With 44 million subscribers around the world, Netflix is a television and movie streaming empire. Ask anyone on any college campus, and I’ll bet my firstborn son that they watch it themselves, or have at least heard of it. With the plethora of television shows and movies to watch, finding something that sparks your interest is not hard. However, amidst all of the excitement of watching a certain show, I realized something very concerning: I have never finished a single Netflix series.
Now, believe me, I have watched my fair share of Netflix shows. I’ve binged on everything from "Parks & Recreation," "Lost," "Gossip Girl," and "The Office" to "House Hunters International," "Diners Drive Ins and Dives," "American Horror Story," and "Dance Moms." As much as I love these shows, I never finish them. I know what you’re thinking: “This girl is nuts! That's not how this works! She needs to be put in an insane asylum and locked away! Is there Netflix rehab for this kind of thing?”
When I tell my friends that, no, I did not see Chuck and Blair get married at the end of "Gossip Girl" and, no, I did not see the series finale of "How I Met Your Mother," I get mixed reactions. Some audibly gasp and then proceed to lecture me on how I need to watch the last episode/episodes. Others say, “Well I don’t blame you, the end wasn’t that good anyway.” This is exactly what keeps me from finishing a series. For shows that follow a more specific storyline like "Lost" and "Gossip Girl," the end of the series means the definite end. These shows are no longer on TV, so it’s not like I can finish the series that Netflix has available and then continue to watch it on TV at my leisure. What’s on Netflix is all that there is.
This always made me sad, knowing that if I finished "Lost" or "Parks," there would be nothing left to watch. Another part of me also is afraid to finish the series. Questions arise like, “What if the finale leaves questions remaining?” or, “What if the finale sucks? Then I’ll just be disappointed.” These thoughts are probably the primary reason why I have never finished a series. Sure, I’m curious to see/hear about what happens, but my fear and sadness of the show being over ultimately overrides my curiosity. I started "Lost" my Sophomore year of high school, and it took me over two years to finally start season six, the final season. Even then, I couldn’t bring myself to watch the remaining finale episodes. Sure, they looked good, and probably wrapped the entire series up nicely, but I knew that there would be nothing left to watch if I finished it. My high school senior self couldn’t handle the absence of Jack Shephard, that’s for sure. I leave these last few episodes remaining just to convince myself that the show isn’t over. If I haven’t finished the series, it’s not over, right? Plus, if I ever decide to go back and finish the plethora of shows I left (sadly I doubt this is going to happen), I would have a couple remaining episodes to watch.
Now, with the more “silly” shows that don’t follow an exact “storyline,” like "House Hunters" and "Triple D," I leave these episodes remaining because I want to stretch them out for as long as possible. Who wouldn’t want to see sassy couples arguing over a fixer-upper, or the beloved Guy Fieri with his trademark spiked hair and button-downs? These shows provide endless entertainment, and seeing them come to their Netflix-end would be heartbreaking. Once I get close enough to the end, I find something else to watch.
This vicious cycle of watching, not finishing, and then watching again is probably frowned upon by the true Netflix connoisseur. However, finishing my shows would just be too sad for me to bear. In the TV world, there is room for much disappointment and confusion in the final episodes. Do I want to experience this? Most definitely not. Sure, there are some shows that (I’ve heard) have great finales, but I do not want to start them and see them come to an end.
As the wise prophet Nelly Furtado once said, “All good things come to an end.” Do I believe this? Sure. Good, even great, things can’t last forever.
Do I want to believe this? Definitely not.
