The original post: /r/television by /u/Zaknokimi on 2025-02-25 03:27:32.
So when I say realistic, I mean dramas that aren’t based on fantasy, and are just drama. For example, Ozark, Yellowstone, etc, based on our world or real life. (All other tv show examples have suddenly left my brain.)
In Ozark, it shows Wyatt talking to his dad for example, which I know is in his mind. In Yellowstone S4, the whole series never goes into anyone’s dream or anything outside actual events, and then suddenly Kayce has visions that we see when he goes on his 4 day journey.
House of Cards has Frank dreaming about the people he killed when his liver gets shot. While I appreciate the point of those scenes is to show how it’s causing his mind to play tricks on him, there’s an attempt at artistry that I can also appreciate in those dreams, but I think I would rather just see the reactions of Frank suffering from those dreams or talking about it in detail later rather than letting us see it all.
Some shows also show dreams about certain beliefs that are mentioned in the show, which forces us to acknowledge that that belief or religion in that show is real rather than leave that part abstract so we could decide or observe ourselves.
I know it’s a common thing, and it’s not really something to have a problem with, but I personally find it breaks out of the immersion for me. Half the time these ‘visions’ also have recurring characters that are sometimes dead so it also makes it feel like it’s been done to get the character back more than seeing through the person’s mind.
There are a few shows I like that don’t do this such as Breaking Bad (just one I can think of right now).