Besides being budget-friendly, it was just an awesome thing to share. I’m not going to say that the peak of our quality time transpired while we were 90 minutes deep into Frank Underwood’s latest scheme, but it was nice — a comfortable, casual closeness and low-effort way to connect, quietly. “The opportunity to experience television in such an intimate and all-consuming way is deeply bonding between couples,” as Time put it. TV is funny that way, and very different from, say, music or books. (“Let’s stay in and listen to every track on the new Kanye album in a row instead of hitting the bar,” said no one, ever, who wasn’t at least mildly stoned.) With TV, you get to know the characters and explore their universe together. You root for the same things or maybe even different things and have impassioned discussions. Plus, committing to a show as a team requires a certain amount of patience and self-control. You know, the same kind of loyalty a 30-year marriage garners, or the dedication cultivated after spending 18 months separated by half a planet while one of you finishes your Greenpeace mission in Botswana. Just like that.So when I broke up with my boyfriend this past March, our TV partnership was yet another strand to untwist from our tightly woven bond. Yes, it's just TV. Still, I was startled by just how sad it made me.When I tried to watch “our” shows on my own, I couldn't enjoy them the same way. I was distracted by the memories of watching them with him — a bitter twinge of nostalgia. It felt wrong to reenter those fictional universes without my partner in crime, and it was harder to immerse myself in them. The first time that happened was with The Wire; we had binge-watched the first four seasons of it last fall and winter, with just the fifth and final season to go. When I started the season 5 premiere by myself, I got an unsettling sensation. I couldn’t focus on the show. I was transported back to the hours upon hours my boyfriend and I spent sprawled out on the couch, getting to know McNulty and Kima. What was going on with Avon Barksdale's crew didn’t matter now. I still haven’t finished it.