I still don’t get why I binge watch.
Xennial here, circa 1980, reminded of when seasons held meaning for television. To be continued in 2 weeks was to await the conclusion of our favorite depiction of American life. Life as we knew it continued with school, while discussions about the previous episodes, and our predictions for the conclusion refreshed the stories. We were still able to invest fully in the plot when our focus was on 1 or 2 shows. Roseanne’s final episode rocked me to my core. Spoiler alert: Dan was an illusion. How often do we try to will someone into making the “right” choice? And shame on real Rosanne’s Twitter fingers, 20 years later. But I digress…
Does the conclusion of a show have the same value when it is hurried along? Does our current habit of binging preclude us from cliffhangers and satisfactory endings (really Lost?), especially if the show is setting up for a new season or being canceled? Do we even get to know characters anymore?
I still don’t get it 