Pro tip: stop skipping the first episode just because it's slow

I used to always skip the first episode of a new show because I figured I could catch up later. For years I did this with every series, jumping straight into episode 2 or 3. Then last month I started watching this crime drama called The Missing and skipped right to episode 2. By episode 5 I was totally lost on a character's backstory and had to look it up online. That's when I realized I was missing all the setup and tone that makes a show click. Now I force myself to watch every pilot all the way through, even if it's boring for the first 20 minutes. Has anyone else had a binge ruined by skipping the opening episode like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

joel_jones27d ago

Yeah the setup really matters. I learned that one the hard way too.

elizabethmason26d ago

Oh, absolutely, the school of hard knocks for binge-watchers. My own personal moment of shame was with a show called The Expanse - skipped the first episode because a friend said it was slow, and then spent the next three episodes wondering why everyone kept talking about this mysterious protomolecule like it was the second coming. Looked it up online and felt like a fool when I realized the entire first episode was basically a long, slow explanation of what the thing even was. Now I treat pilot episodes like vegetables - I just choke them down for the good of the meal.

spencer_owens5827d ago

Hasn't everyone learned this the hard way at some point? I started doing the same thing with The Witcher and by episode 4 I had no clue why certain characters even hated each other. @joel_jones is right, the setup is everything these writers spend the first hour building. Now I make myself watch the first 15 minutes at least, and if it still drags I just put my phone away and focus harder.