Board Thread:False Info and Speculative Discussion/@comment-4753851-20140909163244/@comment-19765459-20140912210357

Grahamburglar wrote:

That's exactly true and it's the biggest weakness for this kind of storytelling. Unfortunately, I think we're seeing a lot more of it as shows try give themselves a boost in ratings by making each episode an "event" that you want to see right away otherwise you risk spoilers when talking to coworkers, friends, or even just hopping on social media. But we're so inundated with these events, they lose any emotional impact.

Whereas, shows that are more character driven (like most of the shows on USA, just for instance) can give you as many of these big twists as they want (Suits and Graceland do this a lot) but because the emphasis isn't on the plot they still pack somewhat of an emotional punch simply because it isn't the twist that's important, it's how everyone reacts. And that's where you, as the audience, are focused and reacting. True, and if you look at which scenes fans make gif's out of and post on places like Tumblr, they're almost always character scenes, not action scenes. There are exceptions, such as the "HOLY SH*T!!!!" moment that was Nogitsune!Stiles ripping the firefly heart out of the Oni in the hospital. But those are genuinely jaw-dropping scenes. Bringing out Berserkers to smack Scott around (again) is not. Torture scenes are not, again because they get used so frequently (Jeff seems to love them). Most of the fight scenes start to blur together after a while.

But whether funny or serious, character scenes are often far more impacting on the fans. Like Stiles talking Scott down from attempted suicide in "Motel California". When most people talk about that scene, the explosion and the brief appearance of the Darach at the end of it are not what they talk about. They talk about how powerful Stiles reaching out to Scott was. Stepping into the puddle of gas and taking the flare from Scott's hand was a bigger *BANG!* with the fans than the fiery explosion seconds later!

I would say that probably the best scenes this season were Scott and Stiles talking about Scott kidnapping Liam, as Liam is bound and scared, and the Sheriff nearly having a nervous breakdown over the thought of Stiles time traveling, and Stiles trying to reassure him that they just found teen!Derek in an ancient Aztec temple buried under a town destroyed by an earthquake in Mexico. Not as dark and gory as the scenes I think Jeff wants remembered, but infinitely better. Maybe I just prefer the light-hearted stuff.