Somewhere between the mushroom-induced almost-orgy on Yellowjackets, two Peloton-aided deaths on different shows and the latest drug party on Euphoria, we had an epiphany: There is not enough fluff on TV these days.
As of late, the comfort that our favorite series used to provide has slowly been replaced by an unexpected anxious feeling that has us hovering over the play bar on Netflix to see what is coming up in the next scene, like a monster waiting just around the corner. When did TV turn into our enemy?
Of course, dreading the unknown and grappling with feeling out of control is nothing new, especially since COVID-19 entered our lives in early 2020. Quarantine may have given us more time to dedicate to streaming without FOMO or guilt, but lately, even our safe space has felt more like a panic room.
Take, for example, Showtime’s teen trauma-drama Yellowjackets, which we were, to put it mildly, obsessed with like so many others. But as the episodes continued, our sense of anxiety heightened to the point where we were pulling a Harry Burns and watching the last scene first to alleviate the self-imposed tension.
