Harlan Coben’s Lazarus Delivers 2025’s Best TV Cliffhanger (But There’s a Catch)

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Harlan Coben’s stories are known for their shocking twists and constant suspense. You can never truly relax while reading or watching one of his works, as they’re crafted to keep you guessing alongside the detectives as they unravel the mystery. This latest series is a perfect example of that thrilling experience.

While Lazarus is generally engaging, it doesn’t quite stick the landing with every plot point. With so many cliffhangers and twists throughout the six episodes, it was inevitable that some wouldn’t fully work. A weaker twist earlier in the series might have gone unnoticed amidst all the secrets being revealed, and there are plenty of those. However, the two biggest reveals happen at the very end, as you’d expect in a finale. For the final reveal to have a real impact, the first one feels underwhelming, like a disappointing attempt at building suspense. This weakens the show’s overall mystery and its exploration of whether a supernatural presence is truly physical.

Lazarus’ Ending Is the Most Mind-Blowing Cliffhanger of the Year

About halfway through the final episode of Lazarus, a key twist is revealed. Through a recording of a conversation between Dr. L and Detective Alison Brown – which are Dr. L’s final moments – the protagonist discovers that Dr. L’s father was actually the one killing the patients he believed were ghosts. Dr. L initially claimed he was ending their suffering, but when challenged, he argued these patients were too dangerous to live and would inevitably escape if imprisoned, revealing his biased views on mental health. The realization is driven home when the protagonist listens to all of Dr. L’s session recordings, strongly suggesting the ‘ghosts’ were a product of his own mind.

The ending of Lazarus seems to wrap up its mysteries with Dr. L’s confession and Laz’s reality-bending powers, but one final twist remains – a shock Laz never anticipates. In the last scene, Laz finds Laura’s body and his son, Aidan, standing in the doorway, holding the murder weapon with a blank expression. It’s clear Aidan killed both Margot and Laura after sharing his feelings with them. The screen cuts to black at the perfect, unsettling moment, leaving viewers chilled. This cliffhanger is effective because it shows what happened rather than telling us, trusting the audience to understand the horrifying truth without needing explanations from Aidan or Laz, and ending the series with a truly dreadful image.

Lazarus Relies on an Outdated Trope That’s Below Harlan Coben’s Standards

The scene powerfully challenges the idea that violent tendencies are inherited. Dr. L’s final words to Laz suggest he carries the same killer instincts as his father, but Laz seemed to break that cycle when he resisted the urge to kill Olsen. However, it’s left ambiguous whether Laz stopped because of a moral choice or simply because he was interrupted by the police. This question is mirrored when Laz confronts his own son, who displays the same cold violence as Dr. L after committing a violent act. The series leaves viewers pondering a central question: is violence a trait passed down through generations, and if so, is it possible to truly break the cycle?

The shocking reveal that Aidan is a murderer completely overshadowed the question of whether the supernatural elements were real or just in someone’s mind – and that was likely intentional, according to creators Harlan Coben and Danny Brocklehurst. While Aidan’s actions came as a surprise, subtle clues were there all along. It’s a bit of a letdown, though, that the ghostly apparitions weren’t more mysterious. From the start, it was clear Laz was imagining them, as no one else could see or interact with the ghosts, and they only appeared when he was alone. Ultimately, Lazarus is a story about grief and how it impacts both the mind and relationships, so it made sense that Laz’s struggles wouldn’t be attributed to the supernatural.

Even within the supernatural genre, the show often tries to mislead viewers, but those familiar with the author’s work quickly see through it. While this technique can be effective in other stories, in Lazarus it feels like an overused and uninspired mystery trope. Given the author’s extensive body of work, relying on clichés is unusual, though the show does redeem itself with a strong plot twist at the end.

All six episodes of Harlan Coben’s Lazarus are available to stream on Prime Video.

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2025-10-22 10:36