The 15 Most Shocking Pop Culture Moments of 2015

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By the law of movies, I had a hunch that Zara (Katie McGrath) wouldn’t survive for long once the dinos got out of control. She hit all the major no-no’s that warrant a death in the Jurassic universe: 1. Too professionally focused 2. Is perpetually annoyed by children 3. Is never given enough dialogue to become anything other than a disposable character. But for the love of all that is raptor-related, she did not deserve the over-the-top gore fest she received. And it would not stop happening. I would say RIP Zara, but I don’t think that’s possible after what happened.

[Where to stream Jurassic World]

Netflix
At first, it seemed like the big twist of this Netflix original’s third season would be Doug’s survival (that rock was really big), but it turns out there was a bigger casualty on the horizon: our favorite power couple to hate. This entire season explored Frank (Kevin Spacey) and Claire’s (Robin Wright) rocky marriage, showing just how callous ambition could be. We knew it was bad, but we never would have expected that the appearance obsessed Claire would actually ask for a divorce, and during election season no less. This revelation made an otherwise uneven season feel worth it.

[Where to stream House of Cards]

Netflix
I’m starting to think that this Netflix original will never pull a punch. This entire season, we’ve followed Jessica (Krysten Ritter) as she unwillingly transformed herself into the hero she needed to be to take Killgrave (David Tennant) down. There have been several failed plans and even more deception, so sliding into Episode 12, we should have known better than to trust Luke Cage (Mike Colter). How foolish we were. It turns out, Cage was under Killgrave’s control the whole time, forcing Jessica to square off against her oh-so-sexy lover. We feel for you both.

[Where to stream Jessica Jones]

Amazon Video
After weeks and weeks of strategic hints and electronically charged music cues, we finally saw it. Aliens are absolutely real in Fargo. Though they left our viewing lives as quickly as they came, they completely changed the conversation surrounding one of the oddest and most masterful shows of 2015. You earned your deus ex machina, Noah Hawley.

[Where to stream Fargo]

Hulu
Ever since Fox premiered it’s gritty before-Batman addition to the caped crusader’s universe, we’ve been waiting to see Gotham’s version of The Joker. We knew he would never rival Heath Ledger in terms of creepy character mastery, but after Robin Taylor’s portrayal of The Penguin, we felt safe and excited for what Fox would bring us. So when a certain unhinged, red-headed teenager made his appearance, we felt pretty confident we knew where this was going. Turns out, we were very much wrong, and Jerome’s death was the final nail in the coffin of that theory. It looks like Jerome is getting the last laugh on this one.

[Where to stream Gotham]

Prime Video
Though the ending of Hannibal was pretty shocking all on its own, we’re more shocked that it ended period. Why are we not going to see more of the most disturbingly beautiful food cinematography on television? Hannibal would have been a perfect edition to a streaming service and would have had a leg up on the similar show competition (I’m sorry, I had to). The fan base was there, it was dark enough to allow the NBC show to expand its boundaries on a streaming service, and it’s a model that’s been proved before. Look at Arrested Development on Netflix and The Mindy Project on Hulu (Psst… don’t look at Community on Yahoo Screen). Hannibal’s complete cancellation was one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

[Where to stream Hannibal]

Look — we know you saw one of the movie’s twists coming a mile away. We’ve all seen The Sixth Sense. We knew one of the twin brothers was dead. But what we didn’t expect was how far Elias’ psychosis would take him as he grew increasingly suspicious of his “mother’s” true identity. It turns out the young boy will go as far as tying up his mother, torturing her, and supergluing her mouth shut in this disturbing Austrian horror film. However, the film takes the madness a step further, only ending after Elias has set his house and his mother ablaze. And we got to watch the whole disturbing thing. Remember, movie twins are always creepy.

[Where to stream Goodnight Mommy]

Hulu
“Who is A?” has been a question that has haunted the beautiful girls of Ravenswood for six seasons, but in 2015, that question was finally answered. The person responsible for tormenting Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily for years, holding their secrets against them, and causing all sorts of chaos (and often death) was none other than CeCe Drake, aka Charlotte DiLaurentis, formerly known as Charles DiLaurentis. Turns out that CeCe quit playing “A” for a while but returned because it was just too much fun to mess with our favorite liars. This reveal is so juicy and over-the-top, it makes the revelation of Gossip Girl’s identity look pathetic.

