This definitely happened to me when the last season of Stranger Things was on air. I'd watch hours of fan theories on tiktok between episodes and then be disappointed by the actual plot twists. I will be giving a wide berth to the fan theories when the next one comes out.
Omg yes thank you! I am very much a fandom person (former fic writer and all) but I've had to step back from online communities because I genuinely think they're ruining things for themselves. I have never enjoyed Taylor's music more than when I was 13 and had no idea who she was singing about, I haven't ruined book releases for myself because exactly what I wanted to happen didn't happen. I might have some headcannons but not to the point of being upset if they're proved wrong and I am so much happier for it
oh my gosh my friends predict things, tell me the predictions and i feel like that throws off the the whole experience, i love being shocked and just suddenly overtaken by emotion so i don't bother predicting what's gonna happen next, this post worded it perfectly
“There’s a fine line, though, between enjoying the ride of a thriller-style narrative, and thinking so much about it that you’ve actually ruined the entire experience of, y’know, finding out new information as it is presented to you in the narrative. As is the tradition of, like, all stories in history.
I’m not talking about spoilers here. I’m talking about developing such intricate ideas in your mind (often egged on by fellow superfans) as to where the plot is going to go next — based on not a whole lot more than some blurry screenshots, throwaway dialogue and a prayer to Ben Stiller — that if the story doesn’t pan out that way, you get disappointed.”
I think this is extremely accurate. My prime example would be “Lost”, the TV Show with maybe the most hated ending of all time. Fans got into all the theories so hard they came up with more questions than the creators had left open anyways. They were bound for disappointment. There are entire essays exploring this in the TV Series science field (an excellent rabbit hole to fall into!!). The Show was a novum in so many ways but the fan theories went crazy for it. I honestly do not want to imagine what it would have been like if people back then had had Social Media.
I used to love Doctor Who and there were three special episodes going to be released for the shows 60th anniversary. In the trailer, two of these episodes made up the majority and then the third only had one clip. Fan theories went wild, wondering why the showrunner was hiding scenes from that episode; they thought characters were returning or something crazy was going to happen but it turned out that the writer just wanted to keep the episode secret because it was the only one recorded indoors so there had been no way that anyone had seen spoilers for it. He just wanted it to be a completely unspoilt episode for the viewers which didn’t work because the fans spoilt it in a different way. I was then so disappointed when I saw the episode because something crazy didn’t happen.. even though nothing crazy had been promised. Ever since then I’ve decided to be a fan offline, I don’t want any theories or any spoilers. I just want to watch it as God (aka the writers) intended
This is why I prefer writing fanfiction over watching fan theories. I get to indulge in the version of the story in my imagination and the actual show gets to continue as it's going to.
This definitely happened to me when the last season of Stranger Things was on air. I'd watch hours of fan theories on tiktok between episodes and then be disappointed by the actual plot twists. I will be giving a wide berth to the fan theories when the next one comes out.
Oh hey! Love to see Eillish and Shameless here what a sweet surprise! Obsessed with their podcasts 🫶🏻
Omg yes thank you! I am very much a fandom person (former fic writer and all) but I've had to step back from online communities because I genuinely think they're ruining things for themselves. I have never enjoyed Taylor's music more than when I was 13 and had no idea who she was singing about, I haven't ruined book releases for myself because exactly what I wanted to happen didn't happen. I might have some headcannons but not to the point of being upset if they're proved wrong and I am so much happier for it
AH yes i needed someone to talk about this! 🫠
oh my gosh my friends predict things, tell me the predictions and i feel like that throws off the the whole experience, i love being shocked and just suddenly overtaken by emotion so i don't bother predicting what's gonna happen next, this post worded it perfectly
“There’s a fine line, though, between enjoying the ride of a thriller-style narrative, and thinking so much about it that you’ve actually ruined the entire experience of, y’know, finding out new information as it is presented to you in the narrative. As is the tradition of, like, all stories in history.
I’m not talking about spoilers here. I’m talking about developing such intricate ideas in your mind (often egged on by fellow superfans) as to where the plot is going to go next — based on not a whole lot more than some blurry screenshots, throwaway dialogue and a prayer to Ben Stiller — that if the story doesn’t pan out that way, you get disappointed.”
I think this is extremely accurate. My prime example would be “Lost”, the TV Show with maybe the most hated ending of all time. Fans got into all the theories so hard they came up with more questions than the creators had left open anyways. They were bound for disappointment. There are entire essays exploring this in the TV Series science field (an excellent rabbit hole to fall into!!). The Show was a novum in so many ways but the fan theories went crazy for it. I honestly do not want to imagine what it would have been like if people back then had had Social Media.
But, but...🥹
I used to love Doctor Who and there were three special episodes going to be released for the shows 60th anniversary. In the trailer, two of these episodes made up the majority and then the third only had one clip. Fan theories went wild, wondering why the showrunner was hiding scenes from that episode; they thought characters were returning or something crazy was going to happen but it turned out that the writer just wanted to keep the episode secret because it was the only one recorded indoors so there had been no way that anyone had seen spoilers for it. He just wanted it to be a completely unspoilt episode for the viewers which didn’t work because the fans spoilt it in a different way. I was then so disappointed when I saw the episode because something crazy didn’t happen.. even though nothing crazy had been promised. Ever since then I’ve decided to be a fan offline, I don’t want any theories or any spoilers. I just want to watch it as God (aka the writers) intended
This is why I prefer writing fanfiction over watching fan theories. I get to indulge in the version of the story in my imagination and the actual show gets to continue as it's going to.