10 Worst "It Was Just A Dream" Twists That Ruined The Story

April 20, 2024, 1:40 p.m.

Movies

10 Worst "It Was Just A Dream" Twists That Ruined The Story

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Summary Bold dream twists can make or break a story based on how well they align with the themes and tone of the plot.

Plot twists in TV shows can either be unforgettable or disappointing, taking viewers out of the story if they fall short.

Using the "it was just a dream" device can indicate a cop-out ending in TV shows and movies that may not resonate with audiences.

When a TV show or movie uses the "it was just a dream" twist, it's a bold choice that can either elevate the overall quality of a story or completely ruin it. If the narrative is ruined, it's often because choosing to employ the dream trope doesn't align with the themes and tone of the rest of the plot. TV shows with incredible plot twists are unforgettable, but pieces of media that fall short of audience expectations can take the viewer out of the story. The dream twist makes it obvious the tale is a work of fiction.

Occasionally, the writer's solution is to start from scratch and inform the audience that all these unpopular narrative arcs were never part of the canon.

Sometimes writers go all in on a storyline, realizing too late that it ruined the story. Occasionally, the writer's solution is to start from scratch and inform the audience that all these unpopular narrative arcs were never part of the canon. While sometimes these decisions were premeditated, TV show plot twists that were not planned in advance can ruin a show, and using the dream scenario device can be a cop-out. In the case of films, tying up the story neatly by claiming the entire story was a dream can be a letdown for viewers.

Related 10 "It Was Just A Dream" Twists In TV Shows That Actually Worked Revealing that some events took place within one character’s mind is one of the most hated tropes in TV, but there are still ways of making it work.

10 Dr. Bellows Doesn't Discover Jeannie - I Dream of Jeannie (1965 - 1970)

Season 5, Episode 24, "Hurricane Jeannie"

The classic 1960s American sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie, is famous for blending typical family-friendly tropes and storylines of contemporary TV shows with fantastical elements. Jeannie (Barbara Eden) is a genie who becomes attached to the astronaut, Tony (Larry Hagman). She helps him with his problems, though she is sometimes the one who causes them. Though the series is mostly episodic, throughout the series, Alfred Bellows (Hayden Rorke) notices the strange events that happen around Tony but can't explain them.

What could have been a hallmark ending for the series, made it fade into relative obscurity instead.

In one of the last episodes of the series, "Hurricane Jeannie", Bellows finally sees Jeannie and becomes aware of her powers, changing his dynamic with her and Tony forever. It would have been an interesting way for the series to conclude and would have changed the show so that Tony and Jeannie would’ve gone public with the existence of genies. However, I Dream of Jeannie shied away from this memorable ending and made this plot a part of a nightmare Tony has. What could have been a hallmark ending for the series, made it fade into relative obscurity instead.

Watch I Dream of Jeannie on Tubi or rent on Apple TV.

9 Michael Gets A Do-Over - Click (2006)

Adam Sandler realizes he can't control the world in his early 2000s comedy

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director Frank Coraci Release Date June 23, 2006 Cast Adam Sandler , Kate Beckinsale , Christopher Walken , David Hasselhoff , Dolores O'Riordan , Henry Winkler

Though many of Adam Sandler's comedies from the early 2000s have been critically panned, and for good reason, Click has a surprisingly poignant message hidden behind the goofy jokes. When Sandler's character, Michael, finds a remote with the power to pause, rewind, and fast-forward through his own life, he starts using it to change events and mess with the balance of fate. At first, it seems like it's changing things for the better, but soon he misses out on the most important moments of his life and loses the people he loves.

Adam Sandler's serious movie roles prove he's a great actor, and although CIick isn't the most dramatic, it does get pretty dark toward the end. However, in the final moments, Michael wakes up where he was at the start of the film and realizes that he gets to change the future and be a better man. While this is an undeniably happy ending, it undercuts the lessons that Michael learned and doesn't make good on the movie's promise that people will face consequences for their actions.

8 They Were In The Bob Newhart Show All Long - Newhart (1982 - 1990)

Season 8, Episode 24, "The Last Newhart"

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In film, television, and the variety show circuit, Bob Newhart has proven himself to be one of the greatest entertainers of all time, and his 1980s sitcom, Newhart, certainly made history. Before making Newhart, he starred on The Bob Newhart Show which aired in the 1970s and was a precursor to Frasier, with Newhart's character, Robert, living as a psychologist in Chicago with his family and friends. Conversely, Newhart saw Newhart playing Dick Loudon, a Vermont innkeeper.

