Carissa's Corner: Why Spoilers Are Bad, This Is Us Misstep & More

Hey you guys, welcome to Carissa's Corner.

What is it? It's a place to chat about what's rolling around this crazy brain of mine. Once upon a time, I covered anywhere from five to seven shows a week on TV Fanatic. Now that my role is different, it's rather stifling.

I miss talking to you, fellow TV Fanatics, so this will be our place to chat. I'll tell you what's on my mind, and when I open the floor to you, you can respond or throw completely new topics my way. OK? OK. Let's get started.

One of the joys of my position is I get to choose what shows I want to cover. It's all on me. It's ridiculously thrilling. That's why I cover so many shows that aren't very popular. They're very good, but not the biggest shows on the site.

It used to be exciting to imagine finding out as much as I could about a show before it aired and maybe even have a leg up on everybody else. Way back when I was a huge fan of Watch with Wanda. Do any of you remember that E! column?

Wanda was actually Kristin (dos Santos) and she did a live Q&A session online every week that became a column. I'd sit there waiting to ask questions about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and whatever else was airing at the time. I needed to know what was happening!!

I was starving for spoilers. That trait continued until recently. I always wanted to know what was coming. It never bothered me.

Being an editor means if I don't have screener access, pretty much everything I don't cover or watch live is spoiled. It's hard to watch TV and edit at the same time. So when I sit down to watch a show, I almost always know what has happened before I press play.

Covering a show myself, though, means I get to see it first. I have control over what I see and read. And guess what? I've become a spoilerphobe. I don't even want to watch the previews for an upcoming episode anymore because too much can be revealed and ruin the experience of watching it whole.

The very worst is when a preview is edited, shifting the contents of what's going to air as if to make it look like something else entirely is going to take place.

That can alter your perception of what's to come in such a gross way that you go into what will otherwise be an incredible experience with a huge chip on your shoulder. Whether it's for the false plotline you're imagining or for the behind the scenes folks who created the nonsense, why put yourself through that?

Counterpart and Channel Zero are two completely different shows, but both are executed beautifully. The more you know, the less enjoyable the experience is in the moment. There are so many cunning reveals and shocks, whether emotional or visual, that to sully them with an imprint before their time seems wrong.

I was also lucky enough to have seen the first five episodes of Krypton recently after keeping myself completely spoiler free. It was incredibly satisfying and so much fun to watch. But I took a moment afterward to see what has already been revealed to the audience. You know what? It's too much.

Think about the recent death of Carl on The Walking Dead. Was that a death that struck your heart and had you sobbing uncontrollably? Would it have been better if there wasn't so much press about it beforehand? I sure think so.

What about Jon Snow on Game of Thrones. If we didn't all know he was coming back to life after he died, wouldn't the resurrection have had more meaning? For a show that tries as hard as they do to quell spoilers, you can watch an entire season knowing scene after scene, and you barely have to search for it.

On the other hand, I don't recall a single word being tossed around about Allison dying on Teen Wolf, and when she did, I was a puddle. The more unexpected something is, the more of an impact a moment has on us as viewers.

I'm over them. I don't want to know what's coming anymore.

What about you? Are you into spoilers or would you rather sit back and soak in the moment? What was the worst spoiler you ever experienced without wanting it? Mine was the death of Will on The Good Wife. I didn't watch live because of football and waited too long to start it, seeing his death all over Twitter.

This Is Us is one of my favorite shows, but when episodes get wasted, I'm not pleased.

This Is Us Season 2 Episode 17, the penultimate episode of the second season, wasn't warranted at this time. Not by this viewer, anyway. We've already focused quite a bit on Deja, and knowing what we did of her already, there wasn't much of her story that was news.

Coming at the expense of characters who we knew less than Deja, I'm calling foul. We still know relatively nothing about Rebecca before meeting Jack. We know less than nothing about Miguel outside of Jack and Rebecca, and if there's ever been a character who needed the boost, it's Miguel.

Beth is one of the most beloved characters on the series, but other than hearing of her family members and knowing she met Randall in college, we have squat. The same goes for Toby. We learned he has a brother, but many still dislike him for reasons unknown.

This Is Us is continuing with 18 episodes to keep the story tight, but there are more characters in need of story than on any other show I can think of off the top of my head. They are characters who deserve insight and a rich history, but with a cast of this size, they are suffering as seasons roll on and new characters are introduced.

The storytelling vehicle of "This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life" was also weird. With all the shots of the Pearsons intercut, were we to be associating Deja's life with the Pearsons? Was it a heavy-handed way to say her life is no different or she no less worthy of happiness than any of them?

As Deja has been a treat since she first arrived and most fans were rooting for her mother to clean up her act so she could remain in Deja's life, it was a bit much, especially this late in the game.

Weigh in, you guys. I miss talking to you all about This Is Us, and Lizzy and I couldn't have opinions on the show farther apart if we tried!

Speaking of differing opinions, I am enjoying every moment of 9-1-1, so much so that it's one of the highlights of my week.

I've made a point to watch it live (and again later if I can't pay attention) because it's such a good time. For a little more understanding, I would love to do what Abby does and cannot get enough of true crime, so everything about it appeals to me.

It's especially fun trying to see if I can remember where I've seen a story on which a particular call might be based.

That's not to say I think the show is based in the real world. Buck is a bizarre young man, and Bobby should be in prison for what he did in that apartment building. But I cannot get enough of the show. It's like all the best action scenes from the Chicago universe jammed into one hour without the lurid drama.

They've decided against the soap opera element and made even the worst moments of the lives of their characters less dramatic than you'd expect. Considering their job is to deal with the drama of others all day long, it's the perfect tonal adjustment.

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Alright fellow TV Fanatics, it's your turn to spill your guts about TV. Whether you want to weigh in on spoilers, This Is Us, 9-1-1 or anything else past, present, or future, lay it on me!

Jump into the comments and have your say. What's up with you? How have you been? Is anything on your mind? Let's talk about it.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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