Cliffhangers?

[Litmaster]

I'd say that Cliffhangers done well, are addicting. Done clumsily, it's annoying and forced. A cliff hanger needs to pay for itself in some way plot-wise. By that I mean if it leads to something that is just mostly ignored in the following episode, it's irritating..

I like your phrasing of how a cliffhanger needs to "pay for itself in some way plot-wise". Totally agree... would say the same of emotion by the characters-- it's a fine line between sentiment and sentimentality in fiction.

Anyway, my point was basically you don't need a 'dun-Dun-DUUUN'! ending as long as there are threads and filaments underlying the plot that give it tension--so yeah, these are unresolved aspects in the plot. I guess it depends on what justifies the tension: this latest cliffhanger with Kalani ending up in the Mallers file was good, because the groundwork was already laid for it earlier in the plot and it suggests a new direction for events. One that was handled badly, IMHO, was the helicopter crash on the way to Irwin. Everything fine, then suddenly "Oh Crap! We're goin' down!!" That seemed just manufactured to create artificial tension and did not--to use your words--pay for itself.