"His reactions are pointless!" (Patreon)

Someone commented under my one of my final PLL videos that my reactions are “pointless” because I skipped episodes and because you can tell I'm not into the show anymore.

They've been blocked.

And I actually want to address it because, between ending PLL and Gossip Girl the way I did, receiving some interesting DMs, and some of the conversations I've seen lately, I think this is a good opportunity to make something abundantly clear about me and this channel.

When you watch something with me, you are signing up for MY journey with it. Not a recreation of your journey. Not the reaction you hoped I would have. Not a guarantee that I'll love what you loved, hate what you hated, finish what you finished, or experience a show the way you did when you watched it for the first time.

My reactions have always been exactly that: my reactions.

And apparently, I need to clarify that just because reacting to television is now my job does not mean I suddenly consume television differently from everybody else.

When most people stop enjoying a show, what do they do? They might stop watching it. They might skip ahead. They might put it down for six months. They might look up which episodes are important. They might come back later. They might never come back at all.

So will I.

I'm not going to force myself to sit through hours and hours of television I don't enjoy simply because there's a camera in front of me now. I'm certainly not going to put on a smile, manufacture enthusiasm, exaggerate reactions, or desperately search for something positive to say because I know people watching me have an emotional attachment to the show.

If I love it, you'll know.

If I hate it, you'll know.

If I'm bored out of my damn mind, you'll know.

And if a show loses me badly enough that I decide I'd rather skip ahead than spend another 10, 20, or 30 hours watching something I no longer enjoy... you'll know that too. THAT is the reaction.

I also want to be clear that there's nothing wrong with wanting a different kind of reactor.

There are reactors who enjoy hate watching. There are those who will finish every episode of every show they start because they cannot stop without finishing them. There are people who consider finishing a series part of the commitment they've made to their audience. There are people who can think a show has become terrible and still have a blast reacting to the train wreck.

That's just not me.

I don't enjoy hate watching. When I genuinely stop enjoying something, eventually I stop wanting to watch it. And I would much rather spend those hours discovering something I might love than resentfully dragging myself through a show because other people want me to finish it.

That doesn't mean you aren't allowed to be disappointed.

If you wanted to see me react to every episode of PLL and you're bummed that you won't, I understand. If you wanted every episode of Gossip Girl and don't like that I skipped ahead, I understand that too. You have every right to feel disappointed, annoyed, sad, whatever.

But disappointment does not create an obligation on my end.

There has never been a promise on my channel or Patreon that every series I start will be completed, that every episode will be watched, or that subscribing purchases creative control over what I watch. Supporting my Patreon gives you access to the content included with your membership. It does not mean I'm now obligated to spend dozens of hours watching something I don't enjoy because you personally wanted those reactions.

And if my approach to PLL or Gossip Girl has genuinely upset you, or if you agree that reactions become pointless the moment I decide to skip episodes, then I mean this sincerely: you should probably leave.

Not because you aren't allowed to feel that way. You absolutely are.

But I may simply not be the reactor you wanted me to be.

If what you want is someone who will guarantee they'll watch every episode once they begin a show, there are reactors who operate that way. If you want someone who loves hate-watching and will happily complain through three more seasons, they're out there too. If completion is always essential to your enjoyment of reaction content, I completely understand why my channel may no longer be the right fit for you.

Now everybody knows where I stand, and you can move accordingly.

What I'm not going to do is apologize for being honest about my experience with something. I'm not going to pretend a show is working for me when it isn't. I'm not going to treat somebody else's nostalgia as an obligation. And I'm definitely not going to spend countless hours being miserable so somebody else can enjoy watching me be miserable.

Ironically, “you can tell he's not into it” might be the funniest criticism of a reaction I've ever received.

Yes. You could tell.

Because it was real.

That's kind of the whole point.

So if you're here because you want the real, unfiltered version of my experience, welcome!

That's what I've always offered, and that's what I'll continue to offer. 🩷

P.S. The funniest part of all this is that we're talking about PLL after Season 5 and Gossip Girl after Season 5. 😭 You would think I skipped the Red Wedding, the moon landing, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. These stretches of BOTH shows have been getting dragged by their own fandoms for years. I didn't storm into the Louvre and set the Mona Lisa on fire. I skipped some episodes of television that half the fanbase would tell you were ass, even if they did like it in spite of that. PLEASE.

Okay, bye. 😂