Cliffhanger

A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction. A cliffhanger is hoped to ensure the audience will return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma.

Cliffhangers are common in movie serials and television programs. Once, when Batman and Robin were in their Batmobile suspended in the air by a Ferris Wheel, Robin says: "Holy cliffhangers!"