To spoil or not to spoil: Are spoiler websites worth it?

  I felt guilty when I opened the spoiler website. It felt like cheating; but I had to do it. Yesterday, I found out that the Sopranos are coming back on. My first instinct, which I am not proud of, was to immediately begin looking for Spoiler Alert websites. I learned a lot while looking.

First, I learned you can’t really trust spoiler websites. I found many predicting how last season would end that were incorrect. So why did I keep looking? I’m not sure. I guess I just had to know. When you really like a show you just can’t wait for it to come on.

I also learned that HBO accidentally published a synopsis of the first show of the season. The thing is, they had already taken it down so I was out of luck there. But, other people must have seen it, so there should be information. I began searching website after website. They all say someone will die. Unfortunately, that someone is never the same person listed on other sites. Every Soprano fan knows that every season someone must die. It is the nature of the show, so I’m not sure that is much of a spoiler.

Some would argue that spoilers do spoil the show. I wouldn’t be one of them. If Paulie gets whacked, I still want to see how it goes down. In fact, they make me even more anxious for the show. The conflicting spoilers out there can be frustrating. You are never sure which spoiler was correct. Some really good spoiler sites have huge followings.

I suspect most of these spoiler people are just guessing, which I can do myself. I was shocked the show was going to end. Soprano fans seem to be shocked, though some think the show jumped the shark a while back. Still, even if the show is old news, how the show ends is not. Does Tony get it in the end? Who replaces him? There is always a question to replace the question that spoilers answer.

It isn’t just Sopranos fans surfing the web for spoilers. Harry Potter fans are big time spoiler aficionados. In fact, most of the good shows try to guard scripts and actors from spoiler activities as much as possible. The amount of security around the last Harry Potter book is phenomenal. But personally, a well-written spoilers make me want to see the show or buy the book even more.

Are you a fan of spoilers? I wonder how many of us actively look up spoilers for our favorite programs or that movie we've been dying to see?