Can we talk for a moment about spoilers?
It's something that really, truly drives me bananas when television shows, movies or books are spoiled for me. I take pop culture VERY seriously (especially my TV shows!). I dedicate a lot of time to watching and reading. I get invested in characters, their livelihoods and what will become of them. And so when a major plot point or storyline is totally spoiled for me, I take it personally.
Sunday night marked the mid-season finale of one of my favorite shows, The Walking Dead. As with most Sundays, Shaun and I are usually exhausted and the thought of settling in for an intense show (that usually keeps me up following a viewing because it gives me anxiety!), is just not that appealing. In fact, I didn't even realize that the show was airing when I crawled into bed around 10PM with my iPhone and flannel jammies.
So when I opened Facebook and saw a post from the OFFICIAL Walking Dead page that spoiled the death of a major character...well I was pretty bummed, to say the least. And then the more I thought about it, the more I was downright pissed off. And I wasn't the only one. The Internet basically freaked out and went crazy with angry fans who had seen this spoiler, just as the show ended, and before the show even aired on the west coast. AMC has since apologized, but I have news for you AMC...that just doesn't cut it.
I get that we live in a soon-to-be 2015 world where nothing is secret or sacred, there is no etiquette and stories run rampant on social media. I've had many a character death spoiled for me by 'friends' on Facebook (who were then immediately unfriended). After certain show airings, I know not to go onto social media so that I won't accidentally see something that I don't want to, should I not have watched my show just yet.
But for the official show page to spoil the ending (and death of a major character) within minutes of the east coast airing...it's just NOT OK. It's a fireable offense. I'm still really mad about this. Maybe I have too much time on my hands (probably).
Can we all just agree to respect the DVR? We have them for a reason. And maybe throw a bone to parents who can't stay awake on a Sunday night until 10PM? But who still pretend to have a life and find so much enjoyment in the simple pleasure of a serial TV drama after dear daughter has gone to sleep? Is it too much to ask to give me 24 hours to watch the show before blurting out the whole thing?!
Lesson learned, AMC. Lesson learned. I know they don't care that they have one less follower on their Facebook page among 32 million others, but I care. I'm a nerd and I love all the extra goodies that social media fan pages provide. I religiously read the Entertainment Weekly recaps and devour them with fervor. It's a shame that now I can't join in the fun.
With only 2 episodes left EVER of my beloved Sons of Anarchy, you can bet I will be on media blackout until I watch every last moment because that is a spoiler that I just won't recover from. And kudos to the SOA social media managers and to Kurt Sutter who have never posted a spoiler on their Facebook pages (even when I was 2 episodes behind, I never found out what had happened!) but always provide fun stuff to keep me engaged. Now that's how you get it done.
What do you think? Have you ever had plot points of a show, movie or book spoiled for you? How did you handle it?