2021 marked the highly-anticipated debut of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s foray into television on Disney+. The shows mostly lived up to the hype with high production values, great character development, intriguing storylines, and most importantly, a connection to the greater MCU. That made these shows feel more important than others.
With them releasing new episodes weekly, it was crucial for the shows to deliver shocking plot twists that kept people talking until the next installment. Each show had at least one cliffhanger ending that truly stunned the audience, whether due to shock appearances or being something that will impact the MCU going forward.
Updated on July 17th, 2022, by Kevin Pantoja: The post-credits scene of Ms. Marvel answered some questions and still managed to leave the audience wanting more thanks to a brilliant cliffhanger. Fans now await any bit of MCU news to see what happens next, which has become a staple of the shows to air on Disney+. Not every episode of these series ends on a shocking note but at least one installment tends to have social media buzzing for a week until the next bit of story is unraveled. They don’t always end up with a great payoff but the cliffhanger is still a stunner.
WandaVision – A Different Pietro Arrives
Whether it was the best Disney+ MCU show or not is up for debate but it’s likely that WandaVision was the most talked about on a weekly basis. Playing out like different eras of TV history made it a mystery that everyone watching attempted to decipher for days on end. The real kicker came when an argument between Wanda and Vision was interrupted by a guest at the door.
It was Pietro Maximoff, Wanda’s brother, but instead of Aaron Taylor-Johnson (who played him in Avengers: Age of Ultron), it was Evan Peters, who played the role in the X-Men franchise. This was a major tease of a multiverse and the kind of shocker that had everyone guessing. It ended up going nowhere of note, unfortunately.
The Falcon And The Winter Soldier – Ayo Confronts Bucky
The first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ended with John Walker being announced as Captain America and the fourth wrapped with Walker murdering someone with the iconic shield. Both of those cliffhangers were great but they weren’t truly shocking because the audience knew Walker was part of the show and the story had been building to him snapping.
That means the most stunning ending was actually one that was less impactful. After Bucky and Sam broke Baron Zemo out of prison in the third episode, Bucky was confronted by Ayo, a member of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje. While it didn’t change the course of the show by much, it was unexpected to see characters from Wakanda as part of the series.
Loki – Loki Meets His Variants
Nearly every week of Loki saw some twisty plot points and things that blew the audience away. The series itself wrapped with a great cliffhanger as He Who Remains was killed by Sylvie and when Loki ended up back at the Time Variance Authority, a statue of He Who Remains appeared and the likes of Mobius had no idea who he was.
However, since He Who Remains had explained that something like this would happen, it wasn’t a true shocker. The stunning ending came a few episodes prior as Loki was pruned (a twist in itself) and seemingly had died. The post-credits scene then revealed that Loki had gone somewhere where he met other variants of himself like Kid Loki, Alligator Loki, and more.
What If…? – Zombie Thanos Awaits
In a lot of ways, many fans were unsure of just how much What If…? meant to the greater MCU. The latest trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness showed that it does matter, so maybe fans will get some answers to a few episodes that ended without truly resolving their cliffhangers. Strange Supreme failing despite his power and being left alone was certainly a shocker but the next episode truly stunned viewers.
Peter Parker, T’Challa, and Scott Lang’s head all went to Wakanda only to find that a zombified Thanos was waiting for them with a nearly completed Infinity Gauntlet. It came from out of nowhere and since the Thanos who showed up with the Infinity Stones and was killed by Ultron wasn’t a zombie, fans are still waiting to find out more.
Hawkeye – The Kingpin Photo
Considering the street-level stakes of Hawkeye, it didn’t have as many cliffhangers as the other MCU shows. That worked in its favor but it did have one moment that had jaws dropping everywhere. The penultimate episode saw Yelena text her new frenemy Kate with the news that her mother had hired her to kill Clint Barton.
That was somewhat surprising but the real kicker was that Eleanor was talking to Wilson Fisk in the video sent. Though fans speculated this would happen for a while, the actual reveal that Kingpin was indeed played by Vincent D’Onofrio from Daredevil was a great moment. The audience was shocked that it actually happened.
Moon Knight – The Psych Hospital
It seems like the fourth episode of these shows is where the MCU likes to deliver the big twists most often. That was the case with Moon Knight as things took a totally unexpected turn when the protagonist gets shot and is seemingly killed.
If that weren’t enough, the episode then revealed that the characters who viewers had come to know were all patients and employees at a mental hospital. It might not have ended up being totally true but it threw everyone for a loop. Throw in the appearance of a talking hippo character and this was a true shocker.
Ms. Marvel – Kamala Goes Back In Time
For the most part, Ms. Marvel was one of the smaller MCU stories that felt street-level and had the high school energy of something like Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, that changed at the end of the fourth episode when Kamala apparently traveled through time.
With her life on the line during a fight, the powerful bangle on her wrist was struck and suddenly, Kamala was no longer part of the battle. Instead, she was sent back to the 1940s for an important moment in her family’s history. It was the kind of thing that didn’t seem possible even at the start of that episode.
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