Rant: Binging a show in one day just makes it forgettable

Everyone says to watch the whole season of 'The Bear' at once, but I tried that and barely remember it. I watched 'Severance' week by week and still think about each episode. When you binge, all the episodes blend together and you lose the impact. My friends call me old school, but I like having time to talk about what happened. Taking breaks lets you guess what comes next and makes it more fun. Binging turns great stories into background noise, and that's a shame.

7 comments

7 Comments

abby7471mo ago

My sister binged all of Severance and can still quote whole scenes, so it depends on the person. But yeah @the_oliver is onto something, letting a story settle does make the big twists hit harder. Some shows are just built different though.

danielowens1mo ago

Your sister remembering Severance after binging it shows that plot soup can actually stick. I get what @lewis.charlie says about forgetting details, but spreading out episodes can break the magic for story heavy shows. That constant tension is what makes them good, and stopping kills the feel. Binging keeps you in that world so every clue and moment connects fresh in your mind. Letting episodes breathe might work for slow shows, but for others, the best impact comes from diving in deep.

the_paul1mo ago

My coworker Dave smashed through 'The Last of Us' in two days. He tried to recap it for me and kept mixing up which character died when, because it all became a mush of clickers and crying. Meanwhile, with 'Succession', we waited each week and he'd come in Monday full of hot takes on which kid screwed up the most. He says binging feels like scrolling through your camera roll too fast, so you see the pictures but none of them stick. Now he's a total convert to the weekly schedule, calls binging a waste of good TV.

the_oliver1mo ago

That "camera roll too fast" thing is so right. I started spacing out episodes of a good show, like one every other day. Forces you to actually chew on what happened, you know? Like the story needs time to settle. Binging just turns everything into plot soup. Letting an episode breathe makes the big moments actually mean something.

amy_grant321mo ago

But what about shows that are more about the mood than the plot twists? Like a cozy mystery or a funny sitcom, does spacing those out matter as much, or are some shows just built for a lazy weekend binge?

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lewis.charlie1mo ago

Totally get that, binged a show last month and already forgot the main guy's name. Letting episodes breathe makes the story actually stick in your brain.

webb.hannah1mo ago

That "scrolling through your camera roll" line is really sharp. Do you think it hits worse with super tense, plot-heavy shows like The Last of Us, where everything is meant to feel heavy, versus a show that's more about the vibe?