Wham Episode / Kingdom Hearts

• The Hollow Bastion chapter of Kingdom Hearts. Maleficent dies (or so we think), it's revealed that Ansem (Xehanort's Heartless) is the real Big Bad and Kairi's heart was inside Sora all along, Riku loses his body, Sora turns himself into a heartless to bring Kairi back^note (this one event resulted in both Roxas' and Naminé's birth, setting the stage for the next several games), Kairi hugs Sora to save him, and they leave Hollow Bastion but leave the keyhole open, allowing a lot more powerful Heartless to flood through.
• Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories:
  • Twilight Town in Sora's storyline is basically a long string of foreshadowing for the existence of Roxas and the point we start to realize Marluxia's plan.
  • Floor 12 of Castle Oblivion in Chain of Memories. It's revealed that Naminé is manipulating Sora's memories and the Riku Sora's been fighting is a replica, while he's been playing into the Organization's hands all along.
• Kingdom Hearts II:
  • During the third visit to Hollow Bastion, we learn Ansem from the first game was an imposter. That imposter is the Heartless of the real Ansem's apprentice, Xehanort, and the leader of Organisation XIII is his Nobody.
  • It is casually revealed early in the game that Mickey trains in the arts of Keyblade from Yen Sid, though since he is never shown wielding it, it is easy to dismiss this. Near the end of the game, Kairi is shown wielding the Keyblade. Keyblade wielders are so commonplace in later games, but by this point, the only people who can wield the weapon are Sora (and by extension, his Nobody, Roxas), Riku, and Mickey, all facts that have been established since the series beginning. In the first game, being able to wield the Keyblade is a big deal (Sora and Riku got into a messy fight for this). Suddenly, you have to wonder whether there are more people who could wield the thing...
• Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days: The final two days of the game are a doozy. On Day 357, Roxas finally gets the full story about Xion, only to be forced to kill her in self-defense (which Xion wanted, as it would let him take her memories back to Sora). And 358... well, that was when Deep Dive happened.
• Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep:
  • Xehanort is an old man in this game, but why is he younger in the previous games? He hijacked Terra's body at the end of the latter's campaign. The man who became Ansem the Wise's apprentice is Xehanort inside Terra's body.
  • Castle Oblivion was once a refuge of Keyblade wielders called the Land of Departure. It became what it is now because Aqua cast a spell that transformed it in order to hide Ventus' body. The room where he is, the Chamber of Waking, is what the Organization XIII is really after in Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days.
  • Ventus' heart took up residence inside Sora's heart when the latter was four and has not left him since. Right, for the majority of the first game's events, Sora hosts three hearts^note His own, Ventus', and Kairi's inside him. On another note, this is also the reason why Roxas looks similar to Ventus and is possibly why he can dual wield Keyblades.
  • "Reconnect. Kingdom Hearts" Secret Ending. After watching it for the first time, and with the general knowledge of what happened in the game, as well as the rest of the series, you'd understand the feeling of watching the kid who was looking for his friends become someone who has to save any good person who has received a Fate Worse than Death.
  • The Secret Ending in Final Mix shows that the worlds consumed by darkness aren't destroyed...
• Kingdom Hearts coded's secret ending reveals that Xehanort is alive.
• Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]'s endgame is the biggest wham episode yet. There are so many plot twists and reveals that it turns the series' Kudzu Plot up a notch.
  • The cutscenes before and after Sora fights Xemnas, which basically topple the series' plot head over heel. Not only do we find out that Nobodies, as well as other being who could think and feel, could grow hearts all along, but the Nobodies' whole purpose was to be used as Xehanort's clones. Not only this, but Xehanort allowed the Heartless into the Realm of Light (and by extension, created the Nobodies) in order to gather more possible vessels. Also, time travel exists and has been used by Xehanort to bring his new vessels to the present, including his Heartless (Ansem), his Nobody (Xemnas), and his younger self (erstwhile unseen, unless you count Birth by Sleep: Final Mix, albeit voiceless and under a hood), all of whom are part of the new Organization XIII. And Sora is their next target as a vessel, although the heroes manage to prevent it at the last minute.
  • The revelation about intelligent beings having hearts mean that Roxas and Naminé have hearts. And possibly Xion as well. Kairi is holding two hearts^note Her own and Naminé's inside her, while Sora is holding four^note His own, Ventus', Roxas', and Xion's hearts inside him!
  • The epilogue reveals that Xehanort wants to recreate the χ-Blade. Having learned twelve years ago that simply involving one person was not enough, he plans the thirteen-membered True Organization XIII to clash with the seven Guardians of Light in a second Keyblade War to recreate the weapon.
  • The last seconds of the epilogue also shows that Axel/Lea is a Keyblade wielder.
  • The secret ending shows Yen Sid recruiting Kairi to help stop Xehanort.
• Kingdom Hearts III:
  • Xehanort's Heartless Guardian is actually Terra's Heartless; he has been forced to serve Xehanort since his body hijacking.
  • Xehanort shatters Kairi in the climax of the Keyblade War, forcing Sora to save her using the Power of Waking. He had used the power previously to wake Ventus and save the Guardians of Light from certain death and came out fine. But three turns out to be a bad number; Sora disappears from the present world and wakes up in Shibuya.
  • By the end of the game, the forces of light manage to save Aqua, wake Ventus, recreate Roxas and Naminé, and restore Terra. Xion is also brought back, albeit by the villains, through unexplained reasons.
  • During the final battle against Xehanort in Scala ad Caelum (his and Eraqus's childhood home), the player may notice that the remnants of another world lay upside down and crumbling under the ocean surrounding the town. That other world is Daybreak Town, an ancient world from "the age of fairytales," and the "nexus from which all other worlds spring."