“Game of Thrones” fans across the globe watched in slack-jawed horror last year as the final moments of the show’s fifth season played out upon their screens.
Brooding warrior Jon Snow, one of the saga’s most beloved characters, was stabbed repeatedly by traitorous assailants. Gasping for breath, he fell faceup onto the frozen ground and began to bleed out.
Fade to black. Roll credits.
The scene fueled 10 months of obsessive speculation. Was Jon Snow dead or not? It was yet another audacious TV cliffhanger — a narrative device designed to shock and tease us and leave us on the edge of our sofas wanting more.
Ever since a nation demanded to know “Who shot J.R.?” more than three decades ago, cliffhangers have become a staple of prime time. Now, as the broadcast season winds down, writers are again spicing up their season finales with suspenseful moments in hopes of enticing us to return in the fall.
With that in mind, here’s a chronological rundown of some of TV’s most memorable cliffhangers:
“Dallas” (1980): The one that started it all. In the final episode of the prime time soap’s third season, dastardly oil baron J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) is shot twice by an unseen assailant. The plot twist had an entire nation wondering who pulled the trigger, and there was no shortage of suspects. Thanks to a writers’ strike, viewers had to wait eight long months to find out. An estimated audience of 83 million tuned in to learn Kristin Shepard (Mary Crosby) was the culprit and that, yes, J.R. survived.
“Dynasty” (1985): Not to be outdone, the era’s other big soap concluded its fifth season by having a group of terrorists turn Amanda (Catherine Oxenberg) and Michael’s (Michael Praed) royal nuptials into a bloodbath. When the show returned in the fall, viewers discovered that only a couple of minor characters had perished. Whatever. The “Red Wedding” it wasn’t.
“Twin Peaks” (1990): Poor Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). The FBI agent has just ordered room service from his hotel room when he hears a knock. He opens the door only to be shot three times in the chest by an unseen figure. He collapses to the floor. In Season 2, Cooper wakes up, determined to figure out who shot him. Eventually, we learn that the assailant was Josie Packard (Joan Chen). But the revelation can’t save the series from going off the tracks.
“Friends” (1998): Not all cliffhangers are violent. The sitcom ended its fourth season with Ross (David Schwimmer) preparing to marry Emily (Helen Baxendale). At the ceremony, he spots Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and, in a cringe-worthy Freudian slip, utters her name while delivering his vows. Oops. Fans are left in limbo, wondering if the wedding will be called off. Surprise. At the start of Season 5, Ross and Emily go through with the wedding. But their relationship becomes rocky, paving the way for an eventual fan-pleasing Ross and Rachel romance.
“The West Wing” (2000): The political drama’s stellar first season came to a nail-biting close with an assassination attempt, as gunmen opened fire on President Bartlet’s (Martin Sheen) motorcade. Amid the mad scramble that ensued, a Secret Service agent can be heard on the radio asking, “Who’s been hit?” When the series returned in the fall, it was revealed that Bartlet and Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) were both hit, but not killed, and that Charlie Young (Dule Hill) was the actual target because of his relationship with the president’s daughter, Zoey (Elisabeth Moss).
n”Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (2001): Our favorite demon fighter (Sarah Michelle Gellar) seems to have met her end as Season 5 closes, when she sacrifices herself in order to foil the hellacious baddie, Glory. The episode concludes with a glimpse of her tombstone, which fittingly reads, “She saved the world. A lot.” At the time, the show’s future was in doubt, so the hour was constructed as a possible series-ender. But “Buffy” did return in the fall, along with its title character, who was resurrected by a powerful spell.
“Lost” (2007): Season 3 of the island mystery ends with a suicidally depressed Jack (Matthew Fox) meeting Kate (Evangeline Lilly) at night outside an airport. He mumbles something about a memorial service and how he’s been using a “golden pass” issued by Oceanic Airlines, hoping to crash. His final words to Kate are, “We have to go back!” It’s then that we suddenly realize this is a game-changing moment — that it’s a flash-forward, not a flashback. All across America, minds are blown.
“Sherlock” (2012): In the second series finale, our brainy hero (Benedict Cumberbatch) appears to fall to his death after leaping from the roof of a London hospital. His “corpse” is apparently carried away by hospital staff. After fans share countless online theories, the third series returns with the revelation that Sherlock faked his death through clever use of an inflated pad and body double. It’s elementary, of course.
“Game of Thrones” (2016): Back to Jon Snow. Fans were forced to wait until the second episode of Season 6 to see how the cliffhanger played out. Davos (Liam Cunningham) persuades the sorceress Melisandre (Carice van Houten) to attempt to resurrect Jon, and her spell somehow does the trick. In the third episode, Jon wreaks vengeance on his assailants by hanging them.
“The Walking Dead” (2016): The show’s controversial Season 6 finale introduces us to Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a depraved villain who wields a barbed wire-covered bat. His goons have abducted several Alexandria residents, and Negan intends to kill one of them. As he starts to take a mighty swing, the camera cuts away. Whom, exactly, did Negan choose to kill? We won’t know until Season 7 starts. Thus, this story ends on — what else? — a cliffhanger.
Contact Chuck Barney at cbarney@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/chuckbarney and Facebook.com/bayareanewsgroup.chuckbarney.
