Top 20 TV Scenes That Were More Important Than You Realize
Top 20 TV Scenes That Were More Important Than You Realize
Top 20 TV Scenes That Were More Important Than You Realize
Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 20 TV scenes that were more important than you realized. For this list, we’ll be examining singular or recurring scenes from TV series that took on greater importance due to the fact that they foreshadowed or impacted later events. Naturally, there will be spoilers. If there are some TV scenes that were more important than we realized, be sure to let us know in the comments!
#20: 25 Years “Twin Peaks” (1990-91, 2017)
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“Twin Peaks” is a weird, weird show, full of cryptic messages and sometimes it’s just bizarre for the sake of bizarre. One of its most intriguing recurring elements are the “Black Lodge” segments set in the red-curtained room, where characters have a strange, backwards speech pattern. In one of these scenes, the murdered Laura Palmer talks to FBI agent Dale Cooper, telling him she’ll see him in 25 years. Low and behold, the revival series is set and filmed in 2016, even if it was released a year later. Did creator David Lynch plan for this? Probably not, but it does lend a certain mystique to the scene in hindsight.
#19: Beetlejuice “Community” (2009-15)
Some shows take a long time to pay off jokes, but few of them set up years in advance. But most shows aren’t “Community.” As anyone familiar with the movie “Beetlejuice” is aware, the titular ghoul appears after you say his name three times. “Community” takes this and runs with the idea, with the character being mentioned in passing once in season 1, a second time in season 2, and then a third time in season 3, after which a character in the background dressed like Beetlejuice appears! Now that’s dedication!
#18: Mary Apologizes “Supernatural” (2005-2020)
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Arguably the defining moment in the life of the Winchester brothers is the death of their mother, Mary, at the hands of a demon. It sets them on the path to hunting supernatural creatures, due to being trained by their father, John. So when the boys encounter their mother’s ghost, Sam is puzzled when she apologizes to him. Several seasons later, we learn that Mary is apologizing because she made a deal with the same demon that killed her and fed demon blood to Sam; permitting him to enter her house in exchange for John’s life. Mary’s apology is for her own role in the brothers’ lives turning out the way they have.
#17: Kenneth’s Immortality “30 Rock” (2006-13)
Page boy Kenneth is a little unsettling, despite his chipper demeanor – and we don’t just mean his permanently toothy grin. Throughout the show, there is a running gag that Kenneth is somehow much older than he appears, and while this can range from subtle scenes, such as his making reference to pop culture of the 1940s and ‘50s, and being affected by sounds only heard by people over 40, at other times things get a bit more blatant, such as his paranoia about his age and his apparent first words to his mother. While this could just be a character quirk, it all pays off in the finale, where a scene in the distant future reveals Kenneth in charge of NBC and looking exactly the same.
#16: Leslie Knope’s Womb “Parks and Recreation” (2009-15)
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In season 2 of “Parks and Rec,” Leslie Knope is set up on a bind date with an MRI tech, Chris, by her friend Ann. Their date isn’t exactly romantic, since he takes her to have an MRI after learning she’s never had one. He also makes some awkward comments regarding her womb, claiming that she could have triplets the first time she gets pregnant. Although certainly a bit creepy, Chris’ medical opinion proves accurate, since, a few seasons later when Leslie becomes pregnant by her husband Ben, they do indeed have triplets!
#15: Monica Wants Twins “Friends” (1994-2004)
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Late in “Friends”’ first season, Ross’ ex-wife gives birth to their son. While waiting around for the birth, the gang, particularly Monica, has babies on the mind, with her lamenting that she doesn’t have one of her own; demanding why a passing mother gets to have two. Chandler then offers to get together and have one with her in a nice gesture that goes hilariously wrong. Not only does this scene foreshadow Chandler and Monica getting together, years in advance, it also takes on added significance once the two of them adopt twins from a new mother in the final season.
