Even as we’re living in an extended Golden Age of television, 2013 marked a banner year. Comedies were funnier, dramas were better written and acted, and production values soared, as competition for viewership forced networks (and new players like Netflix) to up the content ante. So how did programs stand out from the crowded field this year? By having explosive, balls-to-the-wall, Keyser Soze-level plot twists, of course. Here (spoiler alert!) are the episodes that sent us—and so many others—scurrying to Twitter, armed with an opinion and our favorite shows’ hashtags.
