I have read some critical and even negative articles about Lucifer on reddit and here on tumblr. And some people really think that there is no point in saving lucifer causevthe show became worse. Bad plot, dull writing, stupid characters. Is Lucifer as it is worth to be prolonged?
...I mean. If someone thinks thereâs no point in saving the show, thereâs a real easy thing they can do about it. Itâs called find another hobby. Like, literally find somewhere else to hang out.
Hereâs the deal: If you hate the show, if you donât like the choices the creators of the show took, if you want Lucifer to remain canceled? Like. Leave. Itâs cool. The people who love the show and want it to succeed donât actually need you around.
When I see downers like this hanging around, this is what I think: these people want to feel justified âwhenâ the movement fails. They want to jump all over bad news and start crowing, âI told you so! I was right! I win! Iâm justified!â at the top of their lungs. Many are determined to be unhappy. Theyâre determined to be negative or critical. Maybe itâs because it makes them feel powerful (especially if they feel powerless because of circumstances in their own lives). Maybe they want the attention that being the squeaky wheel gets. Maybe bringing others down is how they deal with their own hurt, frustration, disappointment, fear, loneliness, or anger that has nothing at all to do with a TV show.
Since the Dawn of the Internet, the saying, âDonât feed the trolls,â has existed. These people may not even know theyâre being trolls. But engaging with people determined to be negative ultimately fuels them.
Does this mean you canât be critical of things you love? Of course not! But thereâs a difference between âI thought X because Y,â and âX SUCKS GOOD RIDDANCE. ANYONE WHO STILL LIKES IT SUCKS TOO.â
For example: Hi, my name is Tara, and I didnât hate season 3. I didnât dislike it. I didnât think it was a dumpster fire. I donât think the writers are incompetent. I donât think they fucked up or ruined the show. I donât think itâs their fault Fox canceled the show. Iâve spent a lot of time thinking about the psychological character arcs of the season and I truly believe the writers were aiming for something truly unique and subtle. I donât think they were deliberately messing with fans or even trying to pull some kind of will they/wonât they nonsense. Thatâs my opinion, based on my thoughts and observations. Also, I watch the show for the characters and their interactions and relationships; the procedural/mystery stuff is secondary and, for me, in most cases only relevant because of the way it fuels the characters.
I also think the season had pacing issues, wasnât as tightly plotted as the previous seasons, did a few things with characterization I probably would have done differently, and underutilized a villain that had enormous potential to bring a depth of evil not yet seen to the show, in part because his motivations shifted or were muddy. I think the negative fan reaction to certain elements was unfortunate and did the show (and itâs subtlety) no service; mostly, I do my best to avoid it.
Iâm never going to agree with people who thought the season was garbage. Despite its hiccups and flaws, the season engaged me. I never once considered skipping an episode. It remains the only television show Iâll watch live and sit through commercials for. Itâs the only tv show Iâll watch several times before the next episode airs. Because fandom isnât a dictatorship, people are free to disagree with me and I with them; however, I can choose not to engage with fans whose opinions bring me down, make me unhappy, or seem unrelentingly negative. No one is âbetterâ than anyone else in this situation. Thereâs no moral high ground. Itâs not a battle and no oneâs going to emerge victorious. This isnât Highlander. There can be more than one. Homogeneity of opinion is not and should be the goal of fandom experience.
No two people who watch an episode are going to have a moment-to-moment identical reaction. You will always be able to find people who agree with you and those who disagree with you; the key is really thinking about your personal opinion and trying to figure out why you have it or what has influenced it. For me, I am more interested in talking about and celebrating and analyzing all the things the show does well than focusing on the places where it broke down a bit.Â
