13 Classic Season Finale Cliffhangers

Possibly the most shocking moment in the entire season, Ross' vow of "I take thee, Rachel" had the entire finale episode grinding to a halt. With all his friends and family watching, not to mention a very pissed off Emily, we were left wondering how on earth Ross was going to talk himself out of this one.

The crack of gunfire echoed out over the last few seconds of this West Wing finale episode, and it was unclear who, if anyone, had been shot. We were left to stress as the entire presidential party was left hanging in the balance. The white supremesist assasination attempt came out of nowhere, but it certainly fueled a lot of the plot for the subsequent season.

Despite rumors about divas and fighting and backstage problems, no one was expecting Shannon Doherty to peace out of Charmed so early, especially when that meant killing off Prue! She had practically been the main character, and she was mercilessly cut down in this tragic season finale. Worse, Piper's fate was unknown too, and she looked pretty worse for the wear...

Leaving Sydney unconcious in a burning building would have been crazy enough, but Alias took their finale game a step further. The season ended with Sydney waking up in Hong Kong, alone and confused, only to find out from Vaughn that two years had passed! And the kicker? The love of her life was MARRIED.

Even if you've never seen one episode of Dallas, you've absolutely heard the question, "Who shot JR?" Even without Twitter trends and message boards and Tumblr metas, this question was the number one phrase on everyone's lips during the summer break after JR was shot by an unknown assailant.

This one isn't too far back into yesteryear, but it was still a finale for the ages. Was it the callback music? The tragic image of Ryan carrying Marissa's broken body from the wreckage? Or maybe just the knowledge that our favorite Californians had finally jumped the shark? Either way, The O.C was never the same after Marissa's epic finale cliffhanger death.

In the wise words of Joey Potter: "Come on, Dawson. You of all people should know that a cliffhanger is merely a manipulative TV standard designed to improve ratings." But damn did it work for Season 4 of Dawson's Creek when Joey and Dawson's last minute kiss left everyone wondering if their romance was about to get a revival!

Talk about an explosive ending... After a huge lead up to the destruction of New York City, fans finally got to see the blast that led us there. And then they got to wonder how in the heck Peter and Nathan survived blowing themselves up at 30,000 ft. in the air.

Just when you think all is well and Jack Bauer might have saved the day, one poisoned handshake screws it all up. This season of 24 ended with the President of the United States falling to the ground, gasping for breath, after Mandy passed a deadly virus to him with skin to skin contact.

After three long seasons of flashbacks to before the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, this finale mixed things up in a big way by flashing FORWARD. Yep, at the last minute, Jack reveals that these scenes have all taken place in the future, after a select group of survivors made it off the island. Talk about a mindfuck.

I'm sorry, but if you weren't totally freaking out when this episode cut off on Buffy's tombstone ("She saved the world a lot" -- priceless) then I don't know what kind of voodoo powers you have. Everyone was left in a tizzy, wondering how on earth they were going to continue the show with the titular character dead. Buffy sure knew how to do a finale.

Another mystery shooter scenario, the first season of Twin Peaks left off with a favorite character shot and bleeding on the floor. 'Who shot Cooper' doesn't quite have the same ring as 'Who shot JR' but audiences were no less eager to find out what would become of their beloved FBI Agent.

Smallville was cool before superheroes were all the rage, and it dates way back to when The CW was still The WB. The first season ended with a twister tearing through town, and Clark diving into the vortex to save Lana from certain death. Nothing says high stakes like a tornado, even if you're indestructable.