I understand this post, but I also understand the posts that this post is criticizing, too, haha.
Filler is being used very liberally in these conversations, and again, this probably boils down to semantics to a large degree. There are two lenses to look through a multi part story: from the lens of judging it on it's individual merit (be it a film in a Trilogy, an episode in a series, a chapter in a Manga, etc), or the alternative of viewing the entirety of the media as a whole and judging based on that.
Television in particular gets a bad rap for pacing and filler/what is deemed filler by the audience in part due to this whole deal. Movies, even shitty movies, have the benefit of a defined run time, and a guaranteed ending. They are the perfect, fertile little Grove to tell a story within. A television series when viewed with this cinematic lens logically has ups and downs, action and breathers, contrasting vibes to keep it interesting. But if you view it as each episode is it's own piece of media and should be judged by the usual standards of critiquing story telling.
And I'm not singling this post out or attacking anyone on either side of the filler argument, but I will say Chapter fifteen of a book will probably have a tough time standing up to an entire novel. This is a rambly post. Sorry. There's some compelling thoughts in that word salad somewhere. Probably.