#14: Lane Pryce’s Suicide “Mad Men” (2007-15)
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“Mad Men” was still in its heyday during its fifth season, and this episode only helped raise the excitement. In the 12th episode, Lane Pryce hangs himself after being forced to resign for stealing money from the company. However, if you paid close attention throughout the season, this act by Pryce would be no surprise to you. Examples include Pete discussing life insurance in the event of suicide, Pryce himself ironically exclaiming, “I’ll be here for the rest of my life!”, and even Don sketching a noose. Suffice it to say that the show’s writers knew exactly where they were going with Pryce.
#13: Witch in the Credits “American Horror Story” (2011-)
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Much of the plot of the third season of this anthology horror series depicts Fiona Goode, a witch, and her search/murder spree for the next Supreme Witch after herself, who will make herself known by displaying the seven wonders, or seven magical abilities. However, the answer as to who will be the next Supreme is actually teased in the opening credits! Fiona’s daughter, Cordelia, is played by Sarah Paulson, whose name in the title sequence is displayed next to Mexican death saint, Santa Muerte, also known as “the lady of the seven powers.” Anyone familiar with the iconography certainly had a leg up over other viewers.
#12: Bats in His Future “The Walking Dead” (2010-)
While Rick’s explanation about rabbit snares foreshadowing Terminus was also considered, we elected to go with these deadly sports-related clues instead. Baseball, America’s pastime, right? Well, not so much in an apocalyptic zombie wasteland. Some serious foreshadowing stepped up to the plate in Season 5 for Glenn, who, at various points in the season, was pictured picking up baseball bats and also nearly meeting his end via a bat beating. Well, that “nearly” vanished a couple of seasons later, when Neegan took a swing . . . and didn’t miss, in one of TV’s most shocking and brutal moments.
#11: Fitz’s Convo With Ward “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (2013-20)
“Agents of SHIELD” may not be as connected to the MCU as many would like, but it’s still got plenty of great little connections within the show itself. One such occurs when Grant Ward and Leopold Fitz are on a mission together in season 1 and they’re captured. Ward, while making plans to escape, inquires how long Fitz can hold his breath underwater. Although Fitz has no idea at the time, he is forced to find out not long after, at Ward’s hands, as he betrays the team, dropping Fitz and Simmons out of a plane to sink to the bottom of the ocean. In order to escape the underwater prison, Fitz enacts a daring scheme that forces him to hold his breath.
#10: Scully’s Howler “The X-Files” (1993-2002, 2016-18)
This season 4 episode is not only notable for being written by Vince Gilligan of “Breaking Bad” fame, but also for introducing a major story element. “Unruhe” sees Mulder and Scully track down a killer who gives lobotomies to women. When he captures Scully, he tells her that she has “howlers” in her head that he wants to remove. Fast forward to a few weeks later in the 12th episode, when it is revealed that Scully has brain cancer, and wouldn’t you know it… it’s in the exact same place that the lobotomy killer pointed to.
#9: Loose Seal “Arrested Development” (2003-06, 2013-)
Even for as binge-able a show as “Arrested Development” is, there are some things that escape viewers the first time through, which is what makes rewatching it so rewarding. One of the most notable is the frequency of early hints that Buster Bluth will lose a limb. From the fact that a “loose seal” is responsible (his mother’s name is Lucille, folks), to the numerous sly references to Buster losing a hand, we just have to “give a hand” to the creators of the show for being this on the ball with the build-up to this plot point.
#8: Expiration Date “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003)
“Buffy” became a major contender for fantasy show of the decade, thanks in no small part to its numerous uses of foreshadowing. There were plenty of foreshadowing moments throughout “Buffy”’s run, from the early revelation of Willow’s sexuality via her vampire doppelganger, to Faith predicting Dawn’s existence during a dream sequence. But for this entry, we’re focusing on Joyce’s credit card, which has an expiration date of May 2001, as read out loud by Faith. Fast forward one season, when Buffy tragically dies by jumping into a portal. This episode’s airdate? May 22, 2001. Looks like the expiration date of the credit card was actually referring to the expiration of Buffy’s life - and knowing Joss Whedon, there is no way that this was just a coincidence.
