Television’s so-called Second Golden Age has seen the rise of the antihero—the morally ambiguous protagonist that modern audiences find more “nuanced” or “complex.” But now a few media outlets are questioning, Is this dark golden age going too far to attract viewers?

Shows such as The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy and Game of Thrones compete to out-shock their audiences, each pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable to watch.

New York Post’s Mareen Callahan believes it’s time for reconsideration:

Thursday night, on abc’s Scandal, Olivia Pope, the protagonist—long established in the show’s vernacular as a “white hat,” or good guy—beat a wheelchair-bound stroke victim to death by pulping his face with an aluminum chair.It was a lengthy scene, and even for a Shonda Rhimes soap that builds itself weekly on … “twists”—gruesome scenes of torture and dismemberment, politically expedient murders and illegitimate war, rape, kidnapping, blackmail and one interminable scene where an imprisoned terrorist chewed through her own wrist to escape—this one was morally and artistically bankrupt.

Each time a main character is killed off in an originally gruesome manner or female characters are shown in gratuitous rape scenes, a few critics will sound the alarm. “This is going too far,” they say. But there’s no shortage of people willing to fill in their spot on the couch.

Breaking Bad (a show about drug dealing and murders) pulled in 10.3 million viewers for its season finale. The Walking Dead is regularly watched by over 14 million viewers, and the brutal violence of Game of Thrones draws in nearly 20 million viewers across all platforms.

(Listen to Trumpet Daily Radio Show host Stephen Flurry discuss television’s Golden Age.)

With so much news coverage of actual dark and gruesome acts, it could seem logical to think people might prefer to turn to lighter media for entertainment to wrench themselves from the real world.

But, as has been noted by some television critics, there’s a precedent for people who endure dark news seeking equally dark fictional worlds to retreat to.

As Callahan notes, darker themes are seen as more mature. “Moral transgression automatically signifies high art. Infanticide, incest, pedophilia, matricide, torture, rape, castration, cannibalism, mass murder—all are now commonly employed tropes meant to signify quality.”

Educator Herbert W. Armstrong warned, shortly after television’s first Golden Age, of the power of this medium:

Television brings across its message, whatever it may be, with terrific impact. Both through sight and sound simultaneously—a very effective medium. But what are we doing with it; how are we using it? Just to while away our time? Just to amuse and entertain ourselves?Listen, it brings with it a tremendous responsibility on your part, and it’s going to require a little bit of self-control and guidance over your children, over your own selves, as to whether you use it wisely.

Television has the tremendous power to be used for the viewer’s benefit—or detriment. The time spent in front of the screen is beneficial when we are its master, not its slave. To see screen-time usage in perspective, read the article “Free Yourself From Netflix.”