Often times, writers and showrunners love to drop in clues and hints as to what will come to pass in a few episodes, or a couple of seasons time. It drives fans crazy, because often times, fans only realize what has happened until the event comes to back. Although it might drive fans nuts, it definitely must give everyone who is producing the show a very good feeling, because they definitely accomplished it. Fans want to pride themselves on not missing a single clue or detail, but often times, these hints tend to slip by them.
However, despite that, there are some shows that do that, but fans end up catching the hints and wait for the moment where the event they are anticipating comes to pass. When it happens, sometimes a fan is still just as sad or surprised, but often when they realize they were right, they applaud themselves for noticing the clue in the first place. In those instances, it is very possible that writers might try to make it harder in future seasons for fans to notice small clues.
That said, we have compiled a list that looks at some shows that gave the spoiler away without fans noticing, and the ones that gave it away and fans were able to catch it instantly. Fans are constantly trying to analyze shows, so it makes sense that some television shows could not escape the watchful eyes of the fans.
Here are 10 Spoilers Fans Missed At The Start Of TV Shows (10 That Were Obvious).
Obvious - MR. ROBOT - HINT TO MAJOR PLOT TWIST
The first season of Mr. Robot ended with a massive twist, however, some fans saw this one coming. The series followed a hacker named Elliott who begins working with an anarchist Mr. Robot. In the big season 1 plot twist, Mr. Robot’s revealed as a figment of Elliot’s mind. He based the appearance on his deceased father, but in fact, Elliot is Mr. Robot and always has been.
The clues start appearing the first time Elliot meets Mr. Robot. Anytime Elliot speaks with Mr. Robot they’re alone and he’s the only one to speak with him. Furthermore, the film’s inspired by the cult classic Fight Club. Indeed, the two twists are similar. Fans that knew Fight Club inspired Mr. Robot easily figured out the plot twist.
missed - MAD MEN - PETE’S HAIRLINE
The hit series Mad Men revolved around an advertising agency in the 60’s. In the first season, the series started dropping clues that paid off in the last season. However, most fans missed this hidden clue. In the pilot, Don Draper makes a comment to Pete Campbell that comes true by the end of the series.
During an argument, Don tells Pete that he’ll only become a mid-level executive with a tiny bit of hair. Pete’s more than mid-level but Don was right about the hair. Pete’s hairline recedes at an alarming rate, and he has little to no hair in the final season.
obvious - ahs coven - CREDITS REVEAL nEW SUPREME (OBVIOUS)
Some TV shows will sneak a hint or clue in the first episode, and some even do it in the first scene. However, this might be the earliest clue to show up. The anthology American Horror Story: Coven followed a group of witches in New Orleans. The burning question that season regarded the identity of the New Supreme. It ends up being Cordelia Foxx, played by Sarah Paulson.
Of course, AHS didn’t wait to sneak in this obvious hint. In fact, there’s a major clue next to Paulson’s name in the credits. Next to her name is the symbol for the Lady of Death, Santa Muerte. Some consider Santa Muerte to be the queen of the witches, and one of the evilest people in history.
missed - THE OFFICE - LITTLE DRUMMER BOY
The Office featured many memorable romances but few compare to Dwight and Angela. They start dating in season 3, but the series snuck in a few hints about their romance. One of the smaller things that brought them together, although fans didn’t notice, is their love for the same song. Angela’s known for enjoying the song “Little Drummer Boy”, and she even sings it at the season 3 Christmas Party. Dwight holds the microphone for her as she belts it out.
That’s not the first reference to that classic song. In the pilot, Dwight signs the “Little Drummer Boy” to himself. It seemed a bit odd at the time but ties in nicely with Angela. It’s a song they both can share and pass down to their kids.
obvious - PARKS & RECREATION - LESLIE’S TRIPLETS
Parks and Recreation followed Leslie Knope and her staff at the parks department in Pawnee, Indiana. This hint didn’t come in the pilot but still early in the show. Leslie cares deeply about her job, friends and soul mate Ben. In season 6, Ben and Leslie find out they’re having triplets. Despite being in a state of shock, Leslie should have been more prepared.
In fact, the show pretty much told viewers that Leslie would have triplets. In season 2, Leslie goes on a bad blind date with an MRI technician. He gives her a free scan and states, “You got a great oven. You got ample room. You could go triplets right off the bat.”
missed - LOST - LOCKE SPOILS FINAL SEASON
In the Lost pilot, John Locke explains the rules of backgammon to Walt. It’s simple, there are two sides, one is light and one is dark. However, he is doing a lot more than teaching Walt how to play a game. This brief conversation foreshadowed the major plot in the final season.
