#kyle rant

THEN BOOM 10PM HITS

Around junior year, I began to obsess over making the collection smaller, and only comprise of some of my absolute favorite movies/shows. I also came up with all sorts of criteria for adding a new title to the collection.

It’s now gotten to the point that whenever I get upset, anxious, or sad about something, my brain jumps to thinking of what title I now have to get rid of. I’m sure there’s some specific psychological explanation for that, but I don’t feel like exploring it just now.

What is interesting, and kind of sad, is that the latest titles I plan to get rid of are Serenity and The Avengers. Because a) I don’t rewatch them very much, despite my love for both movies, b) I feel guilty for being unemployed, even though I just had a successful interview to drive for Lyft, and c) because it is strangely freeing to get rid of titles from my collection. It’s the whole “having less possessions” thing.

I also realized how much I’d been deluding myself about Avengers: Age of Ultron. I still maintain it is a good movie, but I recently realized how much I’d been deliberately ignoring its problems.

If I’m going to own a movie or show, I need to own it because I will rewatch it, or show it to others, or never get tired of revisiting it. My collection should have titles that I feel like are my favorite movies, which may coincidentally be some popular movies. I feel like I mainly bought The Avengers because it’s popular, and from feeling almost obligated to own a lot of Whedon titles.

So I'm sitting in my bedroom, reading the latest issue of Angel & Faith. After I finish it, I think to myself "hmm, ok not bad". And then I remember what some of the previous comic seasons of the Buffyverse have made me think. Some of them have been "holy shit this is good". But a lot of it has been "hmm, ok not bad". The comics are well-written (for the most part, Buffy Season 9 not included), and there has never been a moment where the characters have been written wrongly or developed bad. But I've realized that I'm still reading the comics out of habit more than interest in what happens next.

The same goes with watching Supernatural. There have been a grand total of two episodes this season that I have completely liked. But I've watched all of them. Not out of interest; out of habit. I was originally going to stop at Season 5, but was persuaded to continue. And Seasons 6 and 7, with all their faults, were still pretty engaging (more-so 6 than 7, but still). And while 8 started rather badly, it turned into one of the strongest season storylines the show had had in a while. But after the season 8 finale, Supernatural just hasn't been very interesting. And dear god that backdoor pilot episode. I didn't like it at all.

Community started out great this season, but I didn't like the season finale because it honestly felt too ridiculous. Even for this show, whose ridiculousness I adore. It just was too much for some reason. And I felt no dramatic satisfaction at the end of the season, unlike with seasons 1-3. So when I found out it had been cancelled, I felt bad, but didn't mind as much because I wasn't left wanting more. I was left wanting something else.

The point I'm trying to make here, out of all this rambling, is this: all stories need to end. At least for me. Because without an ending, what's the point? What's everything building to? Yes, we get to spend years with characters on TV or in comics, but I need a resolution for a story once I've started it. That's why most of what I watch or read tends to be serialized. That's why part of the reason I had faith Hannibal would be great before it started airing (besides Bryan Fuller's involvement, of course) was that there was a specific timeline already planned for the show. There's an ending, or idea of an ending, for the show. And I just need that end.

If I had stopped watching Supernatural at Season 5, I would have been a little frustrated with the Sam cliffhanger at the end, and missed a few good episodes, but it would have been a very satisfying end to the series for me.

If I had stopped watching Community at Season 3, which I did because I assumed Harmon was gone forever, I would have been sad, but satisfied. Season 5 has had some of the show's best moments, but the ending was very unsatisfying to me.

Doctor Who is a show that will go on for as long as it can, but it, to me, has endings for each of its Doctors, and good ones (yes, I include Time of the Doctor, I like Moffat's writing, sue me, I'm done caring). Nine got an ending. Ten got an ending. Eleven got an ending. It's a unique show that constantly changes into a new show whenever its lead actor changes, and I love that because it keeps things new and interesting.

After a while, maybe 6 or 7 seasons, shows seem to just run out of ideas, and rehash old storylines or character developments. But they continue on because they're successful.

Reading the Buffy comics, I'm not sure I would have stayed with the show after Season 9 (basically it had great moments and story ideas, but I really disliked the way it was written).

I've basically given up on Supernatural, and after this season I'm quitting it.

With the shows I'm currently watching, I know that Game of Thrones will have an ending, I know that Mad Men is ending, I hope that Orphan Black has an endgame plan, and I'm fairly certain Parks and Recreation is ending next season with one of the best timejumps I've seen since Battlestar Galactica as its hook (I did say spoilers). I also hope that Once Upon a Time gets an ending within the next few years. It's on fire creatively right now, and that's great, but I hope the writers learn that it deserves an end like Lost did.

Steven Moffat, in response to a fan asking if he can be gentle with Eleven’s death (x)