‘Girl Meets World’ debate: Should season 3 have fewer isolated episodes?
“Girl Meets World” season 2 has been an interesting collection of episodes to watch, and for a wide array of different reasons. For one, we’ve had the show really starting to dive into and explore further some of the relationships between the young characters, while at the same time we’ve also seen the writers introduce just about as much nostalgia as possible to go along with it.
One thing that we know has been at least somewhat criticized by fans, however, is the move to air a good percentage of the story out of order. Many of the remaining season 2 episodes were filmed before “Girl Meets the New Year,” and therefore are missing the latest information in the Riley / Lucas / Maya storyline. Heck, one of them in “Girl Meets STEM” was filmed even before the first part of “Girl Meets Texas.” What this means is that we’re getting many episodes that, while entertaining, don’t hold much relevance to the story at large. That just leaves audiences wanting more, knowing that the bigger stories and answers are out there … just delayed.
It is with that we pose the question at the heart of this debate: Should the series opt for fewer standalone episodes in the third season, and try to have more of a consistent storyline throughout? As with any other show, there are advantages and disadvantages.
The pros – You run into fewer situations where diehard fans get frustrated that an episode airs without a mention of the main story they are excited about. That allows some more of the standalone plotlines to be better appreciated. Who’s to say that you cannot devote a good 80-85% of an episode still to a storyline that will not pick up the following week? You can still devote the other 15-20% to a story that will continue into following episodes. Why not do both? If there is a situation where this can happen, it certainly makes sense to give it a go.
Also, the longer you stick with a certain story, the more time you have to build momentum. That tends to make the payoff at the very end all the better.
The cons – The biggest issue is a production one: For scheduling and other reasons, it is easier sometimes to film out of order, and keeping track of a longer story while doing this is rather difficult. Also, there is something to be said for keeping things simple for more casual viewers to pop in and understand almost everything that is going on right away. When you look back at many of the old sitcoms in the “Boy Meets World” era, this is how they went about their business. The emphasis on serialized fare is much more a modern-day thing.
What’s your take on the issue? We want to hear in the attached poll!
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