Why “Filler” Episodes Are Not Filler

One of the biggest complaints that I’ve seen Tangled the Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure get is that there’s too many filler episodes and not enough plot. The thing is, you never know when an episode is going to be relevant later.

Imagine that the whole series is a movie. Each episode is a moment stretched out. Like, imagine if the original movie was a series, and the whole Snuggly Duckling scene had been a whole episode instead of a seven minute scene. It wouldn’t have been a dramatic episode. It would have been a fun, silly episode that still moved the plot forward, but in a small, subtle way. It might seem “pointless” and “filler” at the time, but then it makes sense in context when the Pub Thugs show up to break Eugene out of prison at the end.



Just because you can’t see why an episode was made doesn’t mean it isn’t going to matter later. A lot of the series’ foreshadowing isn’t visible until after you’ve seen where it’s going, then go back and rewatch. Varian was broadcast as the villain, but only if you knew to look for it. With the exception of the very end of “Great Expotations,” that episode seems a lot like “filler,” but it’s establishing Varian’s character and personality, to make his later turn more impactful.

So don’t dismiss the episodes that you think have nothing to do with the plot, because you actually never know when something is going to make sense later.