Dropping Disease: Curse or Blessing?

by The Hogwarts Twins, February 27, 2021

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(Note: For mobile users use landscape mode for a better view. UY - @unconditionallyyourss)

Dear readers,

We are Anushka and UY, proud members of the dark cult. Droppers by nature who like to drop dramas a lot, really a lot. We drop anything that doesn't feel right within even 10 min into the drama.
When I first heard about NDD (Never Dropping Disease) the first thing that came to my mind: Nope I don't suffer from it, coz I'm a patient of DD (Dropping Disease). Well, I'm pretty sure that I am not alone and that there're many like me who can even just drop a drama that happens to be a masterpiece according to the majority. It's just that sometimes you can't bear to watch more of a drama. I don't remember bearing a drama when I don't like it. I just drop it without hesitation.

I guess we've been dropping dramas for a long time now so it doesn't seem to be such a big deal but it seems like one of the options to prefer for a particular drama. So in this article, we are going to discuss DD. What is DD, what are its reasons, and the most important thing is it really a disease or is it actually a cure in disguise.

What is DD?

DD is nothing but that dark side of dramas that are reached only by legends aka DROPPING DISEASE. It's the final stage of drama dropping where we start to drop drama just because we don't get that feeling.
Why call it a disease? Well, that's why we're here to make sure if it's a disease or a blessing.

UY- At the start of my drama journey I didn't know what drop even meant. All I did was watch dramas. Slowly I came to dislike some of them because of various reasons. Little did I know I was on my way to the dark cult! At first, I didn't drop many dramas and I even felt bad when I dropped good dramas but now I just don't care, I am at such a level now where I have 100+ dramas on my dropped list.

(Leaving dramas in dropped list be like)

Anushka- I wasn't suffering from DD since the start of my drama journey. I used to watch dramas even if they were too boring, stories didn't make any sense, the whole drama was a mess. At that time I never thought of dropping dramas and at most I would just skip scenes, sometimes even whole episodes. My final goal was just to reach the ending. But when I explored a wide range of dramas in dramaland I found myself dropping drama. I couldn't even wait till the first episode was over, just the first 10 minutes into drama were enough for me to decide if I like it or not, if the drama doesn't have a good first impression on me, that drama has successfully made its place in my dropped list.

Why Do We Drop?

I don't have any specific reasons for dropping any drama. It depends on the situation and mood most of the time. So if it's not fit for my mood, I'm not enjoying it then why bother to watch more if I have the choice to let it go and watch something more interesting, which I'm gonna truly love.

So let's point out the main reason which can be responsible to drop drama:

Overused troops/ Clichés: Childhood connections, a love triangle (but there're rarely dramas without it), jerk ML, dumb FL, evil SFL, amnesia, time jump, unnecessary breakup, silly misunderstandings/ miscommunication, and many more can be very annoying. Especially love triangle's cough true beauty* cough* and misunderstandings make the whole show a mess. Oh not to forget those breakup which happened for the other person's well-beingfacepalm
	Spoilers: This can ruin the mood, interest, and everything. Spoilers can be a major reason for dropping. Specially spoilers about sad and bittersweet endings. Spoilers of mystery, suspense drama can be most dangerous. Not only major but even relatively small spoilers can take our pleasure of enjoying that moment of surprise.
Triggering scenes: Severe bullying, violence, sexual assault/rape, toxic behavior from the male lead. Any major reason doesn't justify it. What's wrong is wrong. So trigger scenes can be a big drawback for any drama because they make it worse. I think trigger scenes have the ability to ruin the whole drama.
	Poor writing/Production: Well, quality matters, for me story is the most important factor of any drama. Plot/Story is the soul of any drama and if the drama is poorly written then there's no reason to watch it and waste our time on it though it has best cast coughMeltingSoftlycough. Not for all but for many production quality, the cinematography is also an important fact so if there's something wrong with it, it can be a reason to dislike drama.
First impression: I think what matters to me the most is the first impression. If a drama has a good start and just has me into its zone, boom I watch it lovingly. But if I see unnecessarily dramatic scenes I just drop it. coughGGS 2cough.
	Cringy/Awkward scenes: Then another thing that has a major role in drama watching is CRINGE. The cringe is something I have developed with time unconsciously. Cheesy scenes are also not my thing. I also don't torture myself by watching something that I don't enjoy or irritates me. Overdramatic scenes are the worst things, well they don't even seem funny anymore they seem forced and really weird. So cringy, cheesy, and overdramatic scenes are a big NO for me!

Let's see what other members of the dark cult think about this subject...

From when did you start to drop dramas? why?

WandereR: I started dropping dramas probably a few years ago when streaming technology and content providers began making accessibility more convenient. It's easier to drop dramas in favour of other dramas to watch rather than drop them and end up with nothing else to watch.

Kate: I don't really remember. I've been watching dramas for years, and at first, I never dropped shows. No matter if I liked it or not, I had to finish it. Then I started thinking it's okay to drop shows if I still don't like them halfway through. Now I just drop everything I don't feel like watching, even if I only saw half of the first episode.

What are the main reasons when you drop any drama?

WandereR: I have 4 main reasons for dropping dramas:
1. Exposure to major spoilers, especially those that give away the plot twists and endings (in particular sad, tragic endings).
2. I feel that the drama is too poorly produced in most, if not all, aspects. Usually one would know this within the first episode.
3. After giving it a try for a few episodes, I realize that it's not my cup of tea and/ or a few things bother me enough to cease continuing.
4. After a promising start, the production goes downhill either in terms of the plot direction or quality, or both. Usually, under this category, the pain is real.

Kate: Mostly, I drop dramas when I don't have fun watching them anymore. It usually has nothing to do with the quality of the show itself. I've dropped many well-written and loved dramas (Nirvana in Fire being the best example) but at the same finished the mediocre ones. So I drop dramas based on my enjoyment level - if I don't feel it, I drop it.

But we haven't got an answer yet... Is DD a curse or a blessing?

(Anushka)
In my opinion, we cannot really determine that, because it can be both. I'm very moody so if a drama isn't fit for my mood at the time I easily drop it. I can drop it even in the very first episode, and actually, I rarely look at my dropped dramas so there is the possibility of missing something that I would have enjoyed and liked much better, but what if that drama gets better later and I missed such a good watch, so maybe DD is a curse.

I watch the drama because they are my stress busters, my break from studies, as a student time is really important to me so if I'm not enjoying the show, if it's not up to my expectations or if I'm dead bored then why would I watch it? Why would I waste my time on it? Well in that time I can do something more creative or watch something different in which I have an interest, so according to me dropping such a drama is the best option.... so I guess it can be called a blessing too.

(UY)
Actually, I do agree with you at some points as I am a student too but according to me it all depends on perception and the state of mind. If I talk about a particular mindset of a person who overthinks about his actions, his decisions, he thinks if it was right or wrong. If such a person watches a drama whose summary concludes that "the MC's decision is the reason his life took a bad turn" so he'll feel more insecure, tend to compare himself to it, and end up regretting his decision. But for the person with a strong mindset to watch it, maybe he'll be seeing it as an idiotic concept. So actually it depends on each person we cannot determine that on our own.

Let me take another example- If a tomboy like me watches a totally cheesy rom-com like "Love is Sweet" I'll end up being cringed and grossed out. But at the same time, someone who takes their love life seriously may love to watch it.

So I can't conclude if DD is a curse of a cure but I'll leave that decision to the person itself to decide.

So if you feel like you are also someone who likes dropping dramas then you are welcome to join the dark side!