The 25 Best Season Finales Of All Time

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).

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Written by Frazier Tharpe (@The_SummerMan) 

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