10 Problems With The MCU On TV (And How To Solve Them)

6. Too Many Episodes And Not Enough Story

MCU TV
Marvel

Thirteen or more episodes is just too many to sustain a single storyline; and that’s a problem most of Marvel’s TV shows have encountered.

Eight to ten episodes is probably the most you can stretch a single A-plot narrative over. All but one of the thirteen-episode Marvel Netflix shows have sagged badly in the middle; Daredevil’s second season dealt with two consecutive storylines and managed to pace itself properly as a result.

As a full-length network TV show, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. was more than familiar with the dilemma; until last year it simply bolstered its season-long arc plots with filler episodes and extraneous subplots.

In season four, it fixed the problem by adopting the ‘pod’ model. The year was split into three linked storylines, each building on the last, to deliver twenty-two all killer, no filler episodes. It lead to the show’s best ever reviews, and made ABC’s decision to renew for a full season five (despite underwhelming ratings) a lot easier.

November’s Runaways will run to ten episodes, as will next year’s Cloak & Dagger and New Warriors. That may allow them the time to tell a decent story without any fat; however, The Punisher will run to thirteen episodes, and it’s likely that future Netflix shows will do likewise.

Hopefully they’ve learned to tell more than one story per season.

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Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.