when a series goes south
OK, kids, here's a small bit of oft-heard advice from someone who absolutely fucked up, made mistakes, and was miserable the whole time:
If a TV show/book series/media thingy stops meeting your expectations, WALK AWAY.
Not in a "oh, there was one thing I didn't like" situation, but in a "I've watched half a season and am disliking TPTB's choices and can only see it getting worse" kinda way. In a "the past couple books haven't been doing it for me and now I'm actively frustrated" way.
If you start noticing a trend of you not enjoying a thing you used to like, there is no harm in dropping it and moving on. You could save yourself a lot of heartache and ill-will.
I tried to stick with a show I used to love when it made a choice I hated and I spent a lot of time being angry, burning every bridge to fandom I had built, and destroying the goodwill I used to have. I was miserable and I made everyone around me miserable and in the end it was all for nothing. Eventually I discarded the coat of misery and animosity I'd wrapped myself in and moved on. It took me a long time to recover from it and learn to trust a show again and I lost a couple of years to that miasma. I regret it. A LOT. I wasn't accomplishing anything by yelling- even venting my frustration wasn't making me feel better- and I missed out on a lot of other things because of it and its aftermath. If I could go back in time, I'd just walk away.
That was about the only good lesson I learned from that experience. The next time I started to find a show disappointing, I stopped watching and stopped caring. I got ridiculed for "giving up so easily," which kinda hurt, but as time progressed I knew I'd made the right decision. The show kept getting worse (IMO) and I knew I'd have been unhappy if I'd tried to keep watching.
Same with a book series. It started feeling monotonous and I was hating how more and more of the "plot" seemed to be making the protagonist suffer. I stopped reading. A couple of books later, my favorite character was killed off to help increase the protag's self-flagellation and all I felt was relief. And maybe a bit of vindication.
You don't need to make everyone around you miserable, and if you yourself are feeling miserable, that's a good sign that your media of choice no longer suits your needs. There's no shame in letting go, and you may wind up healthier for it.
"Yeah, but what about-" No. The point of this isn't about finding exceptions, it's about listening to yourself. Trust your own judgement. If Thing no longer sparks joy, Thing can be set aside. And the best part of that is that Thing will still be there if you choose to go back, which is perfectly acceptable. Giving up something like a fandom doesn't have to be permanent; if you change enough (or the media changes enough) that you are in alignment again, by all means go back. Just don't force it. And don't consume something that's only going to make you sick.
