10 Long-Awaited TV Moments That Kept Fans Hooked For Years

Many TV shows build mysteries to hook the audience, and many make them wait years for the big resolution, but not always with good results. Although it doesn’t guarantee success, many of the best TV shows of all time made their audience wait for one specific moment.

The suspense and intrigue about these moments isn’t always established right away. Some TV shows have taken their time to build their biggest mystery, but what most have in common is making the audience wait years for a key moment. While this helps them keep viewers engaged, some of those long-awaited moments were a huge disappointment, but others were a hit.

Clark Kent Becomes Superman

Smallville

Smallville is a superhero TV show that stood out for following the younger years of Clark Kent (Tom Welling) before he officially took the mantle of Superman. Smallville followed Clark through high school and into his young adulthood, through which he met characters like Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) and Lois Lane (Erica Durance).

From the first episode, the big question was when Smallville would see Clark formally become Superman and wear his iconic superhero suit, and the audience had to wait ten seasons for that moment… and it didn’t last long. The final scene of the show is Clark getting ready to save the city and ripping his shirt open to reveal the Superman logo and suit.

Although many hoped to see Welling in the full Superman costume, this big moment served as a tease for what would come next for Clark, which is up to the imagination of every viewer. It’s one of those cases where you either love it or hate it.

Fran & Mr. Sheffield Get Together

The Nanny

The Nanny follows Fran Fine (Fran Drescher), who, after being fired from her job (by her ex-boyfriend), gets a job as the new nanny of the wealthy Sheffield children: Maggie (Nicholle Tom), Brighton (Benjamin Salisbury), and Grace (Madeline Zima). Since the first episode, the chemistry between Fran and the kids’ father, Maxwell (Charles Shaughnessy), was established.

This made way for The Nanny’s “will-they-won’t-they” plot (which was later accompanied by that between C.C. and Niles), but Fran dated other men while continuing her flirtatious dynamic with Mr. Sheffield. Although Fran and Max kiss for the first time in season 1, it isn’t until season 5 that they officially get together.

Fran and Max eventually marry and have kids, and form the big and happy family both (and the Sheffield kids, too) had wanted for years. It was a long wait, but The Nanny made it a very entertaining one.

Lorelai & Luke’s First Kiss

Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls made sure its audience would be invested in the obvious chemistry between Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Luke (Scott Patterson) since the very beginning of the show. Although they both dated different people, the attraction between them made viewers root for them and patiently wait for them to accept their feelings for each other.

The long-awaited first kiss between Lorelai and Luke happened in season 4, but there was still more to go for both before they officially got together for good. Although Lorelai had some questionable and frustrating relationships after her first kiss with Luke, it was worth the wait as they eventually got together and got married.

Chandler & Monica’s Wedding

Friends

The main couple in Friends was Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Ross (David Schwimmer), but in season 4’s finale, a new couple was created when Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica (Courteney Cox) hooked up in London. After secretly dating and later admitting their relationship to their friends, Monica and Chandler got engaged at the end of season 6.

Monica and Chandler’s wedding happens in season 7’s finale, and it was a long-awaited moment not just because it was the first wedding among members of the group, but also because of Monica and Chandler’s individual track record with relationships.

Monica dreamed of getting married and forming a family, which is why she broke up with Richard, as he didn’t want that anymore, while Chandler had serious commitment issues. Chandler got over these and fell in love with Monica, and she finally got the wedding and family she dreamed of.

The Identity Of Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl

The main focus of Gossip Girl is the chaotic lives of Serena (Blake Lively), Blair (Leighton Meester), Chuck (Ed Westwick), Dan (Penn Badgley), and Nate (Chace Crawford), but the biggest mystery throughout the entire show was who was behind the Gossip Girl website and persona, so much so that the show constantly misled the audience.

When the final season of Gossip Girl finally arrived, it was expected that the show would finally reveal who the title character was, and it did… but it was incredibly disappointing. As it turns out, Dan was Gossip Girl, meaning he spent years tormenting his own friends (and even his sister) and making their lives hell more often than not.

Because of this, the ending of Gossip Girl is widely regarded as one of the most controversial and even hated TV finales of all time, and it completely changed the entire show.

Mulder & Scully’s Kiss

The X-Files

Even a sci-fi show like The X-Files had its “will-they-won’t-they” storyline with its main characters: the skeptic Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and conspiracy theorist Fox Mulder (David Duchovny). Although The X-Files focused on the intriguing and sometimes horrifying cases they were assigned to, it also spent a good amount of its time building the dynamic and relationship between Mulder and Scully.

There was undeniable chemistry between Mulder and Scully, which made the audience eagerly wait for the moment they finally accepted their feelings for each other and kissed. The big moment happened in season 7, when Mulder and Scully kissed on New Year’s Eve as the clock struck midnight. Not only was it a long-awaited moment, but it added some lightness to the show.

Return Home

MAS*H

M*A*S*H is a war comedy drama that follows the members of a United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or MASH, for short. M*A*S*H is more of a dark comedy TV show, but over the course of 11 seasons, the most awaited moment was when the crew would finally return home.

The big moment happened in M*A*S*H’s series finale, and it didn’t disappoint – in fact, it made sure to make its audience cry. As Hawkeye leaves on a helicopter, he looks through the window to see that Hunnicutt wrote a message for him to see from above: a simple but heartfelt “Goodbye.”

The Identity Of The Mother

How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother is a pretty self-explanatory sitcom, following Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) as he tells his kids the story of how he met their mother. For this, the show goes many years back to follow Ted and his friends through the many ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.

However, at the end of the first episode, it’s revealed that Robin (Cobie Smulders), whom the audience was led to believe is the mother, is actually the kids’ “aunt Robin.” The audience waited until the finale of season 8 to meet the real mother, only for the series finale to reveal she died years before Ted began his tale.

Not only was the mother’s fate an unnecessary twist, but it was also disappointing, even more so after Ted ends up going after Robin when his kids make him realize his story was more about her than their mother.

Tony Soprano’s Fate

The Sopranos

The Sopranos is one of the best TV shows of all time, and it changed TV in many ways, most notably by having an antihero as the main character. This was Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), and given everything he did throughout the show’s six seasons, the audience was waiting to see if he would be killed, go to prison, or what would happen to him.

The Sopranos’ finale established that Tony was indeed going to be killed, but the main question now was how and who would kill him. The final scene of the show is a masterclass in narrative and suspense, even though it leaves the audience wondering if Tony will survive or not, as it simply cuts to black.

Although this could have been a frustrating ending for a great show, The Sopranos did it so well that it became one of the best TV finales of all time – and it was later confirmed that Tony was killed.

Who Takes The Iron Throne

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is one of the best fantasy TV shows of all time, and from the very beginning, it establishes the big mystery of who will take the Iron Throne. Although Game of Thrones covers many other storylines throughout its eight seasons, the main question was always about the Iron Throne.

After a lot of speculation, theories, and more, Game of Thrones finally answered this in its series finale… and it was unbelievably underwhelming and disappointing. Bran Stark was elected king and thus took the Iron Throne, a decision that was seen by fans of the show as nonsensical and undeserving.