The series featured a large number of mysteries. However, a major mystery surrounded The Smoke Monster/Man In Black and Jacob. The final season revealed a century-long feud between the two brothers. Indeed, The Man In Black and Jacob have been playing a game, and, in this case, Jacob is the light side and his brother is the dark. Locke’s talk with Walt is a hidden clue that most viewers missed.
obvious - THE WEST WING - ZOEY’S ABDUCTION
The West Wing was a brilliant drama that knew how to drop clues better than anyone. They were known for being the kind of show to drop clues in season 1 and not revisit those small plot points until seasons later when most people had forgotten about it. The series revolved around President Josiah Bartlet and his White House staff. In season 4, Bartlet’s daughter Zoey is surprisingly taken.
To be fair, Zoey shouldn’t have been surprised, especially since her father told her it would happen. In season 1, Bartlett yells at Zoey for trying to ditch her secret service detail. He goes into the great detail on how she could be abducted. She should have listened more closely, as her disappearance occurs in the exact manner he described. Bartlet even points out that he predicted this event coming to pass.
missed - HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - MOTHER’S NAME
How I Met Your Mother knew how to sneak in hints without anyone noticing. In fact, in season 1 they managed to sneak in the Mother’s name. The series revolved around an older Ted Mosby telling his future kids the story of how he met their mother, through a series of adventures.
In season 1, he ends up at a gentlemen’s club with Barney. He meets one of the dancers named Tracy and the Ted telling the story, tells his kids that’s how he met their mother. This shocks the kids and they pretty much lose their minds. Ted then reveals he’s kidding, and to the viewers, it just seems like a joke. However, the reason the kids react that way is because their mother’s name was Tracy.
obvious - THE GOOD PLACE - ELEANOR IS IN THE BAD PLACE
The Good Place follows a saleswoman that dies and ends up in “The Good Place”. She realizes the Good Place mistook her for a human rights lawyer. In fact, Eleanor should be in “The Bad Place.” She tries to become a better person so she can stay, even though a lot of people in The Good Place annoy each other, and annoy Eleanor.
Their personalities clash and cause conflict, which is the intent of The Bad Place as well, which is where they really are in reality. Eleanor correctly predicts this in season 1. She noted her parents must be in the Bad Place because they’d annoy each other, and now the truth in the show has been revealed.
missed - STRANGER THINGS - BARB’S LOCATION
The hit series Stranger Things is always sneaking in clues that are easy to miss; they have pretty much mastered that. In season 1, Nancy’s best friend Barb goes missing, and her mother goes to Nancy to find out where her daughter is. Nancy isn’t sure where she is, so she lies to Barb’s mother, claiming that Barb is at the library with her head buried in her books.
However, Nancy doesn’t realize how true her lie really is. Although unfortunately, Barb is taken to the Upside Down, Barb has passed away and by the time Nancy finds her, she is buried in her books. This was definitely a moment where Nancy didn’t want to be right.
obvious - WESTWORLD - THE MAN IN BLACK
There are many clues and hints in the hit series Westworld. It’s almost impossible to pick just one. Some clues are easy to miss but that’s not the case for all. In fact, many times the show is slapping viewers in the face with a clue. First, viewers meet the ruthless Man in Black, portrayed by Ed Harris.
He’s a brutal and violent man that is searching for the park’s secrets. He’s easily identifiable by his trademark black hat. Later, viewers meet a new guest at the park, William, portrayed by Jimmi Simpson. William’s young and optimistic. In fact, William’s story is a flashback of how he becomes the Man In Black. At one point, William struggles with choosing between the white hat and black hat. This small scene was an obvious hint that viewers likely missed. Of course, he chooses the white hat but later switches to black.
missed - PRETTY LITTLE LIARS - ALISON’S STORY
Pretty Little Liars ended with a major plot twist that shocked fans all over the world. However, the series planted the seeds for the twist long ago. In season 2, Alison tells a horrifying Halloween story about twins, in which one is good and the other is pure evil, but it was intended to be more than just a story. It was a huge clue to the show’s biggest plot twist. It actually revealed who the mysterious A was.
There were, of course, so many theories about who A was, but fans didn’t ever connect it to the Halloween story. In the series finale, A is revealed as Spencer’s evil twin Alex Drake. She had taken Spencer prisoner long before, and she was actually living Spencer’s life for her.
obvious - SUPERNATURAL - SAM’S MOTHER
Supernatural fans learned to pay close attention to every bit of detail. The series often planted seeds for major reveals early in the series. In fact, they added a major clue in the first season but didn’t pay it off until season 5.
