Take, for example, what is indisputably one of the most divisively received Disney+ streaming series of recent memory, The Acolyte. In the middle of the season came Episode 4 “Day” and Episode 5 “Night.”
Both episodes are 35 minutes long, tying for the shortest chapter in the Disney+ streaming series so far.
One common complaint about “Day” and “Night” is that the former episode felt too short, and that it was all exposition and build-up to an explosive cliffhanger. “Night,” on the other hand, wound up as one of the most universally embraced entries in the series, largely because of its dynamic and expertly choreographed lightsaber battles.
This would inspire fewer complaints if Disney released their streaming series all at once or in bigger chunks like Netflix—viewers could go straight from “Day” into “Night,” without really caring that there wasn’t much action in the earlier episode.
But because Disney releases its streaming episodes weekly, fans got one of the shortest episodes in the series, “Day,” were underwhelmed by it, and had to wait a week to get something that felt like a complete, well-rounded story.