Pexels/Reddit

Some friendships run on tiny rituals, and messing with those rituals can hit harder than people expect. A woman and her friend always made a point of watching certain shows together, treating them as a shared experience rather than just background noise.

That tradition soon dissolved when her friend stopped initiating watch sessions altogether, leaving unfinished shows in limbo for weeks with zero explanation.

The real gut punch came when he revealed he’d finished both shows entirely on his own, all under the excuse of wanting to watch at his own pace.

She couldn’t help but feel betrayed by it all.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for getting mad at my friend for watching a show we had always watched together without me?

So me and my friend have always done this thing where we pick out certain TV shows we both like and watch them together.

Of course there are shows we don’t watch together and watch on our own time apart from one another, but there are some shows we pick out special to watch together.

This person has started to find a lot of enjoyment in this shared activity.

We always have a lot of fun talking about every new episode and what we think will happen next and just having fun.

But soon, the activity came to an end, and the truth of why surprised her.

However, for a while, even though we were in the middle of watching two shows, he just altogether stopped suggesting we watch them.

For long periods of time we just wouldn’t watch either show and I was confused. Until recently, where he just randomly dropped on me that he had finished both shows without me and hadn’t even told me.

The friend pleaded his case, but she couldn’t help but feel hurt by it all.

He said it was because he “wanted to watch them at his pace,” but he didn’t even tell me he was doing this. Moreover, there are a bunch of other shows he could have been watching, but he specifically chose to watch the two main shows we were watching together instead of the many other shows he has told me he has an interest in watching.

AITA for getting angry about this?

It’s not wrong to feel hurt by this at all.

Redditors reacted with mostly compassion.

As a first step, it’s important to feel your feelings without judgment.

Then, it’s important to get to the heart of the issue.

Just talking it out is probably the best way to gain clarity.

Never Miss a Story

Sign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.

This user takes a different view.

On one hand, this friend basically ghosted a tradition and expected nobody to notice. Choosing to binge the two specific shows they’d built into a shared ritual wasn’t a coincidence; it was a clear choice.

On the other hand, the only way to gain any real clarity about this is to talk it through openly and honestly. Maybe at the end of the day her friend didn’t have malicious intentions — or maybe there really is a larger issue between them that needs to be addressed.

Either way, they need to open up a clear dialogue between them if this friendship is going to survive.

Friends let you down sometimes, but it doesn’t mean it has to be the end.

Add TwistedSifter to your Google News Add us as a preferred source on Google

Author

Benjamin Cottrell

Benjamin Cottrell | Assistant Editor, Internet Culture

Benjamin Cottrell is an Assistant Editor and contributing writer at TwistedSifter, specializing in internet culture, viral social dynamics, and the moral complexities of online communities. He brings a highly analytical, editorial voice to his reporting on workplace conflicts, malicious compliance, and interpersonal drama, with a specific focus on nuanced stories that lack an obvious villain.

As a published author of rhetorical criticism, Benjamin leverages his academic background in human communication to dissect and elevate viral social media threads. Instead of simply summarizing events, he provides readers with balanced, deep-dive commentary into why the internet reacts the way it does. In addition to his cultural reporting, he is an experienced fine art photography essayist and video game reviewer.

When he isn’t analyzing the latest viral debates, Benjamin is usually chipping away at his extensive video game backlog, hunting down the best new restaurants, or out exploring the city with a camera in hand.

Connect with Benjamin on Instagram and read more of his essays on Substack.