I could not tell you exactly when or how it started, to this day I still do not know. It’s like one day I opened my eyes and I was three seasons and four episodes into a show I felt like I had just started a week ago. Oh, that is because I did start it a week ago.
It is actually pretty funny because my mom has had a Netflix account since I was in the sixth grade and sometime during my first year of college, I figured out that you could watch an entire series on this one website. Now it feels like Netflix has infiltrated our society and daily lives to the point where a lot of the conversations I have with people are about these fictional series I am so infatuated with. I do not know if it is a good or a bad thing, but my name is Abby and I am a Netflix binge watcher.
The binging started off slowly. I started with the queen bee of all shows: "Gossip Girl." The drama, the romance, the lifestyle; I was obsessed from the pilot. This series is six seasons long, and I got through it in a little less than three months. That’s pretty average, right? Then, the binging slowly escalated. I got through Dexter (an eight season series) in four months. Now it is to the point where I can finish an eleven season series (YES, ELEVEN) in around three months.
This binge watching has gotten so ridiculous that when I get asked to do something and I am in the middle of an episode, I sometimes make up an excuse that seems legitimate instead of what I really should say, which is: “Sorry, Blaire got to the Empire State Building late and Chuck was not there, Dan kissed Vanessa, and Jenny is going in a crazy downward spiral, so, no I cannot go get Porch Light Pizza with you right now”.
I get so attached to these characters in these shows that I feel like I am in the show myself. It may seem a tad dramatic to those around me when all I talk about the latest drama in my TV show of the month, but I swear I am actually on the pay roll. When someone dies, I cry real tears; when a season ends on the cliff hanger and the next season is not on Netflix for a month, it is the end of the world. When my favorite couple breaks up, I need a box of chocolates and tissues because it’s happening to me as well, OK?
Being the Netflix binge watcher that I am, I am completely OK with getting home from class at three, plopping down on the couch outside my room, and watching my show for eight hours straight, only getting up to pee, refill my water bottle, and eat dinner at five. Is it normal that Netflix is the thing that I look forward to, that helps me get through the day? Probably not, but I have no shame.
In my time of being a Netflix binge watcher, I have completed over 10 series and have loved every minute of it. Since I have been rambling on about my binge watching tendencies, I would like to give an example of how these shows take over my existence, and I have the perfect example to give. I would like to introduce the sweet, sweet hell that is "Grey's Anatomy." I know that most of the Netflix population has already watched this show, but for those that have not, this show will ruin your life in an up and down roller coaster of emotions. Here are three reasons why:
- "Grey's Anatomy" is eleven seasons long with about twenty plus episodes in each season, so you can imagine the time that this show has to completely destroy who you are.
- This show gets you so attached to the main characters you think that you, Meredith Grey and Christina Yang are the three best friends that anyone could have.
- The show will kill off the characters in a dramatic and traumatizing way that leaves you scarred for life. Just to give those that have not seen the show an idea of this, there is only five out of 12 of the original cast left in season. 12 not including the ones that came in late. Yeah, earth shattering I know.
- I have two words for you: Shonda Rhimes. Shonda is the creator and writer of our beloved "Grey's Anatomy," and I don’t know if it is her job or if she just loves to set fire to our souls but she is very good at turning this show upside down for all of us dedicated fans (Cough Cough: Derek Shepard. Not over it, will never be over it).
I do not know why I put myself though this series after series, because once the series finale finally comes, it never seems to get easier to let go of my show.
Even though all I have been doing is complaining about how shows like Grey's Anatomy have ruined my life, they have also helped me in many ways, like reminding me what life should be like. Although these shows are fiction, the messages they relay to us are very applicable to reality.
I love the relationships I get to watch that remind me that true love and soulmates do exist, and that it isn’t just a fantasy. They show us that relationships have ups and downs and are not always perfect, but true love is always worth the fight. I get to see how true friendship can overcome any hardship thrown its way, and that family will always be by your side no matter how dysfunctional.
Binge watching these series' have reminded me of the good things in life that society sometimes makes me forget. It is nice to have these little reminders that life really can be everything you dream it to be.
My name is Abby, and I am a proud Netflix binge watcher.