[Where to stream Pretty Little Liars]

Who said shocks had to be a bad thing? After seven long seasons of office drinking, backstabbing, shady advertisements, corner offices, corporate takedowns, and 1970’s sexism, AMC’s Mad Men finally came to an end this year. The series ended with Don Draper (Jon Hamm) peacefully meditating before fading out and cutting to the notorious Coke commercial, “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke.” It seems fitting that the end of television era that chronicled the end of an American era would finish on this classic ad. Also, note to advertisers: If you make ads that are memorable enough, show creators may insist on using them 40 years in the future.

[Where to stream Mad Men]

YouTube
There are so many mysteries and shocks in this freshman USA show that it’s hard to keep track, but there is one question that has haunted Elliott and his imaginary friend (that’s us!) from Episode One: Who is Mr. Robot, the baseball cap-wearing man who introduces our introverted Elliott (Rami Malek) to a hacking collective called FSociety? Turns out the answer, like everything on this show, is more complicated than we originally thought. The vigilante hacker, Mr. Robot, is actually a version of Elliot’s father that our protagonist has imagined all along. Though we still have so many questions, we know one thing: This reveal is going to make Season Two interesting.

[Where to stream Mr. Robot]

Making a Murderer wasn’t the only documentary series making headlines in 2015. Way back in February and March, true crime fanatics couldn’t stop talking about HBO’s six-part series, The Jinx, and for good reason. This deep investigation into eccentric real estate millionaire Robert Durst’s life was as fascinating as it was strange. However, it was Durst’s accidental confession that took this crime series to the next level. After an interview with the documentary crew, Durst went into the bathroom and rambled to himself, ending his monologue with “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.” Little did Durst know he’s microphone was still recording during that time. Whoops, for Durst. Hooray for justice!

[Stream The Jinx on HBO Go and HBO Now]

If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that it’s never wise to feel too comfortable in ShondaLand. I guess the queen felt like we needed a refresher in that constantly painful lesson and decided to take her wrath out on Derek “McDreamy�� Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). The fan favorite died in a car accident in a substandard hospital, and in case you were wondering, no. Shonda Rhimes gives zero cares about your favorites. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Where to stream Grey’s Anatomy]

HBO
This season was not good for those of the faint viewing heart. It seemed like every episode had another twist that seemed to be trying to one-up the last one. However, perhaps the biggest shock in this never-ending, gasp-induing list was Kevin’s (Justin Theroux) apparent death in Episode Seven. Even though it wasn’t permanent, for a short amount of time, we were afraid TV had just gotten a whole lot less sexy.

[Where to stream The Leftovers]

HBO
I don’t think a year has gone by where this beloved HBO fantasy gore fest hasn’t made a list like this. The Season Five finale of Game of Thrones brought a lot of death and heartbreak, but there was one death that hurt more than the rest. Jon Snow, we will miss you…or not. Even though our hero looks pretty dead and Kit Harington has publicly stated he’s not returning to the show, fans are skeptical. Theories range from sad acceptance to listing the many ways an undead Jon can make a second appearance. But really dead or not, Jon Snow’s apparent onscreen death made our 2015 a little more depressing.

[Where to stream Game of Thrones]

YouTube
NOOOOOOO! Forget everything I’ve said and everything I will say about how great 2015 pop culture was: Han Solo is dead. That’s right, Han Solo, one of Harison Ford’s most beloved roles and pinnacle of space coolness is dead, and now all of our hearts feel like shattered carbonite. AND CHEWIE SAW THE WHOLE THING, YOU GUYS. In memoriam of one of the greatest characters in Star Wars, geekdom, and pop culture as a whole, here is Han Solo dancing in a licensed Xbox Kinect game. It helps numb the pain, but not enough. It will never be enough, J.J. Abrams.

[Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now in theaters, but the rest of the collection is available for digital purchase]