We're still here, and it's getting dark and scary on this cliff! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the TV shows that left viewers hanging about certain plot points in their final episodes. Spoilers ahead!
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00:00 "No way, no way will I buy that."
00:02 Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:04 And today we're counting down our picks for the TV shows that left viewers hanging about certain plot points in their final episodes.
00:11 We're excluding shows where minor questions may have been answered in supplementary materials or any animated moments though.
00:18 "We are going to find the real Mary Jane Watson."
00:22 And focusing on television series where many of the big questions remain unresolved.
00:27 Spoilers ahead!
00:28 "Sweet Jesus!"
00:30 "I know. I'm Dodge's father."
00:33 Number 10. Unfinished Battle - Carnival
00:38 "Open your eyes. It's glorious."
00:41 This show came a few years too early for the boom in prestige mystery television.
00:47 Carnival features the rise of two men with extraordinary abilities.
00:51 Brother Justin Crowe and Ben Hawkins.
00:54 Their powers of good and evil finally clash when the former attacks the latter's traveling carnival.
00:59 "Hawkins!"
01:00 "Hold these guns to the crapper, kid! Run!"
01:06 Although both are wounded grievously by their confrontation,
01:09 the series was cancelled without a definitive conclusion to their conflict.
01:13 "I'll be quick."
01:14 "You will not suffer."
01:18 "My kingdom come."
01:22 While some of the creators' intended plans have been released in the years since,
01:26 we're still left wondering who would have come out on top of this big top show.
01:31 Number 9. Relationship Revelation - Bored to Death
01:34 "I can't believe that you're my father."
01:36 Big reveals are the bread and butter of detective shows.
01:40 Even comedic ones like Bored to Death.
01:42 However, the series finale features one we may never get answers to,
01:46 given that plans for a movie have stalled for years.
01:49 In the series' final case, writer-turned-PI Jonathan Ames learns that not only is his father a conman,
01:56 but also that Rose, his current girlfriend, is his half-sister.
02:00 "Did you tell her yet?"
02:02 While Jonathan ultimately elects not to tell Rose this information,
02:06 secrets like that have a habit of getting out.
02:09 Sadly, we never get to see what happens between them.
02:12 "Never mind."
02:13 "See the jungle wind, let it rain."
02:19 Number 8. A Simulation on a Spaceship - 1899
02:24 This intriguing sci-fi show follows a group of passengers aboard a steamship heading to America.
02:29 Or so they and the audience think at first.
02:32 Throughout the show's only season, strange events make it clear that all is not as it seems.
02:38 The passengers, led by Mara, eventually learn that they're in a simulation.
02:43 "Where am I? Is this real?"
02:47 The final episode sees Mara awaken from the simulation to find herself aboard a spaceship in 2099,
02:53 where she and the others have apparently been in suspended animation.
02:57 "Project Prometheus."
03:00 Unfortunately, Netflix pulled a Netflix, by which we mean they cancelled the show.
03:04 So we'll likely never learn what the purpose of the simulation is,
03:08 or the many other unanswered questions about the world and characters.
03:12 "Let the children lose it, let the children lose it, let all the children lose it."
03:20 Number 7. Who Shot Agent Carter?
03:23 "She's taking more vacation?"
03:25 You'd think a prequel series like this one would be able to conclude without any unresolved mysteries.
03:31 You'd be wrong.
03:32 The final episode sees Agent Jack Thompson in his hotel room preparing to leave Los Angeles.
03:37 However, Thompson is shot by an off-screen assailant, and files on Peggy Carter are stolen.
03:42 "I'm leaving, just give me a second."
03:46 The creators have dropped hints that it may have been Peggy's brother, Michael.
03:50 But why he did these things remains unknown.
03:52 Likewise, we'll never get to see Peggy help form S.H.I.E.L.D.
03:56 At least, Sousa's storyline wrapped up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
03:59 "Which would make you the former colleague of Agent Peggy Carter."
04:03 "It would."
04:04 Number 6. Who's Pregnant? Moesha
04:08 "Can y'all keep a secret?"
04:09 One of the biggest shows on the UPN network while it lasted,
04:12 Moesha revolved around the titular teenage girl and her friends and family.
04:16 The series concluded its run with several cliffhangers regarding potential new storylines.
04:21 "I'm gonna miss you guys so much."
04:23 "Aww, me too. Y'all show me some love."
04:27 Moesha is considering whether to move in with her boyfriend, Hakim, or her best friend, Nisi.
04:32 Miles has been straight up kidnapped, and a positive pregnancy test is found in Moesha's dorm room,
04:37 with no confirmation on who the expectant mother is.
04:40 "What is important? What is important is somebody in this room is pregnant."
04:44 Although talks about a reboot or revival have persisted for years,
04:48 we're still no closer to learning what became of all these unresolved plotlines.
04:54 Number 5. A Literal Cliffhanger. Hannibal
04:58 "My compassion for you is inconvenient."