#7: River Song “Doctor Who” (1963-89; 1996; 2005-)
Time travel allows for plenty of callbacks and call forwards! Although the Bad Wolf mentions throughout the first series of the revival are quite good, when it comes to unexpected importance and foreshadowing, River Song is basically this concept distilled into a character. A mysterious woman the Doctor meets who seems to have knowledge of his personal future, River Song proves to have a lot of personal significance to the Time Lord in future seasons, being the daughter of some of his future companions, his wife, and his supposed murderer – though not in that order. The fact that she name-drops some of their future adventures together, as well as calls back/forward to things she or he has said, makes River’s appearances great to revisit.
#6: Watch Your Back “Babylon 5” (1993-98)
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This space western is notable for being planned out in advance from the beginning, so of course the head writer, J. Michael Straczynski, would drop many hints and bits of foreshadowing throughout its run. One of the best examples has to be when Walker Smith tells Chief Warrant Officer Michael Garibaldi that he’s going to learn to watch his back. Well, you can guess what happens next. During the first season finale, Garibaldi is shot in the back in an attempt to keep an assassination plot a secret. If he’d been watching it like Smith told him to, then maybe this wouldn’t have been an issue.
#5: Ben Sullivan’s Absent Camera “Scrubs” (2001-10)
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In one of the “feelsiest” “Scrubs” episodes of all time, Ben’s famous death proves just how fine a line this show walks between comedy and drama. While Ben is a little irritating, he means well. He also always has his camera, even proclaiming that his camera will be with him until he is no longer alive. Well, later in the episode, his camera is mysteriously absent, and no one seems to acknowledge Ben except for Cox. It’s not until the end of the episode that it’s all painfully put together.
#4: An Omen of Animals “Game of Thrones” (2011-19)
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Given that it’s based on a book series as thick as bricks, “Game of Thrones” has plenty of little seeds and hints of future events to be found throughout, and while choosing the reveal about Hodor’s name was tempting, one of its most easily overlooked happens in the very first episode. Ned Stark and his children come upon a direwolf mother and a stag which have killed one another, leaving 6 pups without a parent. Flashforward to the end of season 1, and Ned, head of House Stark, whose symbol is a direwolf, and Robert Baratheon, whose symbol is a stag, are both dead, with Ned’s 6 children largely left to fend for themselves.
#3: Thanksgiving Flashforward “How I Met Your Mother” (2005-14)
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Although the subtle countdown to Marvin’s death seen in the same episode was worthy of consideration, we’re taking a look at a different episode about the same topic. “This is supposed to be a comedy!” That’s what everyone yelled at their screen as they discreetly wiped away their man tears after hearing of Marvin’s death via heart attack. However, an innocent throwaway joke predicted the event two seasons earlier. As Marshall cuts the Thanksgiving turkey in a flash-forward, his father Marvin is mysteriously absent from the family table. While this is obviously not a 100% accurate scenario, since, you know, light sabers, it’s still a haunting depiction of their family life in the near future when Marvin senior is no longer with them.
#2: Light vs. Dark “Lost” (2004-10)
“Lost” is chock-full of foreshadowing, lore, and complexities, but that’s what fans love so much about it. In its first season, as John Locke and Walt Lloyd play backgammon, Locke explains the game using the concept of light vs. dark. To all those English majors out there, it’s obvious that the scene is not just filler about backgammon, as it explains the moral complexities of the characters, and reveals the rivalry between Jacob (white) and the Man in Black (dark). And as it turns out, the island is just one big game of backgammon…
#1: The Teddy Bear “Breaking Bad” (2008-13)
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“Breaking Bad” is a masterpiece on all fronts, and that includes plenty of hints at future events. As tempting as it was to pick certain moments like Walt spinning a gun actually being the moment he decides to poison a child, we went with an even more arresting image. Throughout season 2, black and white cold opens in some episodes feature a burned pink teddy bear in Walt’s pool. Although these scenes also herald the season’s finale, involving a plane crash, the bear itself, with its half-burned visage has drawn comparisons to Gus Fring, whose dramatic death several seasons later also saw him with a half-burned face. If it were any other show, we’d chalk it up to coincidence, but come on – it’s “Breaking Bad!” Of course, it’s intentional!
