Spoilers are ruining The Walking Dead… And TV as we know it
By Nir Regev
Will any of you even be surprised when Glenn is alive this week? People these days are all too ready to ruin the show for themselves. Whatever happened to seething boiling outrage at some schmuck telling you the ending? Your head a cartoon tea kettle turning red, smoke rising from your ears Looney Tunes style. Now, not only do viewers not get angry anymore, they embrace it. They crave the gratification of knowing something before others, like there’s an award for it. The Spoiler Emmys.
In Wrestling terminology, they would call such fans ‘smart marks’, the ones who post videotaped show results and surprise wrestler debuts ahead of time. Today, everyone and their dog wants to be ‘smart marks’. Well look what it’s done to that industry, ratings once steady at 6s and 7s are now down to mid 2s and low 3s. Casuals aren’t tuning in. Why would they? They can read the cliff notes online. The cliff note generation can’t even wait a week for their favorite TV show to air.
I remember watching 24: Season 2, and it ended on a tremendous cliff hanger to one of the top 2 cast members. All you heard was a heart beat slowing down as the show shifted to the credits. The season ended on May 20th, 2003 and didn’t return till October 28th, 2003. The thought of searching for looted spoilers didn’t even cross my mind. When the moment came that 24 returned back on the air, the sense of anticipation couldn’t be more heightened. Could you even imagine people waiting two minutes these days because I can’t. From hilarious theories to straight up detective work on IMDB.com, viewers were thrilled at the prospect of discovering the answer first. What’s the reward? Destroying the surprise for yourself. Some bounty.
Walking Dead Greatness… Missed
The Walking Dead had one of its top 10 scenes on ‘Thank You’. There wasn’t even a moment to reflect on the gripping emotional power of the scene. A character we’ve been watching for six seasons, grown up with in many ways. Literally grabbed out of our lives. Snatched as we witness his demise, ourselves helpless bystanders. Merely watching but unable to do anything about it. All we can do is look, but we can’t jump into that universe. Similar in some ways to The Sopranos series finale with the show cutting to black. That’s it. We spent all that time, and now the story has come to an abrupt end. No closure, because in life there is no real closure.
The cinematography was first rate perfect, astoundingly brilliant. Glenn’s complete agony shared with the audience at home, the view of the ruthless walkers feasting, the confines of no escape. Yet, many viewers missed the point. Talking about figuratively rioting if one of their favorite characters didn’t come back to the show. Forget breaking the fourth wall, fans these days are in the whole house. Watching so much behind the scenes material it’s a wonder they can even become lost in a show’s universe.
Sure, the passing thought of Glenn surviving initially sparked before the Walkers dug into him, but it didn’t overtake the scene. I appreciated the performance and portrayal of it all. How many shows or movies can even pull you into their world to that point. How many make you feel anything at all? They achieved it. The cast and crew delivered their story flawlessly… And it meant something.
The character progression of Glenn, finally overtaxed. Physically overburdened with trying to help others, seeing his world crash down on him. If it wasn’t for Glenn’s personality, we might have never met Rick Grimes. Here he was again, this time misjudging. I was entirely expecting either Nicholas or Glenn to throw the other into the walker pit, as Shane would have done. The ‘Thank You’ moment took viewers entirely off guard, just think how difficult it is to accomplish that successfully. To deliver the unexpected? Most shows would have gone with a cookie cutter, ‘Glenn and Nicholas hop on over the fence to survive’ ending but not The Walking Dead.
Spoilers and their Price
Every spoiler, script leak, cast contract research is literally putting a nail in the entertainment industry. The whole concept of patience has withered away, a relic of olden eras. No mystique. Think back to when The Governor walked in out of nowhere in the Tyreese episode. How special of a moment was it? No warning, no leak. Think about Glenn not coming back next episode or even until a season or from now. You not knowing a thing about it, already accepting his loss. Then the character appears. The excitement and indescribable thrill of a return when you least expect it. Wouldn’t you enjoy that much more than a few sentences or memes on a Facebook status?
Viewers are resembling walkers these days, their arms out for the sweet aroma of spoilers. Cheat sheets. They can’t help themselves. They have spoileritis. Don’t you feel regret when the spoilers come true on television or at the theater? That rush of passion exchanged for an at best wide grin at being right. What happened to jaws dropping instead of spoiler smirks? It’s almost impossible to avoid in the modern era. Instead of an acquaintance at the office ‘accidentally’ spilling spoilers, now there’s social media. So everybody can post spoilers and ruin your perception of the episode simultaneously.
Next time you read spoilers. Post spoilers. Text spoilers. Publish spoilers. Call a friend to tell them spoilers… Remember you’re only ruining the show for yourself and others. Don’t do it, my friends!