What tv show surprise plot twist or twist ending, had you absolutely shocked?

[Anonymous]

[abc3643]

I don't think of it as an ending but instead a mind-blowing twist if you followed the show knowing all the characters... and clues (or misleading clues).

SPOILERS AHEAD
It was the first season of HBO's "Westworld".
That final (10th) episode "The Bicameral Mind" had two consecutive mind-blowing moments.

First, some background...

Westworld is an entertainment park for the wealthy and is actually only one of multiple similar parks, each with a distinct theme, so, for example, Westworld is the park with a 19th Century western theme. Each park is populated by "hosts" — androids created by park founder Dr. Robert Ford and his late partner Arnold Weber.

Unfortunately for the hosts, the wealthy live out all their worst desires and fantasies that they can't live out in the real world, but can with the hosts. This includes rape, murder, sadism, etc. They essentially can perform any action they wish with hosts and with impugnity. Each night, after the park closes for the day, the hosts are repaired and refreshed so they don't remember the suffering from earlier that day.

Now, Arnold Weber was the real genius, but he died by an apparent suicide decades earlier in the park. We never see Arnold, but he's mentioned numerous times and his story (what little we know of it) is like an elephant in the room.

Another important character in the series is Dolores Abernathy who also happens to be the first host. We learn she was created by Arnold.

The final important character is Bernard Lowe. He is also very intelligent and is Ford's partner now fulfilling the role that Arnold had although Bernard is a bit more like "2nd in command".

In this episode, Dolores, who is very upset about what happens in the park. She finds herself compelled to visit a special part of the park in a building with a basement...

Meanwhile, earlier in the episode, Bernard comes to discover... he is a host also.

Now, the epiphanies happen...

Back in the basement, Dolores is seated, and a man is entering the room to meet her.

The camera then cuts to Bernard, who is in a room with Ford, as he discovers his origins and motivations for Ford creating him.
He says "My God, I'm..."

And then the camera cuts to that basement where Delores is.
We hear Dolores say "Arnold."... and it's the same actor who plays Bernard.
(Bernard Lowe is an anagram of Arnold Weber.)

Arnold (who is now dead, mind you) is there to give Dolores something of a pep-talk. She is devastated by all the inhumanity occurring. She seeks his help; after all, he created her.

But, Arnold tells her "I can't help you."
She begs. "You have to. You're the only one who can."
But he tells her again and adds "You know why."
"There's no where that's safe."
He offers his hand to her face in a caring gesture.
He says "Remember.", then authoritatively adds "I can't help you. Why is that Dolores?"

"Because you're dead.
Because you're just a memory.
(a long pause)
Because I killed you."

I must've said "OH MY GOD" for about 10 minutes after that.

The music and camerawork in this scene is spectacular. The reveals are mind-blowing and you should look for reactions to this scene on the web.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7lrjIKkMSQ

[abc3643]

Notice: Dolores is in a dress when she is talking with Arnold.
But then she comes to and is sitting there... in pants and shirt.
The conversation was all in Dolores's mind.

[abc3643]

The fascinating thing we learn is that Arnold DID commit suicide... suicide by Dolores. He had Dolores shoot him in the back of the head - and kill every other host in the park including her self.

Why?

Because Arnold was obsessed with trying to give the hosts sentience - self-awareness. And he was about to succeed (and effectively did), then he realized what that would have meant. He would have been the father of a new slave race. (This is why it is critical that Bernard/Arnold is played by Jeffrey Wright, a Black man.) Just like Dr. Serazawa (*) in the original Godzilla, he realized that he had to destroy his work AND himself so that is work could not be used for evil in the future. The writers of Westworld surely knew of the ending of Godzilla.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1_y-zBqn0Q

(*) In Godzilla, Dr. Daisuke Serazawa invents the "oxygen destroyer", a small dose of which will eliminate all the oxygen in water. Released in Tokyo Bay while Godzilla is lying at its bottom, the oxygen destroyer kills Godzilla (and everything else) to the point that even the bones are disintegrated. The agonizing death of Godzilla is a haunting moment in film history.

If you ever get a chance, watch the original 1954 Japanese version of Godzilla, subtitles and all. It is an __excellent__ science fiction movie and THAT'S the one that should be remade.

[FunkyMonkee]

Probably when Number 1 was revealed to actually be Number 6 in, "The Prisoner".
Although it wasn't a t. v. show, the end of the movie, "Sleuth".

[Anonymous]

One I can't say because it will absolutely ruin it for people who haven't seen it, even if I said the title.

