It's not easy to avoid spoilers for TV series, especially when a show gets incredibly popular. Within hours—sometimes even minutes—of an episode's release, details, screenshots, and, spoilers often appear across all social media platforms. Viewers who haven't caught up yet will find it impossible to avoid even the most inconsequential spoilers.
But sometimes, the show itself drops a spoiler, often unintentionally. If a finale feels unsatisfying or too predictable, it's possible that the show spoiled its ending in some way before it even reached its climax. Instead of foreshadowing their resolutions, these shows clumsily revealed their hand early, or they didn't even bother to hide it.
Updated on January 14, 2023 by Angelo Delos Trinos: TV series that accidentally spoiled themselves are nothing new, but this is a happy accident that even the highest profile dramas aren't immune to. In recent years, some of the biggest TV shows ever aired either did a bad job at hiding their finale's biggest moments, or fans saw them coming. This list was updated to mention a few more shows that fell for this trap.
13 Merlin Revealing His Magic Was Inevitable
Merlin
Although it can be difficult to create an original story from preexisting narratives such as the Arthurian legends, there are many examples of unique and interesting rewrites of the legends of Arthur Pendragon. BBC's Merlin, however, spoiled its own ending before the show even finished its first season.
Since Merlin's beginning, fans were expecting Merlin to reveal his magical abilities to Prince Arthur. Despite becoming king in Season 4, Arthur continued to ban magic. Merlin kept postponing the big moment until the series finale. Merlins' magical reveal was treated as a twist, even though audiences knew it had to come along eventually.
12 *Daenerys Targaryen's Growing Madness Confirmed Fans' Worst Fears
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones' biggest and final twist was that Daenerys, the series' naive but genuinely kindhearted ruler, was the overall villain. This ending shocked fans, but not for the right reasons. Instead of fearing or sympathizing with Daenerys' villainous turn, viewers were furious that Game of Thrones ended in the most obvious way possible.
As far back as Season 2, viewers theorized that Daenerys could become a ruthless tyrant. Fans believed that Game of Thrones was smarter than it let on, and hoped for their expectations to be subverted. Despite being depicted in a messianic light, Daenerys took an evil turn in the finale and scuttled Game of Thrones' reputation.
11 Fans Saw The "Twist" Ending Coming And Hated It
Lost
Despite being a pop culture juggernaut in its heyday, Lost is only remembered for its divisive and poorly-received final season and finale. After building suspense and mystery over the first three seasons, Lost's timeline began to blur and reveal flash-forwards of the characters' lives in Season 4.
By the time Lost's final season aired and revealed that the characters were already dead, most fans had already guessed something similar. Instead of being cathartic, fans felt this reveal was unsatisfying and predictable. This was mostly the result of the season's poor execution and foreshadowing.
10 Haggar Really Being Honerva Was A Poorly Kept Secret
Voltron: Legendary Defender
When it began, Voltron: Legendary Defender was well-received by old-school Voltron fans and newcomers alike. Its final season, however, was criticized for being rushed and out of character. Fans claimed that the story resorted to predictable and unoriginal plot points to maintain momentum through the series climax.
Honerva's identity is a prime example of this. Despite being introduced as the side character Haggar, her importance to the plot was never secret. Since Voltron's other villains were already defeated before the final season, fans guessed that Honerva was just hiding in plain sight. It was also easy to piece that Haggar and Honerva were one and the same.
9 The End Of Sam & Dean Winchester's Road Was Already Shown In Season 5
Supernatural
Sam and Dean Winchester's adventures finally reached their end in late 2020. Some fans, however, argued that Supernatural already ended way back in 2010. During the show's fifth season, Sam and Dean died and resurrected, befriended and angered angels and demons, and confronted their mortality.
Season 5 ended with Sam in Hell and Dean leaving the hunter's life behind. Although their fates were switched in Season 15, Supernatural's final season followed the same logical conclusions that Season 5 arrived at. As far as longtime fans were concerned, Supernatural's ending was spoiled more than a decade beforehand.
8 Korra Ultimately Failed To Differentiate Her Destiny From Aang's
The Legend of Korra
The Legend of Korra took place decades after the events of its predecessor, Avatar: The Last Airbender. The legacy sequel followed the adventures of the newest Avatar, Korra. The Legend of Korra's finale, however, followed a strikingly similar pace to its predecessor's. It also paralleled several prior character arcs and story beats.
Korra and Aang entered their final battles being unable—or unwilling—to enter the Avatar State due to past trauma. Both Avatars also overcame their self-doubts in time to fight a giant mechanized weapon. While each series has its own story, The Last Airbender may have unintentionally spoiled its sequel with its formula.