05:00 "Well, if you're partial to beef products, it is inconvenient to be compassionate toward a cow."
05:08 The series' cat-and-mouse game and unconventional love story between Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham
05:13 all lead here.
05:15 The FBI man and his cannibal frenemy are both attacked by Francis Dollarhide, a serial killer.
05:21 Together, Graham and Lecter kill their attacker.
05:23 "It's beautiful."
05:26 While basking in their triumph on the cliffside and embracing, Graham leans them both over the side,
05:32 sending them into the water below.
05:33 While we can infer that they both survived, considering later events and other adaptations,
05:39 the ambiguity has still left many viewers unsatisfied and hungry for more.
05:44 "Cliffhanger."
05:51 Number 4. Walk on Water. Watchmen
05:54 "I saved humanity, you ignorant hayseed. Now if you'd kindly stop distracting me, I would very much like to save it again."
06:02 This limited series sequel story to the comic of the same name leaves plenty of questions open.
06:08 Ozymandias is captured by the FBI and his deception, which might have prevented nuclear Armageddon,
06:15 will be exposed to the world.
06:17 "That guy talks too much."
06:19 Additionally, Dr. Manhattan may be dead, but some of his dialogue indicates that he may have transferred his powers to his wife, Angela Abar, via an egg.
06:29 "You can't make an omelet without breaking a couple of eggs."
06:36 "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
06:38 Just when Angela is testing whether she can literally walk on water, cuts are black.
06:43 Does she have Manhattan's powers now?
06:45 What will she do with them?
06:46 And what will the world's reaction be to Ozymandias' big lie?
06:50 Only someone who knows the future could tell.
06:53 Number 3. Never Going Home. Quantum Leap.
06:57 "You've done a lot of good, Sam Beckett. And you can do a lot more."
07:01 Dr. Sam Beckett leaps through time into different bodies.
07:04 And while the opening narration claims that Sam hopes to find a way to leap home,
07:08 the series finale reveals, through a surprisingly knowing bartender, that Sam has always been able to go home.
07:16 "The catch is that you have to accept that you control your own destiny."
07:21 Text after the end of the episode reveals that Sam never went home,
07:24 instead electing to continue assisting people through his actions in the past.
07:29 Despite a revival/sequel series involving a search for Sam, actor Scott Bakula isn't involved.
07:35 Which means we're unlikely to get a true resolution to Sam's journeys through time.
07:39 "What about this guy Beckett? Ask him. Do what he did."
07:42 "We can't."
07:46 "He never made it home."
07:47 Number 2. Who's Your Daddy? My Name Is Earl.
07:50 "I took all the DNA samples to the Camden County labs and when the results came in the mail, Catalina brought them to us."
07:57 The title character's quest to achieve good karma through repaying everyone he's wronged did have some resolution.
08:03 However, there's still a cliffhanger ending that isn't cleared up. At least, not completely.
08:08 The series finale includes a DNA test revealing that Earl is in fact Dodge's father.
08:14 "What? No."
08:18 However, Joy's other son, Earl Jr. turns out not to have been fathered by Darnell, as everyone assumed.
08:25 Before Joy can address this, the episode ends and the series was cancelled.
08:29 "Now, everybody just calm down."
08:33 Although the creators have stated they had plans for the father to have been a famous celebrity,
08:38 we'll never know which one, since they never nailed it down themselves.
08:42 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
08:46 A Future Without John Connor. Terminator. The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
08:50 This storyline won't be back.
08:52 "Anybody heard the name John Connor?"
08:54 "Well, you know what? I think you're gonna be famous."
09:04 Arrested. Legends of Tomorrow.
09:06 Fans will probably tell legends of how the legends escape the time police.
09:11 "I hope you don't have any plans for the near future, 'cause we're about to spend a lot of time together."
09:15 "In jail."
09:17 Back to the beginning. Westworld.
09:25 Dolores was just about to bring everything full circle.
09:29 "Maybe this time, we'll set ourselves free."
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09:48 Number 1. Oh, So Many Unanswered Questions.
09:54 Lost.
09:54 "I got a bad feeling about this."
09:57 The Ultimate Water Cooler Mystery Box Show, Lost, delivers a whole island full of questions.
10:03 And while many of them are resolved by the finale or in supplementary material,
10:08 plenty of them remain unanswered.
10:09 "The island needs you!"
10:11 What is the light at the center of the island?
10:13 Why are those numbers so significant?
10:16 What's so special about Walt or Claire's baby Aaron for that matter?
10:19 The finale does wrap up Jack's storyline and sees the characters reunite in a kind of purgatory.
10:24 But plenty of plot points remain unexplained.
10:27 "We've been waiting for you, darling."
10:29 We know it's not feasible to expect resolutions to all of them,
10:32 but many fans still hope that Lost would provide more answers than it does.
10:37 Which unresolved TV cliffhanger frustrated you the most?
10:40 Give us your answers in the comments.
10:43 "You were going to leave without saying goodbye? For your manners."
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10:54 [outro music]