Why does everyone call every show with a mystery a 'slow burn' now?

I mean, I get that some shows take their time. But I just finished watching 3 different series this month that people online were calling 'slow burn masterpieces' and two of them were just... boring? Like, nothing happened for 6 episodes and then they dropped a twist. That's not a slow burn, that's just bad pacing. The third one actually earned it - every episode moved the story forward, just at a careful pace. Am I the only one who thinks people are overusing that term?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameron_hernandez6917d ago

You bringing up that third show that earned it makes me wonder - what exactly separates a real slow burn from something that's just dragging its feet? Is there a specific moment where you felt that one earned it versus the others losing you completely? Because I think that tipping point is different for everybody and I'm curious where you draw the line.

the_alex17d ago

Does it ever come down to what the characters are actually doing while they're "not getting together"? I had a friend who swore up and down that a show was a slow burn, but I watched it and it was just two people staring at each other for three seasons. The good one actually had them living their lives and making mistakes, so when they finally clicked it felt earned instead of like the writers finally remembered to hit the romantic plot button.

quinn16117d ago

Man look at that friend's point about characters living their lives. That's actually the whole thing right there. A real slow burn has forward momentum even when the big plot point hasn't dropped yet - you're learning something new about the world or the characters every episode. The boring ones just sit in the same emotional spot for hours. I had this exact problem with a fantasy show last year where they kept promising this big reveal but every episode was just characters walking through foggy woods having the same conversation over and over. Meanwhile another show gave me characters making terrible choices, growing from them, and changing their relationships episode by episode so when the mystery finally hit I was already invested in who they were as people. That's the line - if you can skip three episodes and not miss anything important, it's not a slow burn, it's a show that needs better editing.