Fallout Is Everything Wrong With Binge Watching Culture

Summary

Fallout saw all of its episodes release at once on Prime Video, meaning spoilers were out in the wild within minutes.
Weekly episodes allow fandoms to form and conversations to be had, turning each one into a worthwhile event.
Our attitude towards binge culture has made us greedier and more expectant, which isn't a positive sign of the future.

Binge culture has evolved since the early days of Netflix. There was a time when having all episodes of a series on a streaming service at the same time felᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚt like the future. Viewers were free to watch every single episode one after another without stopping, or absorb them at their own pace. This is still the release model for Netflix originals, but other services such as Prime, Max, or Disney+ have🥃 opted for traditional week by week methods instead.

Fallout has brought this conversation back to the foreground after its successful launch, with millions watching every single episode within days of its release, leaving those who decided to be more conservati🌠ve with their viewing habits little time to catch up. I’m only two episodes in right now, and likely won’t finish until the end of this week, but that doesn’t make my view of the show any less valid. If anything, more meaning can be gleaned from taking your time.

I had parts of Fallout spoiled for me before even watching the first episode, with major twists, turns, and even footage of🦩 the ending appearing on TikTok on the day of rel🐬ease.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Scott Pilgrim Takes Off creator Ben David Grabinski ahead of Fallout’s launch, bemoaning the strategy o꧙f releasing an entire series at once instead of a weekly release sched🔯ule currently being taken by other animated shows like X-Men ‘97.

Binging Shows Like Fallout Isn’t Always A Good Thing

I’m of two minds about this perspective. I’ve had wonderful experiences binging TV shows in the past, either with friends and loved ones or fandoms who eagerly anticipated a full season of something they’ve already fallen in love with. I took a day off work when She-Ra launched its final season, preparing myself for the Catradora confession that was definitely going t🐠o be happening.

Whether it was message threads or entire discord servers, we made this release into an event I still remember so 𒀰fondly, especially because press weren’t granted access to the final two episodes ahead of launch, ensuring that everyone experienced the confession t🐻ogether at the same time.

It was a magical exꦦperience, and one that speaks to how shows can be released in the streaming era and still attract worthwhile communities and discussion. But She-Ra is an exception, with creator ND Stevenson stating it was pitched as a complete 52 episode story from the very beginning.

More often than not, though, it takes away from the whole. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Last of Us wouldn’t have had nearly the same impact if HBO dropped all the episodes and walked away. Every week it became an event, with reactions from friends and colleagues combining with those on social media𝔉 to make the viewing experience that much more memorable. Bill and Frank’s brilliant love story wouldn’t have been given time to shine if that were the case, nor would its myriad standout moments which adapt the video game while also diverting away from it.

Weekly Episodes Deepen Our Relationships With The Shows We Love

The forced slow ramp up allowed The Last of Us to become an event in and of itself, and its staying power has been stronger as a consequence. With Fallout, now it’s out in the wild, I expect it to fade from our minds far quicker as we come to demand another season in a matter of weeks, because there’s nothing more to wait for. Binge culture has made us expect more and more in short𝐆er spaces of time, thanks to how immediately we can access entertainment at any given time on the majority of our devices. The idea of having to wait a week for another episode of television is now considered archaic.

But it was the norm for decades because it works, both in retaining vi❀ewers and creating a fandom which develops over time, maturing with the show and allowing it to shift or change each week. Fallout isn’t allowed that privilege, and has emerged into the world fully formed with little room for evolution. There is no time to discuss potential narrative directions or the development of characters, because everything is served up on a plate right away. Some of the greatest pleasures of modern media is having those discussions, with each 🐎new episode becoming a point of excitement in our schedules to look forward to.

Close-Up of main protagonist Vi from Arcane with her fist gauntlets raised, ready for a fight.

There are also hybrid approaches to binging and traditional release models, such as Arcane, which released the three individual acts of its first season in the same numb𝔍er of weeks. The show builds its narrative around major cliffhangers, giving fans a reason to tune in and plenty of time to ruminate on what could happen, developing deep infatuations for characters like Vi, Jinx, and Caitlyn and how exactly they might deviateಞ from their video game counterparts.

Chances are the second season will follow in its footsteps, becoming an event that plays out over the course of a month with the hype and anticipation one expects from a production like this. It deserves to be more than a flash in the pan, a fate many streaming shows are locked i♑nto.

Weekly releases can help rise above the idea that streaming originals are shallow products which are thrown onto services and forced to attract massive audiences in mere weeks or risk cancellation. This release model goes against tried-and-tested methods which have proven to build audiences in the past, especially if🦹 your show is a slow bu🦹rn in need of time to reach its full potential.

Sadly, so many aren’t even given that chance anymore, and only the biggest fish in the pond have a chance at prolonged success. It isn’t fair, not to mention the agency it takes away from creators who spent months and years on these shows, only to see them all shared in their entir𓄧ety with no room for nuance. It isn’t how media should be consumed, and has proven to cheapen the personal connection we’ve come to form with stor♓ytelling.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Owl House wouldn’t have been the same if I hadn’t followed it week after week, with my coverage at TheGamer helping build a community unto itself which includes creative talents who worked on the show, fans, and so many others who w🔜ere all on the same adventure. If something like this was dumped onto Disney+ without a second thought, it would be fighting a losing battle, one which wouldn’t naturally evolve with each new episode helping to build characters and ideas into something beautifully rewarding.

Fallout could have achieved this too, but opted for a release which puts immediate returns above long🍷-term rewards, and I’d hate to see it fade away so quickly when the show itself is otherwise a huge achievement.