Handling Cliffhangers

Natalia Carmon

November 2,2015


Finally, the big season finale of your favorite TV show. Life could not get any better than

this moment where you are curled up on your bed or couch. You are so anxious to find out what

will happen within the last ten minutes. Then within those ten minutes that curious expression of

yours turns into a bug eyed, wide mouthed look of amazement. Just in those few minutes the

writers of the show completely turned your whole world around with the unexpected. Now you

have even more problems than when you started watching the show. It may seem only fair to

take out whatever you are feeling on your cat, who was gently sleeping until you woke him up

with your screaming, or on the Christmas present your Aunt Sally gave you. Before anything

happens that could get you into a bad situation, please take the time to read the following steps in

order to handle getting over the cliffhanger until the next season.

Step 1: Stop Panicking

It may seem like the end of the world right now. Just let out whatever you need to but not

with violence. Find someone you are comfortable talking to like your mom or your best friend.

Also it may be smart to talk to someone else who is in the same state of mind as you. You may

not feel completely resolved after this but you will like a huge weight has been lifted off your

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chest. Since the panic is gone it is time to start thinking about what to do after.

Step 2: Reassurance

Make sure you watched the scene correctly. Maybe you weren’t paying attention when

the cliffhanger started. You probably missed some detail which could have made the ending

make more sense. There is always something you might miss and if there is something you

missed you might be okay with the way the episode ends. Cliffhangers are not always bad but

they kind off make you miss your show especially before a long break before the new season

comes out.

Step 3: Acceptance

Now that you’ve seen the last scene over again and know what exactly happened you

need to accept the fact that the writers are just doing their jobs. They need to put the dramatic

cliffhangers into the show to gain attention from the audience. Even though they do make you

keep guessing what will happen next it is only to keep the show on air. Now with that

information relax even more and accept the fact that there will be another season so you won’t

worry about never finding out what will happen next.

Step 4: Re-watch previous episodes or seasons

Even though new episodes aren’t coming on weekly at the moment you could still enjoy

your favorite TV show by watching previous episodes. There are so many ways to re-watch an

episode easily with the Internet. Many TV stations have websites where you can find previous

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episodes from the current season. Also many websites have made life so much easier for TV

addicts like Netflix and Hulu Plus. While on those websites you could easily catch up on your

favorite TV shows for just a small amount of money each month. Also you could start watching

new TV shows to occupy yourself while your other show is on break. As a free option you could

look on YouTube for music videos or highlights of the show to help you remember the good

moments. There are plenty of ways to occupy yourself while you are stuck waiting for the new

season to begin.

Step 5: Use your Creativity.

If you like your show so much and you have a creative talent, like sketching, drawing,

writing, etc., then you could create a piece related to your favorite show. You could draw your

favorite couple that you ship on the show or one that you would like to see. Maybe as a writing

theme come up with a new character and put them in the same situation as the main character of

the show. Doing activities like this not only keeps you busy but it also helps you forget that the

show isn’t even on right now. These kinds of activities put you into the world of the show and

make you think about the good events that could happen in the future.

Step 6: Not Really Missing the Show Anymore

So you have finally stopped trying to work out every solution possible. What happened

already happened and nobody can do anything about it now. The fate of your show does not rely

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in your hands and no matter what you think should happen it will not happen because

unfortunately, you are not the writer. At this moment you are worried about everything else in

your life. You might go back and watch an episode or two but that’s not important to you.

Besides there is always something to watch on TV. Or on your cell phone, tablet, laptop, and

pretty much anything that connects to the internet.

The Season Opening

Alright it’s okay to be excited now that the show you have been so patiently waiting for

comes back on. You have earned the chance to relax and brace yourself to repeat this process

over again after this season’s finale but for now enjoy it. Forget this whole list and just watch

your show. Actually you probably should remember some things on the list since your show only

comes on once a week. Sorry I will let you enjoy your show now and I hope this helps with

handling cliffhangers.

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