With the creation of Netflix and Hulu's online streaming services came an incredible phenomenon: the ability to binge watch hours of great TV shows. All it takes is an open laptop, an open heart, and the touch of a button to be swept up in a world of drama, comedy, suspense, and romance. The best part of this is when these TV shows we all know and love are hundreds of episodes long. We fall in love with the characters and all of their quirks, and we almost feel like we know them.
But then, something terrible happens.
One day, you're starting episode 1 of season 1, wondering how much you'll actually like this show, and then someday, you heartbreakingly realize you just finished the last episode of the last season.
Then what?
After devastatingly finishing One Tree Hill this past week, I've gone through a mini rollercoaster of emotions which comes with the end of any beloved show. Here's a look inside my brain since I said goodbye to my favorite show:
1. Shock
Wait, what? That's it? There's no more episodes left? I don't understand.
2. Denial
There's no way I just finished it, right? How could I have possibly run out of episodes? I immediately felt myself impulsively going to click on the next episode as soon as the series finale ended, only to remember that it's over.
3. Show Hole
Popularized by the Amazon Fire TV commercial, a show hole occurs post-finale when you have no idea how to fill your new found free time and find yourself incredibly bored. I mean, sure, I could try to start another show. But it just won't be the same... boredom it is.
4. The Impulse Returns
Hey, I know what I can do to stop being so bored!! I can go watch the next episode of...oh wait. I can't do that anymore.
5. Starting Over
Eventually, the realization hits that nothing can replace the void in my heart like my favorite fictional friends. So it's time to start all over and binge watch from episode 1 once more. Great decision!
So if you need me in the next few months or so, I'll be watching OTH all over again from the beginning. But first, I gotta prepare myself for the emotional roller coaster I'll be enduring a second time.
