The 25 Best Season Finales Of All Time

All good things must come to an end.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

The season finale is one of the most rewarding experiences of watching scripted television. Many series have had great seasons that failed to follow-through on superb set-ups come finale time, but most rise to the occasion and deliver a conclusion that both works as a single episode of TV and a pay-off for a season-long investment.

With HBO's terrific crime series Boardwalk Empire concluding its third year at the end of the week, all eyes are on the Prohibition-set drama to wrap up the warring conflict between Atlantic City boss Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) and Gyp Rosetti (Bobby Cannavale) in a grand fashion similar to the stunning resolution of the second season's conflict between Nucky and protégé-turned-foe Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt).

We have no doubt that the Boardwalk boys will deliver, and to celebrate what's sure to be a much-discussed finale, Complex is counting down the 25 best season finales of all time. It's a definitive list of all of the coolest twists, cruelest cliff-hangers, and edge-of-your-seat conclusions in television history, drama and sitcom (but excluding series finales).

RELATED: The 25 Craziest Things That Have Happened On Live Television
RELATED: The 10 Most Underrated Sictoms on TV Right Now

Written by Frazier Tharpe (@The_SummerMan) 

25. "Casino Night," The Office

Not Available Interstitial

24. "Na Trioblóidi," Sons of Anarchy

Not Available Interstitial

23. "Over There," Fringe

Not Available Interstitial

22. "The Getaway," Dexter

Not Available Interstitial

21. "Seinfeld," Curb Your Enthusiasm

Not Available Interstitial

20. "To the Lost," Boardwalk Empire

Not Available Interstitial

19. "The Invitations," Seinfeld

Not Available Interstitial

18. "Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut," South Park

Not Available Interstitial

17. "Swan Song," Supernatural

Not Available Interstitial

16. "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding," Friends

Not Available Interstitial

15. "Gethsemane," The X-Files

Not Available Interstitial

14. "What Kind of Day Has It Been," The West Wing

Not Available Interstitial

13. "The Gift," Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Not Available Interstitial

12. "Who Shot Mr. Burns?," The Simpsons

Not Available Interstitial

11. "Shut the Door. Have a Seat," Mad Men

Not Available Interstitial

10. "The Incident," LOST

Not Available Interstitial

9. "Lay Down Your Burdens," Battlestar Galactica

Not Available Interstitial

8. "Final Grades," The Wire

Not Available Interstitial

7. "Whitecaps," The Sopranos

Not Available Interstitial

6. "Marine One," Homeland

Not Available Interstitial

5. "Face Off," Breaking Bad

Not Available Interstitial

4. "11:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.," 24

Not Available Interstitial

3. "A House Divided," Dallas

Not Available Interstitial

2. "The Telling," Alias

Not Available Interstitial

1. "Through the Looking Glass," LOST

Not Available Interstitial

Latest in Pop Culture