When done correctly, foreshadowing gives viewers hints at what’s to come without making later plot moments super obvious. If done right, viewers feel like things all make sense and that they should have known all along.
It’s not just movies and books that use foreshadowing as there are some clever moments of this device used on television , too.
Here are 10+ times TV shows used brilliant foreshadowing to tell us what was coming.
The fact that Dan was Gossip Girl.
The identity of Gossip Girl was a big mystery until it was finally revealed to be Dan Humphrey.
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Some fans noticed that this fact is foreshadowed in the first episode because the very first time the line “XOXO Gossip Girl” is said, Dan is sitting next to his computer and typing something.
Willow’s sexuality is foreshadowed in *Buffy.*
Willow comes out as gay in season four of the show and has a relationship with Tara, but there is one moment in season three that hints at her sexuality.
When a vampire version of Willow shows up because of a spell, Willow says, “That’s me as a vampire? I’m so evil and skanky. And I think I’m kinda gay!”
Lane Pryce’s death in *Mad Men.*
When Pryce hangs himself at the office, it’s a shocking and upsetting moment, but fans noted that this death was foreshadowed throughout the show.
In season 5, Lane says, “I’ll be here for the rest of my life!” There is also a scene in the same episode where Don Draper makes a doodle of a noose.
The death of Adrian’s baby on *Secret Life of the American Teenager.*
After Ben sleeps with Adrian, Ricky tells Ben that they are even, but Ben replies that won’t be true unless Adrian has his child. Ricky then retorts that “If Adrian has your baby someone really will die.”
This is a moment that foreshadows the tragic death of Ben and Adrian’s newborn during childbirth.
Glenn and baseball bats in *The Walking Dead.*
In season five of the series, there a few moments when Glenn picks up a bat while in Alexandria, and he’s also almost killed by a bat during the beginning of the season at Terminus.
As fans sadly know, Glenn was killed in season seven by Negan who used his baseball bat, Lucille, as the murder weapon.
Buster Bluth from *Arrested Development* losing his hand.
There are many references to this happening throughout seasons one and two of the show.
Fans pointed out that in the episode, “Out on a Limb,” that an ad on a bus stop reads “Arm Off.”
Then, in season two, Buster says, “Wow, I never thought I’d miss a hand so much,” in reference to a chair.
Leslie Knope having triplets.
It’s easy to miss, but Leslie is told in season two of Parks and Recreation that her uterus would be able to handle triplets “right off the bat.”
This is exactly what happens when she gets pregnant with triplets without trying on season six of the show.
The identity of the next Supreme on *AHS: Coven.*
The question of who would become the next Supreme, the witch who could use seven powers, was a big part of the plot of this season.
But, the answer was in the title sequence all along. Sarah Paulson’s title card was next to the deity Santa Muerte, the Lady of the Seven Wonders.
This clever detail showed that Paulson’s character, Cordelia, would become the Supreme.
Scully’s cancer on *The X-Files.*
In season four, there is a scene where Scully is being held captive by a man who wants to lobotomize women in order to get rid of “the howlers” in their brains.
He points to a place in the center of Scully’s forehead, and this ends up being where her tumor has grown in episode 14 of the same season.
Little Finger predicts the death of three *Game of Thrones* characters.
In season four, Littlefinger gives a monologue to Robin Arryn about all the ways people die. He mentions people dying while at dinner tables, in their beds, and in the bathroom.
In the same season, Joffrey dies at a dinner table. Tyrion kills Shae in bed, and then Tyrion also kills Tywin while he’s on the toilet.
Saul predicts his future in *Breaking Bad.*
Saul’s last words in the series are about how the “best case” scenario in his future would be if he became a “manager of a Cinnabon in Omaha.”
This is exactly what the character is doing in the first episode of Better Call Saul.
Chris’ death in *The Sopranos.*
In an early season of the series, Tony learns that Chris is using drugs. He tells him that if he finds out he’s using again that he will kill him with his hands.
This is exactly the way Chris dies. Tony strangles him when he learns Chris is on drugs again.
The mother’s name on *How I Met Your Mother.*
In the very first episode of the show, Ted meets an exotic dancer named Tracey. He jokes to his children that this is how he met their mother.
While that woman wasn’t their mom, their mother’s name was Tracy McConnell, so the name was correct.
Chandler and Monica’s wedding.
During Ross and Emily’s wedding, Monica is the one who catches the bouquet, and she shouts out that she’s going to be the next one married.
Then, Phoebe tells Chandler that “the groom cannot see the bride” when he comes up to Monica.
Monica and Chandler would be the next to get married three seasons later.
The way Sam and Dean’s mother died on *Supernatural.*
In the first season, Sam and Dean meet their mother Mary’s ghost, and she specifically tells Sam that she’s sorry. He doesn’t know what she meant at the time.
However, in season five, they learn that she died after making a deal with Azazel, and this demon deal leads to her death and to Sam being cursed.
