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[Geneaux486]

[Sidenote]

I showed my friend Marble Hornets and at the end of entry 1 he was uninterested and said "wow, scary."

But then at entry 19 he was like "HOLY SHIT" and is eyes were wide open and he wasn't sure if he wanted to watch more, but we did and we got to Entry 80 ( he jumped at the sound of the gunshot, lol )

The scariest entry for me was I think entry 17 or something, the one where Jay goes to the house the second time and meets Masky, and then he charges at him, I don't know why it scared me so much.

Also when I was watching Entry 72, the last entry I had to watch from when I started two days ago, I thought half way through, it would be the end, lol.

[Geneaux486]

[TheJoker]

Entry 18 is the one you're referring to, by the way.

And while the first half of S1 isn't 100% essential (I'd say worth watching just the same since the early entries are so short but there's one or two that can be skipped- Entry 10, for instance, offers little that matters aside from creepy factor), absolutely you should watch everything from Jay's first ventures to the house onwards. TTA included, because even if TTA isn't technically essential to the plot and the series can be watched without it, you're not getting the whole experience if you don't watch at least the S1 and early S2 TTAs.

Entry 17 is particularly essential because it sets up the memory loss concept. Hmm... now I kinda want to make an "essential viewing guide" type thing.

[Geneaux486]

I dunno, I feel like gutting the series in any capacity would just cheapen the experience. When I recommend the show to someone, I say "Watch all of it in order. If you're not interested a few entries in, then it's probably not up your alley." Even those friends of mine who weren't into the experience admit that it's a well-done series. I'd be doing a potential fan a disservice were I to suggest anything less than watching it all.

[TheJoker]

I personally wouldn't recommend skipping anything, either. I was merely suggesting for if someone absolutely couldn't bear to watch it start to finish.

[Ark is watching]

[TheJoker]

It's not the pacing so much that might be an issue as the fact that the main plot of the series and the real mysteries don't really kick in until Jay starts actively investigating. I personally enjoy the first several entries for their creepy factor and, in some cases, their exposition, but I can understand why someone might be like "Okay, but this is basically just a bunch of videos of a tall dude standing in the background, not much is happening. Where is this going?" Pacingwise, those entries are fine, but contentwise they're rather different from the more character-driven detective-ish series it becomes.

Again, I don't personally hold the viewpoint that anyone should skip those entries, but I don't think you can really be sure whether or not the series is "for you" until the present-day plot begins and TTA starts getting involved.

The opposite problem can happen as well- I've seen plenty of people on forums and such who abandon the series somewhere in late S1 or in S2 because it's "not scary anymore" and because apparently plot and characters are a bad thing.

[Sidenote]

The series has changed a bit since the start; at the start, the only thing to watch out for is the operator. But now, it's basically everyone.

We got Alex who is crazy, Hoody who we have no idea of his intentions, the operator, who is trouble to everyone and we see that Jay is also a danger to himself.

I don't skip entries, but I will skip 30 seconds here and there of a character walking, doing nothing. An entry is much better when it first comes and there is no entry after, because you usually know that if there is an entry after the entry you are watching, then everything will be fine, and that's what had made these last few entries more interesting than the others for me.

Also, if the next entry is like 4 minutes long, I'm gonna be pretty pissed off. :/

[Geneaux486]

Thing is, those earlier entries are crucial because not only do they introduce the primary antagonist, whose presence is severely diminished by the time Jay starts actively investigating, they also convey to the viewer the kind of character Alex is. We see his behavior, his personality, his struggles, his fear, and his overall predicament, which makes the gradual reveal in season 2 that he's become a monster himself all the more meaningful. Skipping to Jay's active investigation leaves the viewer with little to no reason to care about Alex as a character because they've missed most of what he's been through.

If someone walks away from them thinking it's just a bunch of shots of a tall guy standing around in the background, then they're either not reading Jay's text (again, a constant staple of the series), or have problems processing information, at which point they should be recommended to a medical professional.

That's not to mention the fact that Jay's first trip to that house is relatively uneventful. The viewer needs those earlier entries to establish what the potential danger is of wandering around in a dark place at night. Without that knowledge, there's no perceived risk to Jay in his first trip through the house, effectively reducing it to little more than an errand.

I was on the edge of my seat during that entire entry, but without having seen the Operator previously appearing outside of Alex's windows, walking through his bedroom, or popping out from behind corners or in open fields at night, I wouldn't have had a reason to expect it to happen to Jay.

[TheJoker]

[Sidenote]

[Serum]

I'm pretty sure I have Operator Sickness.

[Geneaux486]

[Serum]