes to traumatic character deaths, it’s Grey’s Anatomy. Creator Shonda Rhimes knows not only how to make viewers reach for a tissue, but also how to keep them talking and tweeting all summer. Going into the fifth season finale, viewers were worried about Izzie’s ongoing battle with brain cancer; Rhimes pulled a classic bait and switch. The doctors spent the episode operating on a John Doe who had been dragged by a bus after saving a pedestrian. In the final moments, Meredith Grey realizes that the John Doe is none other than her close friend and colleague George O’Malley. Moments later, after a seemingly successful brain surgery, Izzie flatlines, and George is rushed into surgery. The chilling final moments left viewers wondering who would live and who would die.

Friends - Season 4: Ross Says Rachel’s Name

Sure, Friends isn’t exactly a show full of big thrills and shocking twists, but they still always delivered huge season finales with memorable endings. The end of the fourth season delivered the most notable cliffhanger, though almost every season of Friends finished with a big twist, like when the audience discovered that Rachel was pregnant at Monica and Chandler’s wedding, and when Ross walked in on Joey proposing to Rachel. In season four, the whole gang is in London for Ross’ wedding to Emily. After Rachel shows up at the last minute before the ceremony, Ross has a massive Freudian slip while standing at the altar. Instead of saying Emily’s name when it comes time to say ‘I do,’ Ross declares,“I Ross, take thee, Rachel…” We’re left on the registrar asking Emily whether or not he should continue with the ceremony.

Breaking Bad - Season 5: “W.W.”

This big twist came mid-way through the show’s fifth season, though it was a full year before the next batch of episodes aired, so fans were left to ponder the shocking ending for months. Near the end of the episode, we see DEA agent Hank and his wife Marie at Walt and Skyler’s house for lunch, which was perfectly ordinary until Hank made that fateful trip to the bathroom. There, he finds Walt’s copy of Walt Whitman’s book Leaves of the Grass and inside it a dedication from Gale Boetticher. Hank suddenly recalls a previous conversation with Walt where he had jokingly admitted to being the W.W. in Gale’s notes. Quickly, Hank finally realizes that the dangerous criminal drug lord he has been chasing for years is his very own brother-in-law.

Orange is The New Black - Season 4: Daya’s Got a Gun

Netflix shows are unique in that fans can binge an entire season in a matter of hours, and then they have to wait a year for more. This intense Orange is The New Black season 4 cliffhanger ensured that the audience was waiting with bated breath for the fifth season. After the accidental death of an inmate at the hands of a guard, Litchfield prisoners began a riot protesting their unfair treatment at the hands of the COs. In the final moments of the finale, an officer pulls out a gun that he smuggled into the prison and threatens a group of rioting inmates. After he’s pushed to the ground, the gun falls and gets into the hands of Daya, who aims it at the abusive CO as her fellow inmates cheer her on to shoot him.