Spoiling Spoilers — 4 ways to have Film & TV ruined and how to avoid them
All things considered, there is arguably nothing that TV and film fans despise more than something they love being ruined by spoilers. You amp yourself up for the ‘cinematic experience of the year’ to have a 13 year old troll ruin it with a single tweet. This can be even worse for television, with a crucial moment being spoiled having the ability to not only ruin a single episode, but the entire series you have invested so much of your hard earned time and effort in.
One of the hardest things most people struggle to gauge is what actually constitutes a spoiler. Many have different thresholds as to what they deem is a spoilerish detail which can often lead to the ire of many a friend group, office or online community. It seems like even film studios at times struggle to grasp the concept by ruining a films big twist or set piece in the trailer to try and drum up some interest (looking at you Batman V Superman).
So, in order to make sure everyone stays vigilant and to keep those prone to spoiling in check, I’ve the 4 most prevalent types of spoiler in order of severity and the most effective ways of avoiding them. This isn’t to say you will be forever spoiler free, but it should at least help you to evade them as much as possible.
Before I begin, there will be examples from the following: Joker, X-Men Dark Phoenix, Avengers Endgame and Game of Thrones. So…
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD
…obviously.
1) The Intriguer
Severity — Low
The intriguer usually comes from someone who has already seen the film or has read up on the reviews. It usually involves an off the cuff remark that may not seem like a spoiler to the one telling it, but can lead to a lot of fury from those who are yet to watch. Although no actual concrete information is shared, a lingering comment like ‘didn’t expect that ending’ or ‘the scene halfway through was unexpected’ can have a big impact on the viewing experience. This kind of remark has you anticipating what is to come, and by psyching yourself up for the big moment, you can make it feel anticlimactic. Even something as simple as ‘I think you’re really going to enjoy it’ can somewhat dampen your reaction. You might still enjoy it, but because someone told you that you will, maybe not as much as you could have.
I had the displeasure of experiencing this with the release of Joker. I had heard good (non-spoilerish) things and was excited to see the film, when I had an unfortunate conversation with a friend who told me…
“I wasn’t expecting the reveal in the middle, can’t wait to hear what you think!” (in reference to Thomas Wayne potentially being Joker’s father).
Harmless enough right? Wrong. I spent the first half of the film expecting something, theorising what it might be and reacting with a ‘is that it?’ on the reveal. Without that comment, I would have gone in expecting nothing, but knowing ‘something’ ended up taking all of the drama out of the twist.
In order to avoid this ruining your viewing experience, make sure to avoid any conversation around something you haven’t seen yet, or keep the conversation topline. At any chance of it veering into spoiler territory, shut it down, and run for the hills until you’ve watched it.
2) The Ruining Rumour
Severity — Medium
The rumour mill is always running in the world of film and television. Every day there’s a new leak, trailer breakdown, easter egg dissection or thought piece around what to expect in the next sequel, season or episode. The internet has obviously had a major impact on this. You can now watch every trailer frame by frame, find leaked images from shooting locations or stream through message boards of other people’s theories and thoughts of what to expect from the source material. The problem is, a lot of the time these rumours end up being true, or even worse, better than the finished product and something you’d much rather see, making what you you actually get a bit disappointing.
The greatest culprit of this in the last few years is the final season of Game of Thrones. A show that began with such promise and a rabid fanbase from the book series, throughout its run, rumours swirled for what was to come from the properties deep source material. Heading into the final season, the show had outpaced the books and there were countless threads that needed tying up and thus even more speculation and theory as to how this would be done. Once the final scene had aired, the uproar from fans was deafening. There were dropped plots, convenient resolutions and disappointing ends for many characters that fans had invested so much time and energy in to. This coupled with the more obvious twists that were always going to happen (such as the much foreshadowed Daenerys villain turn) meant that nothing was surprising or as good as expected. Seeing a show that was built on shocking twists and subversions, that once had the most dedicated fans be turned on so drastically was devastating.
Fan disappointment is not entirely unexpected though, especially when it is the end of a much loved franchise, especially when you begin to look in to and dissect fan culture. Many of these fans devote themselves to going through every detail and mapping out what they believe is a satisfying end, and that is the issue. It is a conclusion that they themselves would be most satisfied by. You can’t expect every studio to base their whole ending on fan service, it needs to make narrative sense to the story that they are and have been telling, not the story you want to be told.
Some studios are doing what they can to try and combat this, by cutting together trailers that don’t reveal anything or making you think one thing will happen but subvert it to keep you guessing, but sometimes that can be even more frustrating and misleading. The best course of action if you are sensitive to this kind of thing is to reserve your theory bingeing until after you’ve seen the film, or to take theories for what they are, fan made concepts that shows passion and adoration for the franchise. Hopefully this then doesn’t detract from a film you would otherwise have enjoyed.
3) The Trailer Trash
Severity — High
What is it with studios loving to spoil their own films before they’ve even released them? The whole point of a film trailer is to give a taste of what the film will be and get someone excited, but hold enough back to still surprise and delight on actual viewing. The problem is that it seems like a lot of trailers are made by marketing departments rather than those who actually know what the film is about. Rather than teases of what’s to come, they choose what seems the most exciting which, pretty obviously, is going to be the big set piece ending or twist. It feels like the sheer amount of film trailers we have access to online has been detrimental here. There is so much noise out there, when it comes to standing out, a less is more approach is rarely followed.
Take the latest X-Men bomb Dark Phoenix as an example. The two major moments focussed on in the trailers were –
1) The death of major character Mystique (arguably the most popular character and biggest star in the franchise, Jennifer Lawrence).
2) A train scene that ended up being the final act set piece.
In less than 3 minutes, you’ve just revealed the two biggest moments of the film. Although in the short term this might get people talking, you’ve also revealed the things that would give people a reason to go and actually see it.
This isn’t just reserved for bad films either, even studios like Marvel have fallen for this in the past. My recommendation is to watch trailers sparingly, or even not at all if you know it’s a film you already want to see. The main aim of a trailer is to excite the disinterested, so if you’re already keen, stick to the teasers.
3) The Outright Spoil
Severity — Extreme
The classic spoiler. The easiest way to have something you loved ruined for you in the character limit of a tweet, a poorly worded news article or a blurry leaked picture taken in the cinema. Where the big twist, shocking moment or ending is exposed without the build-up or investment of being able to see it in full for yourself. With more opportunities for us to share information than ever thanks to social media, the world has become a minefield for those looking to avoid being spoiled. This is even harder when you know there are sadists out there who savour spoiling something for others.
The Red Wedding was one of the first big moments that transcended across all medium of spoilers (and likely led to the end of more friendships than any other moment in history). More recently, Avengers Endgame tested friendships like nothing else, with the many dramatic endings for major characters people had invested in for over 10 years being ruined out of nowhere for many (including myself…RIP Iron Man).
Avoiding the types of people who take pleasure in this kind of spoiling at all costs is your only real option until you’ve seen it the film or episode for yourself. If they were your friends, they aren’t anymore. It’s doubly important to stay vigilant across social media too, as something can pop up out of nowhere. Most importantly, if it is something you care about not having spoilt, make sure you see it as soon as you possibly can.
At the end of the day, when it comes to spoilers your best course of action will always be caution. In a world of instant gratification, it’s tempting to skip the build-up and go right to the big finish, with our own intrigue and impatience getting the better of us. In some instances, when you don’t care if something is spoiled for you, it’s fine. But when it is something you really do care about, be careful stay vigilant and view as intended, it will likely be worth it (and if not you can make it your mission to spoil for everyone else).
