In another overwhelming year full of 500-plus TV shows to choose from, it’s nice to know some small-screen offerings still found ways to shock and pleasantly surprise us.
From murders by rattlesnake to body swaps, faked deaths and duplicitous Squid Game identities, TV in 2021 kept us talking and comparing notes — if only over Slack and Twitter. To that end, in the list below, we’re revisiting nearly 30 of the TV plot twists that sent our jaws straight to the floor this year.
As is the case with all of TVLine’s year-end roundups, be warned: THIS GALLERY IS A SPOILER MINEFIELD. Therefore, if you aren’t fully caught up on any of the following 28 shows, you might want to consider revisiting this list once you’ve gotten your binge on:
Batwoman, Behind Her Eyes, Charmed, Cruel Summer, Evil, Good Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, Heels, La Brea, Legacies, Loki, Lucifer, Mare of Easttown, Mayans MC, Midnight Mass, Money Heist, NCIS, SEAL Team, Snowfall, Squid Game, Ted Lasso, This Is Us, True Story, Tyler Perry’s The Oval, Tyler Perry’s Sistas, Virgin River, The Walking Dead and/or Yellowstone.
Scroll down to relive the two-dozen-plus good, bad and ugly moments that blew our minds this year, then drop a comment or two with your own suggestions for plot twists that are still taking up space in your brain.
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Batwoman
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW Mary is (a) Poison Ivy! (Click here to learn more about actress Nicole Kang’s historic transition into this iconic role.)
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Behind Her Eyes
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix (3) Adele and Louise swap bodies, and Adele steals Louise’s life! But Adele was really Rob the whole time! (Click here for finale recap.)
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Charmed
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW Mel is suddenly pregnant with her future self’s baby! (Click here for more real-life pregnancies that were written into TV shows.)
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Cruel Summer
Image Credit: Courtesy of Freeform Jeanette didn’t see Kate while she was being held captive — but she did hear Kate begging for help and did nothing! (Read our finale Q&A with showrunner Tia Napolitano here.)
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Evil
Image Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+ Kristen gets away with literal murder! (Read our Q&A with star Katja Herbers here.)
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Good Girls
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC Beth flips the script on Rio and becomes his boss! (Click here for the story of Beth’s inner boss lady.)
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Grey's Anatomy
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC screenshot (2) Koracick leaves Seattle with Jackson! (Click here for Jesse Williams’ thoughts on Jackson’s story.)
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Heels
Image Credit: Courtesy of Starz Crystal is the new DWL champion! (Click here for more on that Season 1 finale plot twist.)
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La Brea
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC Isaiah is Gavin! (Click here to read our Episode 8 recap.)
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Legacies
Image Credit: Courtesy of CW screenshot Hope (finally) transitions into a tribrid! (Click here for our recap of the event seven years in the making.)
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Loki
Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney+ screenshot Loki is in a different TVA timeline! (Read our finale recap to find out more.)
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Lucifer
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix Lucifer and Chloe spent 60 years apart! (Click here to learn more about that finale flash forward.)
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Mare of Easttown
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO (2) John confesses to killing Erin! But he’s actually covering up for his son Ryan! (Read our finale recap here.)
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Mayans MC
Image Credit: Courtesy of FX screenshot Canche isn’t dead! (Click here for our Season 3 finale recap.)
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Midnight Mass
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix Father Paul is actually Monsignor Pruitt! (Go here for Midnight Mass‘ best monologues.)
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Money Heist
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix Rafael steals the gold from the Professor! (Read our series finale recap here.)
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NCIS
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Ellie peaced out for an undercover op! (Click here for our Season 18 finale recap.)
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SEAL Team
Image Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+ screenshot SGS is holding Mandy hostage! (Check out our Episode 6 recap here.)
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Snowfall
Image Credit: Courtesy of FX Franklin’s limp is gone! (Click here for the story behind his finale strut.)
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Squid Game
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix [Spoiler] is running the game! (Even we won’t reveal that one, for those waiting to binge over the holidays.)
(Click here to read the 15 burning questions we asked after the Season 1 finale.)
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Ted Lasso
Image Credit: Courtesy of Apple TV+ Sam is Rebecca’s dating app suitor! (Click here for the recap.)
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This Is Us
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC Kate and Toby split up, and Kate marries Phillip! (Go here for our deep dive into that flash forward.)
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True Story
Image Credit: Netflix screenshot Kid kills Carlton! (Click here for our finale recap.)
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Tyler Perry's The Oval
Image Credit: Courtesy of BET The father of Nancy’s son was… her father-in-law?! (Click here for our recap of the reveal.)
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Tyler Perry's Sistas
Image Credit: Courtesy of BET Gary isn’t dead! (Click here for our recap of Season 3’s big reveal.)
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Virgin River
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix Mel is pregnant… and she doesn’t know whether the father is Jack or Mark! (Click here for our post mortem interview with the woman of the hour, Alexandra Breckenridge.)
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The Walking Dead
Image Credit: Courtesy of AMC screenshot Daryl had a whole romance by the river! (Click here to read showrunner Angela Kang’s defense of this Season 10 plot twist.)
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Yellowstone
Image Credit: Courtesy of Paramount Network Rip kills Roarke with a rattlesnake — yes, a rattlesnake! (Click here to read our recap of this insane serpent assault.)
