I think so. The “on a date” scenario gives us a framework, two strangers who WANT to like each other. I don’t think that makes it creepy, it just saves him the trouble of creating a background for these characters. Then she starts saying these wacky things, and he’s showing disappointment that this obviously won’t work out, while also trying to be polite as they are having dinner together.
One thing that I’ve noticed is that back in the day, if you played a game enough, you either beat it, and quit playing it, or you got stuck and quit playing it.
Now, DLC, matchmaking, and monthly events add years of replayability to games. As long as there’s another battlepass to complete and holiday themed costumes to collect, there’s ALWAYS one more thing to do/collect/buy.
That seemed to be a trend during that era of TV. The protagonist has a problem, spends the whole season solving that problem, and then discovers that they have created an even bigger problem in the season finale. Repeat until your show about “regular person in a tough situation” slowly turns into “person with barely enough luck to survive kills God”
For me, personally: Shit’s always been out of control, and even though it may seem like human rights are going backwards, we’re better off now than we’ve ever been. Interacting with my own kids and the college students I work with gives me a lot of hope. We really just need the boomers to stop getting nostalgic for the “good old days” when you were allowed to bully anyone who was different from you.
The kids are progress. Support them! Let them turn the world into what they what it to be, and not what we think they need.