In season 1, Sam and Dean meet his mother and she tells him “I’m sorry”. Obviously, Sam has no clue what his mother’s talking about, however, it’s a clue to how she died. She is sorry not because she passed away, but because of the life they have to be in, because of a deal that she made with the demon Azazel. She promised Azazel that he would have access to Sam’s nursery to curse him and give him demon blood, making Sam’s life much harder than it ever had to be.
missed - HOUSE OF CARDS - ZOE And THE TRAIN
Some clues seem so meaningless that most fans miss them and that was the case when House of Cards dropped a major hint in the very first season. To viewers, it just seemed like witty banter. Season 2 features the surprising passing of Zoe Barnes. In the crazy scene, Frank Underwood pushes Zoe in front of a train, and most fans didn’t see the twist coming.
However, a hidden clue appeared in the first season, when Frank actually describes the upcoming plot twist. He states that he doesn’t use anyone unless he can push them in front of a train. It seemed like he was just speaking politically, but in the end, it turned out he was actually stating the fate of Zoe.
obvious - FUTURAMA - NIBBLER’S SHADOW
Futurama snuck in a major hint in the opening scene. They wasted no time dropping a clue that didn’t get paid off for several seasons. In the scene, Fry’s accidentally cryogenically frozen after falling off his chair and wakes up in the 31st century. However, fans noticed a suspicious looking shadow in the pilot. As a matter of fact, the shadow’s hard to miss.
Later, fans meet Nibbler and quickly made the connection. In season 4, its revealed that Nibbler pushed over Fry’s chair, making him the one responsible for Fry being in the 31st century. So while it was meant to be a sneakier clue, fans caught on pretty quickly.
missed - BETTER CALL SAUL - SAUL’S LAST WORDS
This major hint didn’t come in the first season or the first episode of Better Call Saul. In fact, this clue came in the series finale of Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul is split into two narratives. One part focuses on the events before Breaking Bad took place, and the other part focuses on Saul’s life after the end of Breaking Bad.
Saul’s last words to Walter White foreshadowed Saul’s future. Before Saul goes into hiding he has a heart-to-heart with Walt, and he tells Walt the best he can hope for is to work at a Cinnabon. At the time, it seemed like nothing more but a throwaway line. However, it was actually a clue to the prequel series. In Better Call Saul, Saul is working at a Cinnabon, which is exactly what he predicted.
obvious - GAME OF THRONES - THE DIREWOLVES’ FATE
The symbolism in Game of Thrones can be easy to miss sometimes. On the other hand, this hint was an obvious clue but most fans didn’t think twice about it. In the first episode, Ned Stark and his sons discover a dead Direwolf and Stag. It just so happens that a direwolf is the sigil for House Stark and a stag is the sigil for House Baratheon.
This foreshadows Ned and King Robert Baratheon’s sad deaths. However, it contains an even bigger hint. The Direwolf had six pups and each Stark child gets one, and these pups and children have a lot in common. Both the pups and the children lose their parents, have to leave their home, and are separated some time.
missed - GOSSIP GIRL - GOSSIP GIRL’S IDENTITY
Gossip Girl fans all had the same burning question: who is Gossip Girl? The mysterious woman knew every secret about the characters lives. Fans wondered if it was Serena, Jenny, or Blair, but as it turns out, they were all wrong. Gossip Girl turned out to be Dan Humphrey, surprising pretty much every viewer.
The series dropped in a major clue in the pilot, although most fans missed it. The first time Gossip Girl says “XOXO” Dan is sitting at his laptop, and he suddenly closes it when Jenny walks in. Most viewers assumed he was on Serena’s Facebook page. Jenny leaves the room and immediately receives a notice that Gossip Girl just posted. This tiny hint revealed the series’ greatest mystery and nobody noticed it.
obvious - ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT - BUSTER’S HAND
Arrested Development could not have been more obvious when it came to this clue. In fact, they made a running joke out of it. In season 2, Buster Bluth famously has his hand bitten off by a seal, but there were a lot of hints that he would lose it. Throughout the entire first season, he made several references to having a hook hand.
The clue came to the viewers when Buster discovers an old chair that is shaped like a hand that he has not seen in years. Upon seeing it, he states, “Wow, I never thought I’d miss a hand.” Buster had no idea how true that statement would be.
missed - THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE - THE RED ROOM
The Haunting of Hill House had all types of clues hidden in each episode. Viewers that looked closely in the background will notice a few ghosts and tortured souls roaming about. The Red Room’s introduced in the first episode when Shirley and Nell try to open it. However, it remains locked the entire season.
In the surprising finale, the Crain kids realize they’ve been inside the room many times. As a matter of fact, the treehouse, playroom, game room, dance studio, and reading room were all the Red Room. In each of those rooms, there’s a single vertical window, including the tree house, which shouldn’t have that kind of a window to begin with. However, it was so subtle, that no one noticed.
Did you notice any of these spoilers? Let us know in the comments!
