Grief Doesn't End after Two Episodes
Modern day media expected me, and the characters of my favorite TV show, to get over grief in about two episodes.
In the modern day media, emotions and mental health are portrayed more than ever before. And, that includes grief.
Ever since my dad’s death, I’ve had a hard time watching “mindless” TV, and instead have found shows that are more realistic and that I can relate to. But, even in the most realistic of shows, there is one common fatal slow that seems to be always present.
Picture this: A TV show has 5 main characters who are the best of friends. Halfway through the first season, Character 1 dies, leaving the other four characters to go through grief. Nothing wrong with that, right? Except, about two episodes later, it seems like the other 4 characters are almost over their grief, and life is getting back to normal.
It makes sense that writers have to keep the plot going, but in order to keep things moving, they often seem to forget about characters’ grief.
When I first started noticing this in my TV shows, I became confused. How are they okay so fast? What am I doing wrong?
As I kept on watching these shows, a common saying kept on coming to my mind: Nothing you see on TV is real. And, every time I’ve watched a show like that since, I’ve had to remind myself that, even though it seems real, it isn’t. Unlike TV characters, there is no set timeline for grief, and just because two episodes isn’t long enough for me to go through grief doesn’t mean anything. Because, in real life, grief lasts way longer than two episodes.