For nearly a decade, streaming television has suffered from a persistent, self-inflicted malady: the padded runtime. We have all experienced the symptoms. A promising new thriller begins with a stellar hook, builds genuine tension in its second episode, and then grindingly stalls. By the time episodes five, six, and seven roll around, characters are sent on transparent side quests, subplots are introduced only to be abruptly abandoned, and the narrative wheels spin in place. This was the era of the ten-hour