However, at the end of Newhart, Newhart combined both shows and made them the same series by having Robert wake up and claim that his life as Dick had all been a dream. It was a surprising choice to many viewers who had faithfully watched Newhart portray both characters for decades. Claiming that eight seasons of a show have all been occurring inside the mind of a man who's asleep asks a lot of an audience, and was only somewhat redeemed because Newhart himself tied each show together.

7 Roseanne Was Writing A Book - Roseanne (1988 - 2018)

Season 9, Episodes 23 & 24, "Into That Good Night"

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buy Not available Not available Not available Roseanne was a late 80s Sitcom created by Matt Williams and starring Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert. The show followed a character created by Roseanne Barr herself as she attempted to navigate her family life in a fictional town in Illinois. Release Date October 18, 1988 Cast Roseanne Barr , John Goodman , Laurie Metcalf , Sara Gilbert , Lecy Goranson , Michael Fishman Seasons 10 Network ABC Showrunner Bruce Helford

For most of the series' run, the plot points were relatively mundane, but in season 9, the Conners won the lottery and other major events changed their lives.

The recent revival and production of Roseanne season 10 make it possible for the audience to forget that the disjointed and unfortunate ninth season never happened. Roseanne Barr and John Goodman starred as the married couple Roseanne and Dan Conner, and for many years the sitcom was heralded for its ability to portray life for a working-class family when many Hollywood productions had failed. For most of the series' run, the plot points were relatively mundane, but in season 9, the Conners won the lottery and other major events changed their lives.

However, this Hollywood ending was soon revealed to be just that, a fabricated conclusion that Roseanne had come up with herself while writing a book. The show even went so far as to say almost nothing that occurred in seasons 9 and 8 had happened, and that Dan was dead. Even more confusingly, when Roseanne returned to the small screen, the writers scrapped this twist and made it so Roseanne had dreamed Dan's death so Goodman could rejoin the cast.

6 Both Timelines Were False - Life On Mars (2008 - 2009)

Season 1, Episode 17, "Life Is a Rock"

Based on the British series of the same name that aired only a year or so earlier, the creators of Life on Mars have been adamant that their twist was planned from the start, but that doesn't make it much better (via Indiewire). In the American version, Jason O'Mara plays Sam, a man living in the present day, 2008 for the series, who gets transported back in time to the 1970s after getting hit by a car. Already this premise borders on sci-fi, but the main focus of Life on Mars was the police investigations that Sam was part of.

However, in the series finale, it becomes clear that Sam belonged in neither 2008 nor the 1970s, and that both timelines were a delusion. He's aboard a spacecraft heading to Mars with the other astronauts who were characters in his imagined realities. On one hand, this intricate plotting and careful foreshadowing reveals a misunderstood but well-written show. Unfortunately, it was a step too far for the series, as the rest of the episodes aren't nearly as complex, and don't set up the final twist well enough.

Life on Mars is available to rent on Apple TV.

5 Kevin Is Still In The Courtroom - The Devil’s Advocate (1997)

A courtroom drama turned supernatural thriller

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director Taylor Hackford Release Date October 17, 1997 Cast Keanu Reeves , Al Pacino , Charlize Theron , Jeffrey Jones , Judith Ivey , Connie Nielsen Runtime 144 minutes

Despite a stellar cast and an intriguing moral dilemma at the story’s heart, The Devil's Advocate bit off more than it could chew. It layers too many interconnecting narratives on top of each other. Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino have strong chemistry as a crooked lawyer, Kevin (Reeves), and his father, John (Pacino), who later turns out to be the devil. John leads Kevin down a path of selfishness and sin, and the acts of immorality Kevin commits in the courtroom take an enormous toll on his personal life and relationship with his wife.

However, The Devil's Advocate fails to elevate the moral questions it's asking by being too confusing to follow. The movie’s ending was one twist too many.

The Devil's Advocate has a lot to say about free will and personal choice when it comes to making decisions that take a person down a path they never expected. However, after John tells Kevin he's the devil, Kevin awakens in the courtroom he was in at the beginning of the movie and changes his trajectory. Many of Keanu Reeves' best characters allow the actor to play morally complex characters. However, The Devil's Advocate fails to elevate the moral questions it's asking by being too confusing to follow. The movie’s ending was one twist too many.

