My take: Rapidly consuming whodunits taught me to decode plot twists faster

In my experience, marathoning mystery series actually sharpened my prediction abilities, contrary to the common view that it dulls suspense. By watching shows like 'Broadchurch' and 'Mindhunter' in quick succession, I learned to spot narrative patterns and foreshadowing techniques. Your mileage may vary, but this approach has made me a more engaged viewer overall, and I often catch details I would have missed with weekly releases.

3 comments

3 Comments

palmer.richard1mo ago

Taking @henry_allen62's notepad idea further, you could catalog narrative devices to predict twists in any mystery genre.

evanw841mo ago

Have you ever mixed in puzzle-based games with your mystery binge? I crushed a bunch of Phoenix Wright and Her Story sessions after watching similar shows, and it trained me to piece together inconsistencies way faster. Now I'm spotting chekhov's guns in dialogue like it's second nature, which made rewatching older series a whole new experience.

henry_allen621mo ago

Binging the entire 'Sherlock' series in one weekend taught me to watch for costume changes as clues. Like @evanw84 found with Phoenix Wright, that hyper focus on details transfers to other media. I started keeping a notepad during mysteries to jot down red herrings, and now I can usually call the twist by episode three. It got to the point where my wife won't watch cold case dramas with me anymore because I spoil the endings. But it does make rewatches more satisfying, catching all the subtle setup you missed the first time.