‘White Lotus,’ ‘Wednesday’ and More

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Most Shocking TV Moments of 2022: From a Surprising ‘The White Lotus’ Sex Scene to a Heartbreaking ‘Yellowjackets’ Death

A major plot twist. TV fans were in for a real treat in 2022 with shows such as The White Lotus and Yellowjackets — who didn’t hold back when it came to their storytelling.

The HBO series, which returned as an anthology in season 2, quickly won viewers over with a new group of guests looking to enjoy their stay in Sicily. Fan-favorite character Tanya’s (Jennifer Coolidge) time at the resort however, was full of disappointment after her husband, Greg (Jon Gries), chose to return back to the U.S. for work.

During season 2, Tanya kept busy with a group of gay men that she met through Quentin (Tom Hollander). Her assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson), for her part, was quickly smitten by Quentin’s nephew, Jack (Leo Woodall), who showed her everything Italy had to offer.

Things quickly took a turn when Tanya discovered Jack and Quentin having sex. At the time, Woodall opened up about his own reaction to the shocking moment.

“When I got the role, I didn’t know what would happen with Jack’s story. At that point, I just knew that he was in the show. So, when I got the first five scripts, I read them all straight away. By the time I got to that point in the script, I could tell that something was afoot,” the Vampire Academy star told Men’s Health in November 2022. “And I remember reading it and immediately thinking about the scene in season one with Murray [Bartlett] and Lukas [Gage]. I’m actually really proud that I got to be part of the volume two of that scene.”

For Woodall, it was helpful having an intimacy coordinator on set to oversee the filming process.

“It helps a lot. It makes us feel a lot more comfortable. We had some great intimacy coordinators that really locked it down. It’s a closed set, and only the very, very, very necessary people that need to be there will be there,” he continued. “And particularly in the scene with me and Tom, it was all choreographed to get the right feel, the right look for the scene, while also being protective of our angles and our nether regions.”

Yellowjackets was also a show with no shortage of surprising twists. From cannibalism to murder, the Showtime series raised the bar with every new episode of its first season.

Jackie’s (Ella Purnell) death as a result of frostbite was a moment fans were still discussing even after the show went on hiatus. Shortly after the finale aired, Purnell discussed the inevitable ending for her character.

“I knew ever since I signed up for the pilot that I would be dying in the finale. It was just very sad to read the finale and to read the death scene and to then have to come to terms with the fact that that’s it,” the actress detailed to TV Guide in January 2022.

Purnell noted that she didn’t have all the answers to Jackie’s story after filming Yellowjackets.

“That dream sequence was another one of the things that when I read it, I was a little dubious. And I doubted my ability to pull it off in a way that would feel as impactful as I knew that it should have. So, I was a little nervous when we filmed it, but actually, when we did it, it made perfect sense,” she added. “Because the whole trajectory of Jackie, that’s what she’s always wanted — for people to love her. All she’s ever wanted is just to be accepted and valued and appreciated, but she doesn’t know how to express those needs and those wants.”

Purnell concluded: “[The scene] is that immediate feeling of, she gets to relax in the warmth of her friends by the fire, and she’s physically relieved from the cold, but she’s also emotionally relieved. This is so satisfying for her that finally, people are apologizing to her. And it’s interesting to play with various levels of Jackie realizing at some point, hang on, something’s not right, this can’t be real life.”

Scroll down for more shocking TV moments from 2022:

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Bringing Andre Back From the Dead (‘Vampire Academy’)

Ahead of the season 1 finale, the Peacock series revealed that Lissa’s (Daniela Nieves) brother wasn’t actually dead. Andre (Jason Diaz) was kidnapped by Tatiana (Anita-Joy Uwajeh) and ultimately turned into a strigoi.

Credit: Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME

Jackie’s Ambiguous Death (‘Yellowjackets’)

Yellowjackets fans were aware that Jackie never made it back home — but the full story was more heartbreaking than many could have imagined. In the season 1 finale, Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) and Jackie ended up in a huge fight which lead to Jackie sleeping outside. The pair appeared to share a dream where they are able to work things out.

However, Shauna woke up the next morning to Jackie’s body frozen to death outside of their cabin.

Credit: HBO/Kobal/Shutterstock

Rue Dropping a Major Bomb (‘Euphoria’)

“How long have you been f—king Nate Jacobs?” will remain one of the most iconic lines in TV history. During season 2, Rue’s (Zendaya) attempt to escape an intervention ends with her telling Maddy (Alexa Demie) about Cassie’s (Sydney Sweeney) secret romance. All hell breaks loose after Rue shares the news — and the drama spilled into the finale.

Credit: ABC/Raymond Liu

Lucy and Tim Take a Personal Step Forward (‘The Rookie’)

After five seasons, Lucy (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim (Eric Winter) got their act together and finally agreed to go on a proper date. The highly anticipated arc came after fans of The Rookie noticed some major chemistry between the coworkers over the years.

Credit: Courtesy of Apple TV+

The 1st Man to Get to Mars (‘For All Mankind’)

In season 3, For All Mankind viewers found out that North Korea was the first to step foot on Mars after Lee Jung-Gil (C.S. Lee) successfully survived the landing.