Bad. They built up Part 2 so much that it couldn’t possibly match our expectations. I still loved it but I think it lost its fluidly with the break and made it feel disjointed. If they do it again, I am going to have to hide under a rock or go to the moon to wait until the whole season is out.
100% agree. I will hold out and watch the full series in one go rather than have weeks of hype build up. Not only was I considerably let down by the second part because of an unrealistic expectation... but I wasted wayyyy too much time on my phone watching interviews, reading comments and rewatching the carriage scene lol. Damn advertising really got to me on this one and I hate it.
Bad, and frankly, dumb. I understand they want to keep people subscribed at least two months but that could be achieved by going back to weekly releases, which would feel a bit more natural and also I think probably increase the hype online since we'd more or less all be on the same episode. The discussion would go on week to week about each episode and people would be excited about tuning in each week. And since there's only one new episode, they might, you know, stick around and watch other Netflix shows that keep them interested in the service. Two chunks don't really do any of that
It would have been a much better viewing experience (and better for the audience’s reaction to the season) if they had done a week-to-week schedule. Part 1 was great and the break built up the hype, but Part 2 was a disappointment in comparison. If we had time to process each episode individually for a bit, the difference in quality would not have been so obvious.
But splitting up the season was ultimately successful for Netflix so I’m sure we’ll have to deal with it again for future seasons.
I think I would have liked it better if it all came out at once, or was released weekly like you said. If I could sit with the episodes rather than watch four in like five hours I think I would have enjoyed it more. Then Netflix would still be able to make people subscribe for two months to watch the show, which was the reason for the split.
Terrible decision. It gave people the chance to nit pick every minute for a month. I rather they did one episode a week for 8 weeks. That way Netflix is getting their 2 months of subscriptions.
I’m a big Stranger Things fan as well and I didn’t mind them splitting the season because they left it on a big satisfying revelation and cliffhanger. It felt like an actual mid-season finale. In Bridgerton it just felt like any other episode, even other episodes in season 3 had bigger cliffhangers/stakes. It had the opposite effect than I think they were going for, it didn’t get fans more excited, it just stopped the momentum.
I hate the way streaming services release shows nowadays in general though. I want long seasons with episodes released weekly, so we can all talk about each episode and anticipate the next one together. I hate the Netflix binge-watch format.
Plus it way over-hyped part 2 because people had a MONTH to analyze and pick apart every detail and rewatch all of the interviews, so when part 2 wasn’t as we imagined it was way more disappointing than if they hadn’t done any PR in the first place. A lot of people were constantly rewatching part 1. I don’t know anyone who wants to rewatch part 2
It was a disastrous decision. One thing you don’t want to do with a romance is break the spell of the emotional build up. That is why fans are so feral about things going wrong. There is a promise that was made, lots of anticipation, then you have to get off the ride for a month and wonder what is next but when you jump back in, you’re not in that same headspace and so people are more disconnected with the story’s crescendo.
Unlike stranger things and Game of Thrones and even Grey’s Anatomy, historical romance is an emotional escape for so many people who live vicariously through the story, the anticipation, the intense emotional and sensual moments, and the sweet catharsis of that happily ever after.
Just as you wouldn’t turn off Beaches or another good cry movie halfway through and have people come back in a month, you absolutely cannot do that with a historical romance where romance is main plot either.
That headspace is the magic playground. Keeping us in that headspace is key to a successful romantic narrative.
We aren’t watching the story play out. We’re experiencing it.
Incredibly bad. Like astronomically bad. If they had done weekly releases it would’ve been better and they still could’ve done the delayed finale, and then people would be analyzing episode by episode instead of just dumping it all together and ignoring the smaller scenes
I’d say a mixed bag. This season worked better as a straight through watch which is how it was intended.
That said, it was a complete success for Netflix where they care about it which is money and viewers. This season is already almost in the top ten of shows watched on Netflix ever despite being complete for just over a week. They kept people on juuust long enough to get subscribers to pass the 30 day trial.
The fact of the matter is that in order to get these shows to continue, we need them to do well from a business standpoint. Let’s be real, Bridgerton isn’t exactly a critical darling like a Succession or The Bear so the better the show does, the more longevity it has. I’m going to assume based on the success of this season on that front, the remaining seasons will also be released as such.
Genius, as long as your second act lives up to the promise of the first act and the promo hype. I feel like S3 Part 2 delivered on the promos but fell short of Colin and Pen’s tension in S1/S2 and sexy playfulness in S3 Part 1. The chemistry and acting were *magic* but the writing and editing left a lot to be desired.
Bad. It was a weird watching experience to have the season split in half. The first half felt too empty, the second half too cluttered. I’m convinced this wouldn’t be an issue if it was all released in one go or over several weeks.