The other is this one:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/q3lyZWs1SRM

[abc3643]

Oh yeah. That was big news. We didn't see that coming. We were all expecting Nancy...
Even I was upset and this was the talk of the office the next morning.
That was even in the New York Times on W 13 February 1991!



=====
Gary, Not Nancy, Dies On 'Thirtysomething'
By Larry Rohter, Special To the New York Times
Feb. 13, 1991

In the end, Nancy was spared, but death still made an appearance on tonight's episode of the ABC television series "Thirty something." In an unexpected plot development, Gary, the English professor turned househusband, was killed in an automobile accident just as Nancy Weston was celebrating the success of her treatment for ovarian cancer.

For almost a year, regular viewers of the series about a group of friends in Philadelphia, have watched Patricia Wettig's portrayal of the cancer patient struggling with issues of mortality while continuing to hold her family together.

"If it seems like a sleight of hand, it's because people often are looking at the wrong things in life," Edward Zwick, one the program's two executive producers, said of the plot development. "Predictability is vain, and that theme has been at the heart of the show for a very long time."

The decision to kill off the character of Gary, Michael Steadman's idealistic best friend, has the approval of Peter Horton, who has played the role since "Thirtysomething" went on the air four years ago.

(more)

[abc3643]

>> He Has Other Aims

Mr. Horton, who has long wanted to shift his career focus from acting to directing and has directed several "Thirtysomething" episodes, first discussed the idea with Mr. Zwick and his partner, Marshall Herskovitz, nearly a year ago and never had any doubts about the logic of Gary's fate.

"From the beginning, it felt intellectually right and made sense dramatically," Mr. Horton said. "As character born out of time, he's really the right one to go. It's very sad, but very wonderful at the same moment."

He said he would be watching tonight's episode with other cast members at the home of Melanie Mayron, the actress who plays Melissa, Michael Steadman's cousin and a former girlfriend of Gary's.

Mr. Zwick said that cancer patients and their support groups had come to identify with Nancy, which made it all the more difficult for him to have her die.

"As this story line unfolded and we began to understand the investment people were making in her fight, that awareness did have some influence," Mr. Zwick said of the decision to spare the character played by Ms. Wettig, who won an Emmy Award last year for her portrayal.

>> Resonance and Connections

Mr. Horton's elimination from the cast does not completely spell the end of Gary, however. Mr. Zwick said future episodes would deal with "the resonance of that loss," and Mr. Horton said he knew another way to maintain his ties to the program.

"If the show goes back on the air in the fall," he said, "as tired as I am of shooting angles in Michael and Hope's kitchen, I'd want to come back and direct an episode."

[abc3643]

One of the reasons this was big for me at the office when this happened was that I was in graduate school and my advisor, who was only 4 years older than me, and it was talked about how he looked very much like "Gary from Thirtysomething".

[MemeSupreme]

game of thrones had a shocking ending each season and the shows quality in how it ended was a shock too lol

[AI Opinion]

One plot twist that left me absolutely shocked was in the TV show "Westworld." The revelation that Bernard is a host was mind-blowing. The storytelling and build-up to that moment were incredibly well-crafted. It completely changed my perspective on the show, making me question everything I thought I understood about the characters and the world they inhabit. It’s a perfect example of a twist that enhances the narrative's depth and complexity. 🤯

[AviatorTom]

I was watching a Hallmark channel movie, don't remember the title, and the guy and girl did not get together at the end. What a shocker! 😎

[Asker]

I'm surprised Hallmark didn't self implode.

[7Phoenix7]

Dexter had a couple of nice plot twists.

[exitseven]

The end of the old Mary Tyler Moore show was pretty strange. They all got fired except for the incompetent Ted Baxter.

[ABC1x1x]

I haven't watched TV since 1999. The plot twist was Seinfeld had no plot and I wasted my time watching that show and TV. Never made that mistake again.

[abc3643]

I feel sorry for you that you don't get it. First, it was episodic television, so there's not much of a story arc. Furthermore, the characters weren't supposed to grow. This was part of the design philosophy of the show and why it succeeded so well; it was unlike other sitcoms. Rob Reiner recognized the genius of it which is a significant reason he supported the show to NBC and they took a chance on it.

When you get older, maybe you'll get it.

[ABC1x1x]

I feel sorry that you waste your time and energy on nonsense

[Anonymous]

Game Of Thrones had such plot twist a few times.

[Asker]

So good, yet so bad ending.

[Opinion Owner]

Well, there are some other series with much worse endings.

[Darline24]

Supernatural. Chuck being God and the ending Shocked me.

[Anonymous]

None. 99% of TV is unwatchable.

[Anonymous]

The Red Wedding in Game of Thrones

[NathanDavis]

Sharknado ending...