7 Agatha Harkness' Reveal Made Everything More Predictable
WandaVision
WandaVision was praised for its unique tone and utilization of sitcom tropes in its early episodes. However, WandaVision lost some of this effect near its end. The show arguably spoiled its own climax by revealing its hand a bit too soon. This happened after Wandavision's true villain, Agatha Harkness, revealed herself in Episode 7.
Episode 8 was basically Wanda's origin story, and Episode 9 was an action-packed finale. This shifted WandaVision's style and tone from a surreal mystery to that of a conventional superhero story. Agatha's reveal made everything more predictable, and some argued that she debuted in the MCU a bit too soon.
6 A Shocking First Episode Could Have Spoiled The Season Finale
Invincible
Challenging the expectations of an animated superhero series, Invincible managed to appeal to its adult audience by including plenty of violence, language, and a mature plot. One of its boldest choices was revealing Omni-Man's true nature in the first episode's ending, where he brutally killed the Guardians of the Globe.
Knowing that Nolan had sinister intentions altered expectations. Instead of trying to identify the Guardians' killer, audiences wondered how long it would take Omni-Man to be exposed. This was a bold choice, but the season finale's emotional impact was somewhat lessened by the knowledge that Omni-Man was evil all along.
5 Clark Kent & Lex Luthor's Friendship Was Never Going To Survive
Smallville
Smallville wasn't the first Superman prequel story ever told, but it's easily one of the most well-known. Even viewers who never read a Superman comic knew that Clark Kent and Lex Luthor would become bitter rivals later in life. Clark becoming Superman and working at the Daily Planet were also the series' obvious endpoints.
Thankfully, these didn't diminish the tragedy of Smallville's central doomed friendship. Knowing that Clark and Lex would become enemies only made Smallville's look at their younger years all the more bittersweet and tragic. At worst, Smallville ran in circles by delaying Clark and Lex's fate across too many episodes.
4 The Rebel Alliance's Formation Was Inevitable
Andor
By virtue of being a prequel, Andor's ending was technically spoiled by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the original Star Wars. It was obvious that the disparate rebel factions would unite to fight the Empire, and that Cassian Andor would become the movement's hero. That said, this foreknowledge didn't rob Andor of its catharsis.
Andor was so well-made and written that even knowing that Andor would die later in Rogue One and how the series would link up to Star Wars' canon didn't matter to viewers. Instead of fanservice and Easter Eggs, audiences were hooked on Andor's thematic and literal fight against fascism and tyranny.
3 Saul Goodman & Other Characters' Fates Were Foregone Conclusions
Better Call Saul
Since it was the prequel to Breaking Bad, many fans wondered how Better Call Saul could emotionally connect with those who already knew how the story would end. Although Saul's final fate was still up in the air, it was obvious that most of the series' characters would either die now or later in Breaking Bad.
In truth, Better Call Saul was more of a slow-moving tragedy than a prequel. Knowing that Jimmy McGill would escape into his Saul Goodman persona and that Walter White would doom everyone later only made the prequel more heartbreaking. As such, Better Call Saul was heralded as one of the best prequels ever told.
2 Adventure Time Was Too Eager To Answer Its Own Mysteries
Adventure Time
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Adventure Time ran for over eight years, drawing a large fanbase of all ages. The cartoon's dark lore and subtle storytelling contained plenty of mystery, but its most exciting moments occurred in its earlier seasons. This left the finale season bereft of an emotionally fulfilling climax and new things to learn about the characters.
Most of Adventure Time's most notable arcs—Ice King's past, the fate of the Lich, the identity of Finn's parents, and his disjointed memories—were resolved long before the finale. Many of these subplots were utilized in the final confrontation with GOLB, but there was nothing new left to look forward to.
1 The Fanbase Correctly Guessed Most Of The Biggest Twists
Steven Universe
Steven Universe's biggest mysteries were the truth behind Rose Quartz and Steven's connection to the Diamonds. Thanks to the unsubtle clues, fans guessed that Rose Quartz was the supposedly dead Pink Diamond. This meant that Steven was born of royalty, making him integral to determining the Gems' future.
Steven Universe's creators knew that fans predicted the ending, but they didn't change anything. Instead, they congratulated viewers when the truth was finally revealed. Thankfully, knowing that Steven would end the Crystal Gems and Diamonds' war through love and his heritage didn't diminish the emotional impact of Steven Universe's ending.