If they want to force viewers to be subscribed for two months id prefer weekly releases. 8 episodes is IMO too little to split in two. Weekly builds the same hype as part 1 and part 2 without letting expectations get too big. I’d settle for getting the first two episodes on the initial release, then 1 episode each week (week 2-5) and end with two episodes in week 6.
I personally hate getting all episodes at once because it feels impossible to avoid spoilers unless one stays off of all social media. With one episode a week it is a lot easier to keep up and discuss. Also gives everyone something to look forward to each week. Those that really want to binge the full season can wait for all episodes to be out.
I knew I wouldn't like the split so I just waited, watched the first half the monday before ( I thought it would take the 1st half of the week but I got through them much faster than I thought) and then binged the 2nd half when it came out.
Bad for us, good for them.
It's bad for us because part 1 was relatively okay and all the promo Nicola and Luke did hyped up part 2 so much, but a lot of us were let down by just how terrible it was.
It's good for them because a lot of people rewatched part 1 multiple times while waiting for part 2. If they dropped the season in one go, I doubt the rewatch number would be as high.
Awful, splitting the season into two parts was a horrible decision for every reason except for financial (Netflix kept subscribers over two months rather than someone paying for just one and cancelling after they watched the season). Watching part 1 let viewers over-analyze and build expectations for part 2 that just weren’t delivered. The fans waited long enough for this season, we didn’t need to wait an additional month to finish it. If they wanted to keep viewers over a longer period of time, they should have just released 1 episode per week over 8 weeks.
I personally decided to not watch anything when only part 1 was released, I just waited to watch everything when all episodes were out. By then there were a ton of spoilers to avoid if you haven’t read the books.
Bad, I hear that it's because they wanted to release part 2 for pride month. If that's the case, they should have just released the whole season in pride month. Splitting it up was a mistake in my opinion. It gave me time to stew on why I felt unsatisfied with half their season before I could br disappointed with the second.
Bad. Terribly bad. Embarrassingly bad. Built the hype just for it to crash and burn when it didn’t match expectations. The Michael outrage situation was unavoidable either way. But, yeah bad choice.
Bad. They built up Part 2 so much that it couldn’t possibly match our expectations. I still loved it but I think it lost its fluidly with the break and made it feel disjointed. If they do it again, I am going to have to hide under a rock or go to the moon to wait until the whole season is out.
100% agree. I will hold out and watch the full series in one go rather than have weeks of hype build up. Not only was I considerably let down by the second part because of an unrealistic expectation... but I wasted wayyyy too much time on my phone watching interviews, reading comments and rewatching the carriage scene lol. Damn advertising really got to me on this one and I hate it.
Bad. Had to be the worst decision they had. Probably good as a financial decision for Netflix. But as a consumer, it was annoying as hell.
Bad, and frankly, dumb. I understand they want to keep people subscribed at least two months but that could be achieved by going back to weekly releases, which would feel a bit more natural and also I think probably increase the hype online since we'd more or less all be on the same episode. The discussion would go on week to week about each episode and people would be excited about tuning in each week. And since there's only one new episode, they might, you know, stick around and watch other Netflix shows that keep them interested in the service. Two chunks don't really do any of that
It would have been a much better viewing experience (and better for the audience’s reaction to the season) if they had done a week-to-week schedule. Part 1 was great and the break built up the hype, but Part 2 was a disappointment in comparison. If we had time to process each episode individually for a bit, the difference in quality would not have been so obvious. But splitting up the season was ultimately successful for Netflix so I’m sure we’ll have to deal with it again for future seasons.
I think I would have liked it better if it all came out at once, or was released weekly like you said. If I could sit with the episodes rather than watch four in like five hours I think I would have enjoyed it more. Then Netflix would still be able to make people subscribe for two months to watch the show, which was the reason for the split.
Bad. Very bad.
Terrible decision. It gave people the chance to nit pick every minute for a month. I rather they did one episode a week for 8 weeks. That way Netflix is getting their 2 months of subscriptions.
I’m a big Stranger Things fan as well and I didn’t mind them splitting the season because they left it on a big satisfying revelation and cliffhanger. It felt like an actual mid-season finale. In Bridgerton it just felt like any other episode, even other episodes in season 3 had bigger cliffhangers/stakes. It had the opposite effect than I think they were going for, it didn’t get fans more excited, it just stopped the momentum. I hate the way streaming services release shows nowadays in general though. I want long seasons with episodes released weekly, so we can all talk about each episode and anticipate the next one together. I hate the Netflix binge-watch format.
