6 Thriller Series With Note-Perfect Final Episodes
Misty Layne started as an actor and sketch comedy writer before deciding to concentrate mainly on writing. Utilizing both her love of television and film and her behind-the-scenes knowledge, she began a website reviewing films in 2013, with a focus on horror and indie media. Eventually, she began writing about all things television and film for other sites as well. Misty shares a home with five cats, a ton of books, and a fairly impressive vinyl collection.
Delivering a flawless finale for a TV show that wraps up loose threads and doesn't disappoint fans is a challenge, to say the least. Producing one for a thriller series is even more difficult. Due to the nature of the genre, with its countless twists and turns and ability to raise myriad questions, a story's climax can often be the point where the thriller fails. The best ones, though, wind down their narratives in such a way that questions are answered, revelations are revealed, and, most importantly, character arcs reach their natural conclusion.
Some series in the genre (especially underrated thriller shows) have done this better than others. In fact, these thrillers have even managed to create note-perfect finales that left audiences satisfied, shocked, and occasionally devastated. Whether it's a thriller miniseries with a sci-fi bent and only a handful of episodes or a long-running, beloved crime saga, thriller shows that end with perfect finales tend to have a history of developing great episodes overall, making them some of the best television shows around.
The Americans (2013–2018)
The Americans was a thriller series where nearly every episode was fantastic — Stephen King even called The Americans his favorite show. The spy thriller followed two KGB operatives posing as normal Americans in the 1980s as they carried out dangerous missions for Russia, offering a captivating look at Cold War-era espionage. Over six seasons, The Americans delivered an intriguing mix of political thriller and family drama, shifting between intense scenes of spycraft and revelatory insights into spies' marriage and the rearing of their children, who weren't aware of what they did.
This fascinating combination and high-stakes narrative offered a clever lens for exploring loyalty and personal identity, which played out in the finale. The Americans' final few episodes led up to an incredibly bittersweet ending, as the KGB agents try to figure out a way to return home as the Cold War comes to an end, only to discover that their family members are on different paths. It was another perfect episode in a series of them that ruminated on how the choices one makes can have unforeseen consequences and turn one into the person they become.
Sharp Objects (2018)
HBO's adaptation of Gillian Flynn's debut novel, Sharp Objects, was only eight episodes, but what an eight episodes they were. An atmospheric thriller full of twists and turns, Sharp Objects starred Amy Adams as Camille Preaker, a crime journalist who returns to her hometown to investigate the murders of two teen girls. Preaker is also dealing with personal demons in the form of self-harm, addiction, and a traumatic past.
While every episode left the audience wondering what was next, the final one delivered the most gut-punching and unexpected twist. The revelation turned everything completely on its head in the closing moments of the episode, leaving behind a lingering unease that perhaps we never really know who people are.
It wasn't only shocking and a complete subversion of expectations, but because the series examined the ways generational trauma affects families, it felt earned. Sharp Objects' final moments are some of the most haunting in thriller TV history.
Mr. Robot (2015–2019)
When it comes to pitch-perfect endings, none are quite so bold as Mr. Robot's. USA Network's brilliant techno-thriller gave audiences four seasons of Elliot Alderson, played by Rami Malek, a hacker and cybersecurity expert recruited by the hacktivist movement fsociety. The character struggled with social anxiety and other mental health conditions, and the nature of his psyche made him an unreliable narrator, which created a unique sense of tension throughout the series.
The final episodes of the series, though, took all that previous unreliability and revealed a significant twist that rearranged Mr. Robot into something entirely brand new. What was up was now down, and everything witnessed up to this point had to be thought through again. Mr. Robot's ending shifted the show away from ideas of a dystopian society and into a fascinating rumination on trauma and its effects on the human mind, while still delivering closure for Alderson and viewers alike.
Devs (2020)
Created by Alex Garland, Devs isn't a thriller in the traditional sense. It's less about action and more about solving a mystery, blending elements of technological dystopia with philosophical ideas about life and freedom. The eight-episode series follows software engineer Lily Chan, played by Sonoya Mizuno, whose boyfriend seemingly takes his own life after he's promoted to the "Devs" team at the company where they work. After that, Lily begins investigating the company to uncover the truth about it and its founder, Forest (Nick Offerman).
As a truly underrated sci-fi thriller, this show is all about exploring ideas, and Devs' series finale took those ideas to the limit in a remarkably compelling way. Throughout its run, Devs examined the relationship between humanity and technology. Its final episode demonstrated that systems can be broken, while also questioning what the idea of freedom means and what existence really is when one does just that.
Devs might not have had the most action-packed ending, but the way it neatly wrapped up some of the philosophical ideas it probed was the perfect way to end the show. It was also bold enough to leave its fans contemplating what those concepts mean to them to this day.
Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
Arguably one of the best crime thrillers, if not one of the best TV shows, of all time, Breaking Bad came full circle to deliver one of the most perfect show endings of all time. The show followed Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, an overqualified high school chemistry teacher who begins cooking and dealing drugs after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis. His original reason for doing so is to ensure his family's financial future after he's gone, but it isn't long before Walt gets a taste of power and decides he wants more.
Walter's transition from a boring school teacher to a drug kingpin sees him hit high highs and nearly fatal lows, with the finale taking place after his downfall. Once again battling cancer, but this time while trying to evade the authorities, his story ends much as it began, but in an extremely poetic way. The final episode gives closure, but without compromising any of Breaking Bad's core elements. It was satisfying, explosive, and above all, a masterclass in how to deliver a great finale.
Beyond Evil (2021)
The widely acclaimed K-drama Beyond Evil has everything — a tormented cop, a missing twin sister, a sadistic serial killer, secrets, and betrayals. It covers all the bases, and does so in a way that viewers will be left asking themselves what just happened.
Lee Dong-sik, played by Shin Ha-Kyun, is a long-time cop working at Munju Police Station. When Han Joo-won, played by Yeo Jin-goo, a young and brash newbie, shows up, the two are paired up as partners, just in time for a killer to appear. However, the only reason Joo-won is at this station in the first place is that he suspects that Dong-sik is the killer. He also suspects him of murdering his twin sister decades ago.
As the show reveals more of the storyline, its main theme becomes the question, "Who is the monster?" Is the killer the monster, or is it someone behind them? How little would it take to push a person over the edge so that they themselves become a monster? By the time the finale rolls around, so many secrets have been revealed (and so many monsters with them) that it's shocking. Then, everything wraps up in the most bittersweet yet devastating way, with a conclusion that feels wholly earned, creating a perfect finale for this thriller series.
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