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When a new TV show drops on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, the plot and how slick it looks can only get it so far.
More important than both is the people in the show, and the talent of the actors as they try and bring stories to life. But when the cast changes, and somewhat unexpectedly, the audience can be left confused and a little emotionally disconnected to the story they had found themselves immersed in.
One show that has taken Netflix audiences by storm in recent weeks is Australian drama Boy Swallows Universe.
The hit show, based on Trent Dalton's book of the same name, is part-autobiographical with many of Dalton's life stories turned into fictional takes.
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Dalton's book was published back in 2018 and received amazing reviews, with the show now following in its footsteps. Some have given it a perfect 10/10 rating while calling it 'beautiful, brilliant and uplifting'.
Boy Swallows Universe tells the story of schoolboy Eli Bell (Felix Cameron) and his older brother, Gus (Tiger Halley).
The lads live in a working class Brisbane neighbourhood in the Australian state of Queensland, with mum Frankie (Phoebe Tonkin) - who suffers from addiction - and drug dealing stepdad, Lyle (Travis Fimmel).
The path that Eli and his family travel down takes a dark turn, mixed up in the criminal underbelly of Brisbane's Darra suburb.
Spoilers time, because that's what this article is all about.
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After a huge gang fight and failed prison escape to bring episode five to an end, the show makes a sudden time jump.
In those first five episodes, the performance of Eli by Felix Cameron had been met with critical acclaim.
He has captured the audience's attention, with fans fawning over the maturity of the lad's performance.
One fan said: "I power watched Boy Swallows Universe on Netflix last night, after becoming transfixed.
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"The actors shine but Felix Cameron as young Eli Bell is phenomenal. That kid is going places."
But come the aforementioned time jump, we're very quickly left with an older, grown up Eli played by Zac Burgess.
You instantly recognise it's Eli because of his missing finger; something he lost in episode two when things went south for the entire family.
The time jump has not gone down too well with some fans though, with some saying the show lost all momentum and purpose once the core actor was changed.
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They posted on X: "I've finished Boy Swallows Universe. First few episodes were good but it lost me after the time jump.
"The finale felt like a chore to watch and the charm of the first few episodes was completely gone."
Over on Reddit, another said similar writing: "Really liked it until the time jump.
"After episode five the story completely falls apart. Older Eli's casting is also quite bad. Started as an 8.5 to 9/10 and wound up a 5/10."
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A third said the time jump meant you missed out on what had made Eli a grounded young man following his teenage years. The version of Eli played Cameron had been through the gutter and then some.
They said: "Fantastic series on the whole, but I was also left feeling a bit empty by the last two episodes.
"A couple of things bugged me with it — firstly, the effective jump cut from young Eli to teenage Eli.
"He went from being a rough and emotional kid to a completely normal, high achieving young man. It just didn’t seem authentic."
It's clearly a case by case basis when it comes to time jumps, as not every time jump goes down poorly with audiences.
One such example was iconic drama Lost, which time jumped out of nowhere at the end of season three.
The main difference with something like this was that you knew it was temporary, given the show's reliance on temporary flashbacks at that time.
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: Australia, Netflix, Social Media, TV and Film