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The 'slow burn' excuse is overused for boring shows
I keep seeing people defend slow paced shows by calling them 'slow burns.' But there's a big difference between a story that builds tension and one that just drags. I made it through 8 episodes of that new Apple series before I realized nothing had actually happened yet. If you need 10 hours before a plot even starts, that's not a slow burn, that's bad pacing. Am I the only one who thinks we need to stop using that term for every show that moves at a crawl?
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reese_taylor699d agoTop Commenter
What shows actually pulled you in right away? For me, The Bear was a perfect slow burn because every episode felt like it mattered even when not much plot was happening. The characters and their struggles kept me hooked from the first scene. I think the key is having strong character work or tension even when the story is moving slow. If a show can't do that in the first 2 or 3 episodes, it's probably just boring.
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