Spoilers are the bane of many fans’ existence — and the lifeblood for many others. Depending on your point of view, spoilers can either ruin an epic twist in your favorite series, or tide you over through those interminable days, weeks, or months between episodes. They can detract from your enjoyment of a program or, as a recent article from Wired argues, increase it.
And they can create tense rifts between the spoilerphobes and spoilerhounds in a show’s fan base — especially as everyone’s definition for “what is a spoiler” is different, as is everyone’s idea of the timeframe for how long something remains a spoiler.
If you’re in the camp of those who either don’t care about spoilers or even actively seek them out, Netflix has a new website just for you. As for me, I do my best to avoid any and all spoilers for my favorite shows. I don’t mind vague references to things that are coming up; in fact, it’s nearly impossible to avoid those because I spend a lot of time reading entertainment news. However, I don’t like when a major plot twist or character death is given away without warning. I’ll be forever scarred by seeing a friend’s Facebook status update about the death of a certain Irish sheriff before the episode of Once Upon a Time I was missing had even finished airing.
The author of the Wired article argues that humans really don’t enjoy surprises or twists as much as we think we do, but I disagree. For me, a show is all about the journey, and every twist and surprise is an important part of that trip. I enjoy the feeling I get when a TV show takes me completely by surprise; so rarely do shows manage to accomplish it.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pulled it off last season, and I loved every minute of it. Then, the burden of spoiler-protection fell to me, as I had to go all summer without revealing (here comes that spoiler!) Agent Ward’s betrayal of S.H.I.E.L.D. to certain members of my family because they hadn’t finished the season. I recently re-watched that first season with a friend and, even though I enjoyed it just as much the second time around, I still appreciate the thrill I got from being surprised the first time. It just wouldn’t have been the same had I known what to expect.
Yes, not knowing what’s around the corner is naturally uncomfortable for a species built to survive. Being in the dark can be nerve-wracking at times, but when it comes to being entertained, I love that tension and suspense. I learned that lesson 15 years ago when I was accidentally spoiled on the ending of The Sixth Sense just days after it came out in theaters. I still lament the fact that I’ll never be able to see that film without knowing about the twist; I feel so deprived of that shock. I think that’s the moment when I really began avoiding spoilers as much as possible.
Whether you avoid spoilers or not, it’s important to try to at least have respect for any member of your fandom who has different views on the subject. But what constitutes a spoiler?
With such variation in definitions from person to person, we may as well turn to the crowdsourced Urban Dictionary, where the top definition of “spoiler” is: “When someone reveals a previously unknown aspect of something which you likely would have rather learned on your own.” By this definition, almost anything about a show you haven’t seen yet would qualify as a spoiler. I prefer to know as little information as possible about an episode that hasn’t aired yet, but there are certain things I don’t consider spoilers: previews for a new episode, casting announcements, and other promotional and logistical items. More specific details about an episode, such as whether someone dies or turns out to be a double agent, for example, qualify as spoilers in my book.
Of course, not everyone agrees with where I draw the line. I know fans who won’t even watch previews for upcoming episodes because they don’t want to know anything before they see the episode. Some show runners even agree with this harsh standard; Matthew Weiner is known for supplying AMC with such vague and disjointed episode previews for Mad Men that no one can glean any worthwhile information from that credits-sharing sequence. But it’s good to remember that not everyone is this strict. With so much variance, when you do accidentally come across spoilers, perhaps whoever posted the information did not consider their comment to be a spoiler.
One thing to keep in mind if you’re trying to avoid spoilers is that social media is a virtual minefield of spoilers. If you’re not going to watch the latest episode of The Walking Dead live but feel the need to check your Twitter feed, don’t be surprised if you glimpse something you’d rather not see.
If I know I’m going to be missing an episode of a show that I definitely wouldn’t want to find spoilers for, I avoid social media as much as possible. I even limit my online exposure during the few hours between the time Doctor Who airs in the United Kingdom and when I can watch it here in the United States.
On the flip side, if you know you have followers or friends who are behind, it’s only polite to avoid posting explicit spoilers. I know this is hard. I often tweet while I’m watching television shows, but I try to avoid posting anything too detailed about what is happening. Sometimes, vague tweets can be even more fun.
But the question becomes: at what point is a spoiler no longer a spoiler? By now, if you don’t know that Darth Vader is Luke’s father or that Dumbledore doesn’t make it out of Hogwarts alive, you’re either really out of touch or really good at avoiding spoilers. There are just some things that have become a part of pop culture and there’s no way to avoid knowing how they end. I just watched Psycho for the first time a few years ago, but I’ve known about the ending for as long as I can remember. In that case, knowing how the movie ended didn’t at all lessen my enjoyment of the film.
I hope the same will hold true for a recently completed TV series. I plan to watch all of Breaking Bad someday soon and am trying to avoid spoilers, but I know I can’t expect everyone around me to refrain from posting them. In fact, I have already been partially spoiled as to the end of the series — but that’s the price I pay for not watching the series when it was originally airing. However, others may be irate if you were to spoil the end of the series for them.
My general rule of thumb is to give a television show at least 24 hours before I post anything I would consider a spoiler (unless I have friends who I know haven’t seen the episode and won’t want to be spoiled). It frustrates me when people post about big twists before the episode has even ended — at the very least, you should wait three hours until the West Coast has gotten to see the episode. After 24 hours, if you still haven’t watched the episode, you better just be good at avoiding spoilers, because it’s open season, in my opinion.
It’s a little different for books or movies. With movies, I try to wait at least a week or two after their release, and with books, at least a month. Usually, by then, those who are most interested have already seen the movie or read the book.
That doesn’t mean you should intentionally spoil somebody. If your friend tells you they’re marathoning Lost for the first time, don’t go and tell them how the series ends. Have some respect and let them experience the show for themselves. If anyone asks you not to spoil something specific, be it a book, movie, or TV series, common courtesy says you just don’t do it.
If you don’t think you can handle not posting about what you’ve seen or read, find a discussion board or someplace dedicated to spoilers where you can talk about it. There are plenty of places online where you spoiler fans are welcome.
There really is no common ground where spoilers are concerned, but we can all try to respect our fellow fans when it comes to spoilers.
And whatever you do, please don’t tell me how Breaking Bad ends. I already know more than I want to.