9 Unplanned Finales That Had Season Ending Worthy Cliffhangers
When production shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, some TV shows were luckier than others when it came to ending the current seasons.
In some cases, everything had already been filmed, and real-world events had no effect. For others, we got the last episode that had been filmed, as it was, or makeshift finales that were crafted using footage from future episodes to better set up what will come when production resumes.
Below, we take a look at the season-ending cliffhangers of this season’s unplanned finales. (Note: This only includes episodes that weren’t meant to serve as finales, i.e., not Prodigal Son‘s, which was the intended end of Season 1.)
Batwoman
Alice (Rachel Skarsten) was at the center of both a shocking death (she killed her brother Mouse) and the major reveal that ended the episode. She finally gave villain Hush (Gabriel Mann) the face he wanted (in more ways than one): Bruce Wayne’s (Warren Christie). Yes, “Bruce Wayne” has come to Batwoman.
The Blacklist
FBI agent Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone) chose to side with her mother, Katarina Rostova (Laila Robins), which will put her and Red (James Spader) at odds. But how much will Elizabeth be able to trust any answers the spy gives her? How much will she embrace the darkness?
Chicago P.D.
Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) did the right thing and revealed that a cop’s racial profiling led to his death, as well as that of an innocent man. But that cop has friends and family in the CPD and mayor’s office, and they paid Atwater a visit at home, in their police vehicles. The threat was clear.
The Flash
Iris (Candice Patton), Kamilla (Victoria Park), and Singh (Patrick Sabongui) remain trapped in the Mirrorverse, and all of Iris’ time there has led her to begin to acclimate to her surroundings. She was able to get a read of Singh’s possible location off a computer screen … before she disappeared!
Nancy Drew
Nancy (Kennedy McMann) and her friends all saw portents of their deaths — and for the sleuth it was very familiar: falling off the cliff like her mother Lucy had.
NCIS: Los Angeles
It may not have been Sam (LL Cool J) and Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) getting tortured or Sam and Callen (Chris O’Donnell) trapped in a submarine or a possible war, but the finale set up a new foe, especially for Sam: Argento (Juan Riedinger), a Navy SEAL who killed a sedated prisoner and civilians and thinks he won’t be convicted due to his connections in D.C.
NCIS: New Orleans
Hannah (Necar Zadegan) was able to gather proof of Deputy Director Van Cleef’s (Richard Thomas) problem with female field agents; he’d demoted her earlier in the season. But while she kept him from a promotion, he showed up on her porch in the episode’s final moments in what felt like a threat and a reminder that he has powerful friends.
The Resident
Even Red Rock’s prize neurosurgeon Cain (Morris Chestnut) had a problem with how it (and specifically Logan Kim) handled the superbug in the hospital. That’s why Logan was looking for a new face for Red Rock and asked Conrad (Matt Czuchry), who has been fighting back harder than anyone else against the corporation, to fill that position.
Riverdale
The Voyeur remains a serious threat to the town, having graduated — though the seniors haven’t yet — from recording the residents’ houses to staging crimes from over the years. But it was the final video that was the creepiest: six people in masks of the teens “killing” a “Mr. Honey,” just as Jughead (Cole Sprouse) had originally written in his revenge fantasy. How many people are part of this?
Conversation3 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Register or sign in to join the conversation.
-
O
C’mon!!!! You couldn’t have titled it 10 Unplanned Finales???
How could you possibly overlook “Blue Bloods” and especially the final scene where the newest blood family member was surprisingly introduced at the Sunday dinner table? It wasn’t planned as a season finale, but it sure worked out that way and gave the fans a lot to think about before it returns.
-
T
NCIS New Orleans and Nancy Drew's finales were great, but LA's (like with the entirety of whatever the ell Season 11 was) was awful. 1, there was LITERAL no excuse for Hetty TO NOT have been in the finale (her boys were in trouble, she had every right to know what was going on, it's HER team, no one else's!!!!!), 2nd, does that ending REALLY qualify as a cliffhanger??! cuz I doubt it at the moment.
-
B
You missed a few. How about FBI, Chicago Med, Fire, Last Man Standing, SVU, MacGyver, Magnum, Dynasty, Blue Bloods, and Empire? Another ten shows.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services