TV moments of 2018 we're going to have to explain to our grandkids

Fans waited for what seemed like a lifetime to figure out what happened to Jack, the patriarch of everybody’s favorite family on NBC's "This Is Us." In January, fans learned that Jack’s demise was related to a malfunctioning Crock-Pot, which started a house fire on Super Bowl Sunday. Jack escapes the fire, but dies shortly after due to smoke inhalation. As if that tear-jerking scene weren’t enough, after the episode aired, Crock-Pot issued a statement reassuring users that its slow-cookers were safe.

Royal wedding mania was at its peak this summer, when Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle tied the knot on May 19 at Windsor Castle’s St. George Chapel. More than 50 million people in the United States and the U.K. tuned in to watch the famous nuptials. 

Showtime’s wildly successful show "Billions" has always been a showcase of what it’s like to live like the 1 percent, but no scene emphasizes that ethos better than the ortolan scene in “The Third Ortolan” from the show’s third season. For the unfamiliar, ortolan is a bird that’s considered a delicacy, and selling it is illegal in the United States. As the scene depicts, the bird is eaten whole with a napkin over the diner’s head to fully maximize the intense experience.  

"Real Housewives of New York" cast member Luann de Lesseps landed herself in hot water with an ill-advised Diana Ross costume that appeared in an April episode of the show. For the costume, De Lesseps wore a large black Afro wig and white jumpsuit, and she used bronzer to darken her skin. After the episode aired, de Lesseps apologized and denied that she’d used blackface, but costar Carole Radziwill described the costume as “disrespectful” and “tone-deaf.” 

After making controversial comments on Twitter about Democratic adviser Valerie Jarrett, ABC cancelled the comeback of Roseanne Barr’s iconic namesake show. Later in the year, the network decided to revive the series as "The Conners" and killed off Roseanne’s character with an opioid overdose in the first episode. 

Noted weirdo and cult favorite Tommy Wiseau, best known for his bizarre 2003 film "The Room," brought one of the year’s most uncomfortable moments at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards. On stage to accept an award for "The Disaster Artist," the film starring James Franco based on Wiseau’s making of "The Room," Wiseau tried to take the mic away from Franco as he accepted the award for best actor in a comedy or musical.

At the 2018 Emmy Awards, John Legend became the world’s newest EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony Award) winner, and he joined "This Is Us" star Sterling K. Brown, "Saturday Night Live’s" Keenan Thompson and Tituss Burgess from "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" for a rousing send-up of the Awards’ newly diverse slate of nominees. The rousing rendition of “We Solved It!” even featured a cameo from iconic drag queen RuPaul.

Critically acclaimed FX series "The Americans" came to a close in 2018, and its powerful finale was one of the year’s best TV moments. As Russian spies Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, portrayed expertly by Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, head back to the Motherland on a train, their daughter and recently indoctrinated spy Paige (Holly Taylor) jumps off and heads to a new life without her parents.

Netflix’s "Haunting of Hill House" was inarguably the year’s most terrifying new TV show, and the Bent-Neck Lady is definitely its scariest character. One of the year’s most nightmare-inducing reveals comes when main character Nell Crain (Violet McGraw) learns the true identity of the creepy figure that’s been taunting her for years. No spoilers, but it’s definitely going to creep you out. 

The CW's American telenovela "Jane The Virgin" has seen its fair share of dramatic, over-the-top twists, but none can compete with the big reveal that came in the finale of the show’s fourth season. In that episode — spoilers ahead! — viewers learn that Jane’s (Gina Rodriguez) fiance Michael (Brett Dier) has faked his own death. Undoubtedly, fans can expect plenty of drama from that bombshell in the fifth season of "Jane The Virgin," set to debut in January 2019.

Comedian Michelle Wolf pulled no punches when she took the stage at the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner in April, taking direct aim at President Trump and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders with a series of acerbic jokes that left the crowd stunned at points. Trump, of course, was displeased with Wolf's jokes (he did not attend), and the White House Correspondents Association announced that a comedian would not headline the annual dinner in 2019. 