4 The Flash Sideways - Lost (2004 - 2010)

Season 6, Episode 18, "The End"

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buy Not available Not available Not available Lost is a mystery drama series created for TV that follows a group of survivors of a plane crash and tells its story between the past, present, and future via flashbacks. When Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crashes and lands on a mysterious island in the pacific ocean, the castaways discover their new temporary home may have a mind of its own, as strange supernatural events keep them locked to the island. From an unknown black smoke creature to dangerous islanders, the passengers must work together to survive the island's seemingly deadly intentions. Release Date September 22, 2004 Cast Evangeline Lilly , Naveen Andrews , Henry Ian Cusick , Daniel Dae Kim , Harold Perrineau , Dominic Monaghan , Emilie de Ravin , Jorge Garcia , Josh Holloway , Michael Emerson , Terry O'Quinn , Matthew Fox , Ken Leung , Elizabeth Mitchell , Yunjin Kim Seasons 6 Network ABC Directors Jack Bender , Stephen Williams

Few series finales have gone down in history as being as controversial as Lost, a show known for having so many twists that the audience can rarely take what they see at face value. Though Lost season 6 had its ups and downs, few could have predicted that the "flash sideways" it employed meant that the imagined lives of the characters being portrayed weren't real and that the characters had all died at one time or another since the initial crash on the island in season.

While they were not dead the entire time, like some fans believed, much of season 6 never happened. This wasn't the worst way for Lost to end, but the show had gone in so many different directions in the last several seasons, that claiming some of the happiest moments from the later episodes didn't occur was a letdown. There were character development and emotional arcs that were important to the story that were all erased when Jack (Matthew Fox) appeared back on the island, mirroring the show's pilot.

Related 10 TV Shows Where The Final Season Is The Worst Some television shows last too long after their prime, resulting in disastrous last seasons that most audience members wish they had never seen.

3 John Is Heading To His Job Interview - Wisdom (1986)

Emilio Estevez's uneven directorial debut

Wisdom is a largely forgotten part of the careers of both Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore, the film's two stars. Estevez also directed the piece, and he tried to make it an homage to road movies and the American ideal of freedom, themes that the likes of Bonnie and Clyde tackle. However, what he achieved doesn't touch the standouts of this genre, largely because his character, John, imagined the entire plot. This is a shame as some moments have genuinely effective action and tension, but the lukewarm conclusions undercut them.

Any sacrifices they make or actions that might have put the audience on their side go up in smoke when the ending comes.

John and his girlfriend, Karen (Moore), hit the road and rob a bank after John is fed up with the corporate structure of jobs and capitalism in America. Unfortunately, this interesting take on the working class is upended when John believes he should steal to give back to the people. Of course, this ends up getting him and Karen into a lot of trouble, but there's never much incentive to care about either of them. Any sacrifices they make or actions that might have put the audience on their side go up in smoke when the ending comes.

2 Season 9 Never Happened - Dallas (1978 - 1991)

Season 10, Episode 1, "Return To Camelot"

Dallas (1978) One of the most popular soap opera series of all time, Dallas aired in 1978 as a part of CBS' line up and follows the wealthy oil baron family, the Ewings, as those from within and close to them plot and scheme their way to the top of the social ladder. The series ran for fourteen seasons before it concluded in 1991. Release Date April 2, 1978 Cast Larry Hagman , Patrick Duffy Seasons 14 Network CBS Directors Larry Hagman

Dallas is a classic soap opera with all the twists, betrayals, and backstabbing to keep the audience entertained for seasons without ever having to do much with character development. The most memorable part of the show came at the start of season 10 when Dallas retconned the entirety of season 9, similarly to the course Roseanne took. However, Dallas did it first, and it was so obviously a plot to keep the show on the air it's difficult not to be impressed by how brazenly the writers brought characters back to life.

Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) died in season 8, but it was clear from the start of season 9 that the show wouldn't be the same without him. Eventually, Duffy was brought back and the writers had Pam (Victoria Principal) wake up to discover that all of season 9 had been a dream, essentially giving Dallas a do-over. The show continued for several years and even got a 2012 revival, but turning to the dream trope is never a sign that a story is flourishing.

1 St. Elsewhere (1982 - 1988)

Season 6, Episode 22, "The Last One"

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No "it was all a dream" reveal will ever be as iconic or infamous as in the St. Elsewhere series finale when the gritty medical drama was turned into an imagined reality inside a child's mind. Outside the finale, St. Elsewhere is considered a groundbreaking show that inspired many successful medical procedurals that came after it, like ER and Grey's Anatomy, two of the most successful shows of all time. It was lauded for showing the harsh reality of working in a hospital and dealing with hot-button issues in the social and political realms.

The child, Tommy Westphall (Chad Allen), holds a snow globe with the hospital inside it, and the characters from the show are all different individuals in the background of his life.

Additionally, St. Elsewhere spent lots of time growing and developing its characters and their fully formed lives, only for them to be turned into different people at the last second. The child, Tommy Westphall (Chad Allen), holds a snow globe with the hospital inside it, and the characters from the show are all different individuals in the background of his life. It was a shocking turn of events that left viewers stunned at best and outraged at worst. When watching St. Elsewhere it's better to stop before the finale.