When Orange is the New Black first entered our Netflix queues, I snorted it up like the smuggled drugs Alex Voss was incarcerated for. As I did with House of Cards and Arrested Development Season 4, I inhaled the series in mere days, clicking through episodes, delving deeper and deeper into the oppressive halls of the penitentiary that now trapped the once naïve, entitled and very-white Piper Chapman. But a hunger for more actually left me with less. Much less.

I’m no dummy – I fully realize that as I write this, 95 percent of all Netflix users have already finished Season 2 of the female prison dramedy, but dammit, I don’t care. As great as it feels to “get there first,” be in the know, and avoid the spoilers on Facebook and Twitter (there’s a special circle of hell reserved for people who post spoilers on social media), I refuse to binge on this tasty season that is already turning out to be darker, racier, and raunchier than ever before.

Full-disclosure, I’m only four episodes deep. Count ‘em. (And I won’t go dishin’ dirt here about what I already know, so if you’re like me or simply behind, this is a safe zone, friends. Read easy.) Despite only being one-third of the way through, it’s astonishing how many details from Season 1 I have forgotten. Back stories and past crimes committed are all a blur, which is quite unfortunate given that the show is such a character-driven beast. And although it may be the New Normal for TV viewing nowadays, I fully blame binge-watching for this.

I’m no newbie to TV; I watch and dissect a lot of it. But by binge-watching series after series, you lose a lot of the precious detail and character subtleties that are supposedly why we love TV in the first place. There is a ton of quality fare in this Golden Age of Television, full of retro ad agencies, playboy writers from California, junkie nurses, and more. How can we even keep it all straight to begin with? Watching a full series or season in 48 hours of less is sensory overkill. As I’m watching Orange Season 2, I’m finding it hard to recall Red’s family life, Morello’s past, and what happened to Miss Claudette. Did Healy set up Piper!? WHAT IS GOING ON?

Blame it on the binge, all.

I’d fit in and match wits with even the most skilled, knowledgeable group of Arrested Development fans. You want to quote that already-messy Fourth season? Forget it. Want to know why? I watched it in (no lie) 30 hours. The entire season. I shot it down faster than you can find money in the banana stand. Faster than you could burn yourself on a cornballer. Faster than Lucille 2 hits the ground after a bout of vertigo. Faster than….something about an ostrich? I couldn’t tell you because I can barely remember.

(And don’t bother asking me a single question about the deep politics of House of Cards – all I know is Frank Underwood is a baaaaad man and his wife is an ice queen and holy shit, that series is awesome.)

So I’m learning from past mistakes. I’m strapping in and really spending some quality time with Piper, Crazy Eyes (sorry…Suzanne), Red, Morello, and all of my other favorite inmates. I’m hoping my slower pace will reward me with richer character development, a better understanding of the dynamic among the ladies inside, and time to reflect on WTF I just saw. Because it’s not always about who was poisoned, who choked on their own vomit, or who lied under oath. Oftentimes, it’s more important how those characters got there in the first place. After all, it’s those details that truly make or break these jaw-dropping moments.