In what may be one of the most shocking moments in "RuPaul’s Drag Race" history, "All-Stars 3" competitor BenDeLaCreme eliminated herself from the running for the crown in a dramatic moment during the show’s sixth episode after winning numerous challenges and establishing herself as a front-runner. Typically, competitors are expected to choose a fellow drag queen to leave the competition, but BenDeLaCreme chose instead to write her own name in Wite-Out on the lipstick usually used to eliminate someone else.

For whatever reason, MTV enlisted Madonna to pay tribute to the late, great Aretha Franklin at the 2018 Video Music Awards, and that didn’t exactly go to plan. Taking the stage dressed in North African garb, Madonna gave a rambling speech about Franklin's influence on her career instead of talking about the soul icon’s innumerable contributions to music. Madonna later said that the speech wasn’t intended to be a tribute and that MTV asked her to share any anecdotes from her career connected to Franklin on stage. Regardless of what was supposed to happen, it’s safe to say that viewers were totally confused. 

Bravo reality show "Vanderpump Rules," which centers around "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Lisa Vanderpump and the wild servers at her Los Angeles restaurants, can always be counted on for the drama. In a particularly explosive fight, "Rules" stars James Kennedy and Lala Kent coined the year’s most popular reality TV phrase — “it’s not about the pasta!” In the episode, Kent and Kennedy claimed that the row was related to Kent eating Kennedy’s girlfriend’s pasta dish, but some fans speculated that “pasta” was actually code for “cocaine.” The world will never know.

Known for its over-the-top musical scenes, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" created a cat-lady anthem for the ages in one of the year’s most entertaining television moments. After deciding to live single forever, protagonist Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) launches into “Buttload of Cats,” a Randy Newman-style ode to living single with tons of furry friends. There’s cat-inspired choreography, hilarious lyrics, a killer dance number and plenty to explain to future generations about the internet’s feline obsession.

While appearing on Weekend Update on "Saturday Night Live," Pete Davidson made a tacky joke about Texas congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw’s eye patch, which he wears after being injured in combat. The joke inspired backlash from people on all sides of the political spectrum. In a heartwarming turn of events, Davidson invited Crenshaw onto the show, where he issued a few sick burns in Davidson’s direction after hearing his apology. 

Baseball isn’t exactly a violent sport, but a bench-clearing brawl between players of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants was one of the most discussed topics of August. The fight began after Giants catcher Nick Hundley confronted Dodgers batter Yasiel Puig over swearing after fouling the ball, and both teams jumped off the benches to come to their teammate’s defense. Puig was suspended for two games for his role in the brawl, while Hundley was only required to pay a fine. 

In one of the most topical episodes of Netflix's "Queer Eye" reboot, the Fab 5 are pulled over by a police officer while Karamo Brown is driving the crew. They quickly find out that they're being pranked by the man who nominated Cory, who's due to get a makeover. The “prank” inspired a decidedly frank conversation about police brutality, one of 2018’s most discussed topics. 

No one really expected to see former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the 2018 Grammy Awards, but her surprise cameo was one of the night’s best moments. Joining Cher, Cardi B, Snoop Dogg and John Legend, Clinton read an excerpt from Michael Wolff’s book "Fire and Fury," written about the chaos inside the Trump White House to loud cheers from the audience. 

While hosting the 2018 Academy Awards, Jimmy Kimmel surprised moviegoers as they watched "A Wrinkle In Time" at the nearby TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. For the stunt, intended to “thank [fans] for supporting the industry,” Kimmel enlisted Gal Gadot, Lupita Nyong'o, Armie Hammer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Hamill and more stars to deliver snacks, including hot dogs propelled from cannons manned by Hammer. It was a fun follow-up to 2017’s stunt, when Kimmel invited a bus of tourists on to the show’s front row, but definitely a little bit weird. 

"Full Frontal" host Samantha Bee stirred political controversy in 2018 countless times, but the most major was the "feckless c—" incident. Speaking about Ivanka Trump’s complicity in her father’s immigration policies, Bee implored the Trump daughter to do something about children being incarcerated at the border as part of the administration’s family-separation policy. Bee later apologized for her use of the sexist epithet, but she didn’t back down on her stance on the policy.