TV Moments From 2022 That Stunned Audiences: From Max’s ‘Stranger Things’ Near-Death to the ‘Yellowjackets’ Finale

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

TV Moments From 2022 That Stunned Audiences: From Max's 'Stranger Things' Near-Death to the 'Yellowjackets' Finale

Did that just happen?! From Better Call Saul to The Rehearsal and Stranger Things, TV in 2022 has been full of absolutely shocking moments. Early in the year, fans were instantly hooked on the inaugural season of Showtime's Yellowjackets, which follows a high school soccer team stranded in the wilderness after their plane crashes on the way to a tournament. While the flashback scenes were full of surprises, viewers were equally obsessed with the present-day story line — in part because it gradually revealed which team members were still alive. Melanie Lynskey, who plays the adult version of Shauna Shipman, has said that she didn't want to sign on for such a twist-filled project unless she knew that the writers knew where they planned to go with the characters. "I’m very paranoid about getting into something and not knowing that people have a plan in place," the Heavenly Creatures actress told Vulture in November 2021. "I really grilled them. When I had the meeting to potentially do the show I was like, 'What happens in episode 5?' They gave me a lot of information about the plot of this season, next season, season 5 — like, they really have a real plan." Fans won't find out that plan for several more years, of course, but there are plenty of mysteries to explore in the meantime. For example, what is Lottie going to do with all that money she stole from Travis after his death? It's still not clear, but it seems likely season 2 will provide some answers given that Simone Kessell was cast as adult Lottie in August 2022. While Yellowjackets is just getting started, 2022 marked the end of the road for other shows. The Breaking Bad prequel, Better Call Saul, wrapped up its sixth and final season in August 2022 with a shocking — and heart-wrenching — finale. Bob Odenkirk, who played Jimmy/Saul in both series, believes that the final episode gave his character "redemption" after all these years. "He'll never again be hiding from himself, like he did through the whole series," the Emmy winner told Entertainment Weekly in August 2022. "He's realized it's not worth it, you know? And the most important thing is he's going to get to leave Earth having told the one person he cares about how much he loves them and he's shown it." Keep scrolling for a look back at the most stunning TV moments of 2022.

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

Max's Near-Death on 'Stranger Things'

After a long break, Stranger Things returned for season 4 with a bang — and nearly killed one of its most beloved characters in the process. Most fans assumed that Hopper (David Harbour) would get rescued by Joyce (Winona Ryder), but Max's (Sadie Sink) near death at the hands of Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) was truly surprising. As of the season finale, the skateboarding redhead is still alive, but barely. She's in a coma, and as Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) puts it, she's "brain dead, blind and all of her bones are broken."

Credit: YouTube

Jimmy's Confession on 'Better Call Saul'

Jimmy McGill (Odenkirk) spent much of Better Call Saul ducking responsibility for his many misdeeds, but in the series finale, he finally let himself get caught. After negotiating an absurdly lenient plea deal, he changed tack and confessed to everything, earning himself a near-lifetime sentence — and not in the cushy prison he'd originally negotiated for.

Credit: Disney+/Lucasfilm

Young Leia on 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'

When Obi-Wan Kenobi premiered on Disney+ in May 2022, fans anticipated a reunion between Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), but few expected to see another familiar face: a very young Princess Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair). It was even more surprising when the little royal turned out to be one of the show's main characters, joining Obi-Wan on an adventure across the galaxy.

Credit: YouTube

The 'Pretend Daddy' on 'The Rehearsal'

While Nathan Fielder's HBO series pushed boundaries throughout its inaugural season, few could have predicted where things would leave off in the finale. The episode went off the rails when Remy, a child actor playing Fielder's fictional son, stopped being able to tell the difference between the show and reality. After the finale premiered, however, Remy's real-life grandma assured fans that the child actor is “doing amazing.”

Credit: Brendan Meadows/SHOWTIME

The 'Yellowjackets' Finale and Related Theories

Every episode of Yellowjackets delivered at least one shocking moment, but the finale outdid itself with the reveal that Lottie (played as a teen by Courtney Eaton) is alive in the present and she's still leading some sort of cult. The episode also ended with Natalie (Juliette Lewis) getting kidnapped by a mysterious group that's possibly affiliated with Lottie. In the flashbacks, Jackie (Ella Purnell) froze to death before she had a chance to halt Lottie's increasingly alarming influence over the other survivors.

Credit: Karen Ballard/HBO Max

Ava's Confession on 'Hacks'

Early in season 2, Ava (Hannah Einbinder) shocked Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) — and viewers — when she admitted that her nasty email about Deborah's behavior was in the hands of writers who could use the material for their show. The stand-up's response was arguably even more surprising: instead of firing her, she sued her for violating her NDA. (Deborah eventually dropped the suit in the season finale.) 

Credit: HBO

The 'Barry' Season Finale

HBO's Barry has always been intense, but the season 3 finale set a new bar. The episode ended with Barry (Bill Hader) in handcuffs after having been set up by his friend and mentor Gene (Henry Winkler). "It's stunning," the Happy Days veteran told Vanity Fair of the finale. "It was jaw-dropping."

Credit: Graeme Hunter/HBO

Tom Jumps Ship on 'Succession'

The Roy children spent much of season 3 trying to stop their father, Logan Roy (Brian Cox), from selling the company, but their attempts came to naught when Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfayden) tipped off Logan to their schemes. "Maybe Tom's the most Machiavellian of us all," Sarah Snook, who plays Shiv, joked to Entertainment Weekly after the finale.

Credit: Apple TV+

Nate Leaving for a Rival Team on 'Ted Lasso'

After continually getting overlooked by his colleagues, Nate (Nick Mohammed) abandoned AFC Richmond to become a coach for West Ham United. Though there were hints about his heel turn all season long, fans were still shocked when the end of the episode revealed Nate as the now fully gray-haired head of Ted (Jason Sudeikis) and Rebecca's (Hannah Waddingham) nemesis team.