Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-16103541-20170221044919/@comment-26431570-20170429175818

Gilgameshkun wrote:

MiwandSplinterfan1 wrote:

I already know I'm crazy, I don't need you to add to it okay? I don't think you're crazy. You're just an enthusiastic fan who was snagged by some fantastic plot coupons that they ultimately did not redeem to their fullest potential. For me, it was the Raph & Slash arc. For you, it's hoping that Splinter and Miwa can finally enjoy life as a family&mdash;but the beginning of that particular plot arc is now too stale to be completely followed through on the show, and I'll explain why.

I've come to realize that is very common with TV show production&mdash;rapidly rotating writers and rapidly changing priorities of production, and that's especially true when a show is or becomes merchandise-driven. When an otherwise profitable show loses its overarching myth arc, it can become a wooden overly-episodic franchise zombie that will constantly let down existing fans wanting to see the conclusion of their favorite plots. But because of the nature of the industry, no plot is guaranteed to endure up to two years, because the standard expectation is that there's a complete turnover of the target audience every two years, so there's not necessarily a merchandise-buying audience to remember them. The first and second seasons? They no longer commercially exist&mdash;there's not necessarily any profit motive to keep appealing to the target audiences that watched them, because they're no longer the target audiences, even if they're still watching. Not only that; the showrunners may now start retooling and recycling plots and characters from over two years ago and pass them off as brand new, because enough of the target audience genuinely won't remember.

What does that mean for Splinter and Miwa? It means that the early novelty of their plot arc&mdash;father and daughter rediscovering each other and trying to reunite as a family&mdash;has long since been exhausted, having been stretched out for far too long. For the current target audience, they're already old news. There's no longer the anticipation to see them reunite as a family again. And since the show keeps treating Splinter as the designated sacrificial lion, the audience no longer necessarily expects him to stay around even after he's brought back. Long-established characters also have a habit of fading into the background as newer characters get more screentime, thus losing their depth to the audience (and becoming more one-dimensional) as time goes on, and even the deeply subtle, complicated Splinter and the baggage-laden Miwa have not been immune to this.

As an enthusiastic fan, you of course will remember. That's where the world of fan expression takes over areas that showrunners have abandoned. The best hope you have for a resolution to your favorite plot may ultimately be in someone's fanart and fanfiction, because you can't count on the showrunners to ever fully acknowledge the plot's existence or significance again. I love how in-tune you are with this stuff :)