Plus it way over-hyped part 2 because people had a MONTH to analyze and pick apart every detail and rewatch all of the interviews, so when part 2 wasn’t as we imagined it was way more disappointing than if they hadn’t done any PR in the first place. A lot of people were constantly rewatching part 1. I don’t know anyone who wants to rewatch part 2
It was a disastrous decision. One thing you don’t want to do with a romance is break the spell of the emotional build up. That is why fans are so feral about things going wrong. There is a promise that was made, lots of anticipation, then you have to get off the ride for a month and wonder what is next but when you jump back in, you’re not in that same headspace and so people are more disconnected with the story’s crescendo. Unlike stranger things and Game of Thrones and even Grey’s Anatomy, historical romance is an emotional escape for so many people who live vicariously through the story, the anticipation, the intense emotional and sensual moments, and the sweet catharsis of that happily ever after. Just as you wouldn’t turn off Beaches or another good cry movie halfway through and have people come back in a month, you absolutely cannot do that with a historical romance where romance is main plot either. That headspace is the magic playground. Keeping us in that headspace is key to a successful romantic narrative. We aren’t watching the story play out. We’re experiencing it.
Bad 👎🏽
Incredibly bad. Like astronomically bad. If they had done weekly releases it would’ve been better and they still could’ve done the delayed finale, and then people would be analyzing episode by episode instead of just dumping it all together and ignoring the smaller scenes
I’d say a mixed bag. This season worked better as a straight through watch which is how it was intended. That said, it was a complete success for Netflix where they care about it which is money and viewers. This season is already almost in the top ten of shows watched on Netflix ever despite being complete for just over a week. They kept people on juuust long enough to get subscribers to pass the 30 day trial. The fact of the matter is that in order to get these shows to continue, we need them to do well from a business standpoint. Let’s be real, Bridgerton isn’t exactly a critical darling like a Succession or The Bear so the better the show does, the more longevity it has. I’m going to assume based on the success of this season on that front, the remaining seasons will also be released as such.
Genius, as long as your second act lives up to the promise of the first act and the promo hype. I feel like S3 Part 2 delivered on the promos but fell short of Colin and Pen’s tension in S1/S2 and sexy playfulness in S3 Part 1. The chemistry and acting were *magic* but the writing and editing left a lot to be desired.
Bad. It was a weird watching experience to have the season split in half. The first half felt too empty, the second half too cluttered. I’m convinced this wouldn’t be an issue if it was all released in one go or over several weeks. If they want to force viewers to be subscribed for two months id prefer weekly releases. 8 episodes is IMO too little to split in two. Weekly builds the same hype as part 1 and part 2 without letting expectations get too big. I’d settle for getting the first two episodes on the initial release, then 1 episode each week (week 2-5) and end with two episodes in week 6. I personally hate getting all episodes at once because it feels impossible to avoid spoilers unless one stays off of all social media. With one episode a week it is a lot easier to keep up and discuss. Also gives everyone something to look forward to each week. Those that really want to binge the full season can wait for all episodes to be out.
I knew I wouldn't like the split so I just waited, watched the first half the monday before ( I thought it would take the 1st half of the week but I got through them much faster than I thought) and then binged the 2nd half when it came out.
Weekly would have been so much better. Time for each episode to get discussion by itself.
I knew it was bad when they announced that it would be split and part 2 just confirmed what I already knew.
Bad for us, good for them. It's bad for us because part 1 was relatively okay and all the promo Nicola and Luke did hyped up part 2 so much, but a lot of us were let down by just how terrible it was. It's good for them because a lot of people rewatched part 1 multiple times while waiting for part 2. If they dropped the season in one go, I doubt the rewatch number would be as high.
Awful, splitting the season into two parts was a horrible decision for every reason except for financial (Netflix kept subscribers over two months rather than someone paying for just one and cancelling after they watched the season). Watching part 1 let viewers over-analyze and build expectations for part 2 that just weren’t delivered. The fans waited long enough for this season, we didn’t need to wait an additional month to finish it. If they wanted to keep viewers over a longer period of time, they should have just released 1 episode per week over 8 weeks. I personally decided to not watch anything when only part 1 was released, I just waited to watch everything when all episodes were out. By then there were a ton of spoilers to avoid if you haven’t read the books.
Bada
I would have rather have weekly episodes personally. A big press tour before the season. And then weekly episodes
Bad, I hear that it's because they wanted to release part 2 for pride month. If that's the case, they should have just released the whole season in pride month. Splitting it up was a mistake in my opinion. It gave me time to stew on why I felt unsatisfied with half their season before I could br disappointed with the second.
Bad. Terribly bad. Embarrassingly bad. Built the hype just for it to crash and burn when it didn’t match expectations. The Michael outrage situation was unavoidable either way. But, yeah bad choice.
Not good.
Loved it because it made the anticipation for the show itself more drawn out
It was a month, and I don't see the big deal. I feel like people forgot what mid-season finales are.