As a bit of insight into the formulaic writing (previously here and here) of every streaming show, JWZ breaks down the first, often orphaned series into:
- Episodes 1 and 2: The Mystery Episode
- 3 - 6: The Fambly and Crying
- Episode 6: Mild cliffhanger Episode
- 7: Deep Flashback—prequel that exploits the whole show mythology
- Episode 8: Resolution for Episode 6 but proffers several more cliffhangers for a Season Two that’s probably not going to happen
Once this pattern becomes established, it becomes hard not to find this arc-of-narrative.