We’ve all been there before. You start hearing a name over and over. You keep listening to your friends and they tell you about how funny he/she is or how clever or just how overall great he/she is. You show a little interest and suddenly they want you to go out with this person. Sound familiar? How about like this…”Did you hear about this show? This show is so funny and clever and just an overall great show. You NEED to watch it.” So you decide to do it. Season 1, Episode 1, the first date with your newest obsession.

You start by watching the first few episodes and you get to know the show. You learn the character’s names and maybe some catch phrases or tendencies they have. You start to get a connection to the show. You are infatuated with this show and you need more. You’re not invested in it just yet, but it has your attention and you definitely want to see where this is going, so you keep watching.

After binge watching and not leaving your bed for a day or two, you’re done all of season one and you are onto the next season. You keep learning about the show and its characters, but you now have a pretty good grasp on how things go. You watch and a character pulls a prank and you smile or maybe even giggle and say in your head (or out loud I don’t judge) “OMG, that is such a (insert character’s name) thing to do.” It just keeps getting better and you can’t imagine not knowing what’s going to happen next. You decide this is it. This isn’t just a fling, this is the real deal and you are now committed to this show.

You keep watching the rest of the seasons. You learn almost everything about the characters and about the place where they live and their jobs. You know their hobbies, you know about their families. You start talking like you live with them and like you guys interact with each other on a daily basis, because, well, you kind of do. You start to see the good, bad and the ugly. Overall, you start to get comfortable. You’re not glued to the screen anymore and might seem a little distracted by your phone or things going on around you, but you’re still watching and know what’s going on. You might even hit that patch where nothing exciting is going on and you think about giving up, but then you remember how far you’ve come and you can’t just give up on something you have invested so much of yourself into because of a little bit of lackluster. Of course there are still good times though. Maybe that character that pulled that prank in season one pulls another one and it reminds you why you fell so in love with that show to begin with.

Suddenly, without any warning it’s here. The moment you’ve been waiting for and probably dreading at the same time. It’s the series finale. It’s time for this affair to come to an end. You watch and you feel so many things. This show has sent you on the most amazing, mind-blowing, yet satisfying roller coaster or emotions. No matter if the ending was shocking or if it gave you a sense of contentment, you still love that show and everything it gave you. That show taught you things and you learned lessons that you might use for a lifetime. Yes, it is sad that it’s over and you might feel a little lost with this part of your life gone, but there’s a sort of fulfillment the ending of these things give you.

The next move is your choice. If you feel like you need a break from all of your emotions and want to take a break from the commitment of a full series and maybe want to go for the quick pleasure of a movie instead, go for it. If you are ready to jump right back in and take on another commitment of another show more power to you. There’s plenty of fish in the Netflix Sea.