The 5 best cliffhangers in television history

There was a time when television was not consumed like fast food, and it needed some way to hook people from episode to episode. To ensure that when a season ended, they would be there for the next one because they needed to know how everything continued. The technique was not invented by television, of course: cliffhangers had existed since the paperback novel and were later adopted by movie serials, where the protagonists always ended up in an impossible situation from which they possibly could not survive. Or could they? Come back next week to find out! But, without a doubt, if […]

There was a time when television was not consumed like fast food, and it needed some way to hook people from episode to episode. To ensure that when a season ended, they would be there for the next one because they needed to know how everything continued. The technique was not invented by television, of course: cliffhangers have existed since the pocket novel and were later adopted by movie serials, where the protagonists always ended up in an impossible situation from which they possibly could not survive. Or could they? Tune in next week to find out!

But, without a doubt, if anyone has taken the cliffhanger to the level of art, it is television, which over the years has created more and more implausible situations that leave you on the edge of your seat wondering what just happened. Today we are going to review 5 times an episode left us wanting more and more, spending days (in the best case) or months (in the worst) until the question was resolved. Ready to dive into a sea of memories and frustration? Let’s go!

24 – The president is behind it all

The fifth season of 24 was the craziest of all, right from its first scene, where they killed off memorable characters that had been with viewers since the first of Jack Bauer’s endless days. However, things kept escalating and escalating until the end of episode 16, where we discovered that behind all the scheming, evil deeds, and plots was Charles Logan, the very President of the United States, who became the ultimate villain. The series peaked here, and it was impossible to reach this level of surprise mixed with genuine fascination again. A marvel.

Friends – I Take You, Rachel

In the summer of 1998, I watched this last minute of season 4 over and over like a crazy person, repeating that “I take you, Rachel” and letting it engrave in my memory as a canonical event. It was the first time, I think, that a television series really left me in suspense, not knowing what was going to happen next. By the way, in that same episode, it was revealed that Chandler and Monica had a night of passion, which led to one of the best couples in sitcom history. If Friends was incredible, what the hell.

Paradise – We live where we live

Last season we had all kinds of crazy TV cliffhangers, from the incredible surprise of Sugar to, of course, the ending of the first episode of Paradise, where it was revealed that the two timelines of the series were divided between life before living locked in an underground city and after, with very few having survived the end of the world. If after that ending you don’t want to keep watching to see what happens next, then nothing can surprise you anymore.

Lost – We have to go back!

We spent 3 seasons trying to escape from the island of Lost, and the mysteries piled up until the creators decided to blow everything up by revealing that Jack’s flashback was actually a flash-forward to the future, where he meets Kate and says the iconic line “We have to go back!”. No matter the more disappointing moments the series gave us later on: just for experiencing this surprise live, the journey was worth it.

Game of Thrones – The Rains of Castamere

If you had read the novels, you knew what was about to happen in the famous Red Wedding. In the penultimate episode of season 3 of Game of Thrones, everything blew up suddenly during the wedding of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey. There, Robb Stark and his people are murdered and, in the end, Catelyn’s throat is slit. An unfair but very crazy ending. So much so that it was the only thing talked about for months. We all thought that, like in the books, Catelyn would return as Lady Stoneheart, but nothing happened, leaving us sad and heartbroken throughout Westeros.