“I hate that guy.” “Keep going.”
“I feel like this plot line is really going to pay off.” “Keep going.”
“Does it pick up?” “Keep going.”
Are there any two words as encouraging and as frustrating? Certainly not when it’s in the midst of catching up on a show your friend recommended.
Of course, it depends on how much the person plays their hand. A “I think Sheilah is the killer” met with a “just you wait”—depending on the circumstances—can indicate fairly clearly whether you’re right or wrong.
Even as it gives the indication that you’ve stumbled on the same boat a friend was once in, it can feel dismissive in the way hindsight often is. Just because a plot line pays off doesn’t mean it was done right in the moment. The 100 received a whole lot of discussion and outrage over their decision to kill off Lexa immediately after she finally consummated her relationship with Clarke in just the latest “Kill Your Gays” chapter. Many fans were angry that our goodbye to Lexa was a random mishap, not even intended for Lexa at all. Bringing her back later on to go out in a blaze of glory (sort of) doesn’t negate the initial emotional charge of her initial death, even if it may lessen the sting a bit.
But they are, perhaps, the fine line someone can walk when trying to have a conversation with a friend about a TV show they’re hoping to discuss without spoilers. I tend to be a bit cagier about my spoiler intake, but “keep going” feels like heartening; like you’re pulling at a thread of a future conversation of a theme your friend also noticed. Instead of shutting down conversation you’re just moving it forward, earmarking a thought for the future.
I’m all for spoiler warnings and avoiding knowing the plot ahead of time before movies (if that’s what you want, I don’t really see the harm in reasonably facilitating that for yourself). But too often it seems producers just straight up lie in order to avoid—what, controversy? Discussion? All they’re really doing is hoping the can is kicked far enough down the road that viewers will be more sympathetic, or at least understanding, of the artistic junket choices they made. But in my experiences no one likes feeling conned. And when these experiences don’t pay off artistically it makes it all the worse. It’s too simple to say that witholding information like this should enhance a viewing experience not dampen it, because that’s probably what creators thought they were doing with Talia and Khan.
Zosha Millman 