Everything had started so well. Remember, it was in 2014. You had already been shining for some time on the other side of the Atlantic. Me, in France, I was waiting for you impatiently. When you arrived, I immediately fell in love.
You know me (do you know me after all?), I’m a fan of cinema and series. I would eat it at every meal, I could do just that with my days. I am bulimic. And here you are disembarking with your bags filled with beautiful promises. Series and films do you want some here, just a click away (or remote control). It was love at first sight.
I didn’t expect you to be perfect. That it is ? But the main thing was there. After our days of work, we met both, sometimes several. Very quickly, I invited you into the family. My parents loved you right away, my brother too. And then the meeting with friends. The best have welcomed you with open arms.
You know it like me, the most difficult thing is not to fall in love but to make this love live. You knew how to maintain the flame by renewing yourself regularly, by surprising me with new series and films, sometimes clumsily (hello Marseilles), often with plume (Family Business, Casa de Papel), sometimes to ecstasy (Stranger Things). What a wonderful time!
“We had the ordinary pride of ‘the two of us are different'” sings Jean-Jacques Goldman. But we were no different. Very quickly, routine set in. Surprises have become rare. And then the doubts.
I wondered why this flame was no longer burning while that of the neighboring Canal+ made everyone crack. Sometimes I looked away. Disney+, Apple TV+ and even Amazon Prime Video made their case. I shared a few evenings with them, as good friends, but I never felt the love I feel for you. Faithful, until the end.
I have always supported you, even in the face of those who kept telling me that it was time to leave you. Some had taken this course, even if (and I regret it) to go back to see their ex, piracy. I defended you, body and soul, until I showed myself publicly. I even posted a video to say that illegal downloading was not a solution.
And then you chained the filth. First with incomprehensible successive price increases. You were more demanding but nothing changed. Your catalog was no longer as attractive, good surprises were too rare and the quality of your catalog was mediocre.
Our neighbor Disney+, for example, demanded half as much as you but accepted my family and friends and continued to keep the flame burning with 4K HDR displays and Dolby Atmos sound. And you ? Nothing. Always more demands, but nothing in return.
After almost 10 years, you are now announcing to me that you want nothing more to do with my family or my friends. That if I still want us to share the good times together, I’ll have to make even more sacrifices. As you know, life is far from easy in these times of crisis.
Our love has withered away. This last requirement is one too many. I loved you very much, and I thank you for these beautiful years. We may meet again from time to time around a good movie or series when it comes out. A little nugget like Stranger Things, You or whatever. But I no longer love you enough for us to share our daily life. I have given too much, expected too much, hoped for too much.
I’m leaving you. It’s not me, it’s you.
