I think in part it’s a response to such short seasons.
When you only get 8 episodes, spending an episode doing something different or just focusing on one character can feel like a waste.
Think about the Picard flute episode of TNG, if we only had 8 episode seasons and that was one of them, people would probably be upset.
But ultimately I’m happy with “filler” episodes, because the character development is usually worth it. Even if that episode is rated poorly, it usually improves the overall story.
I think in part it’s a response to such short seasons.
When you only get 8 episodes, spending an episode doing something different or just focusing on one character can feel like a waste.
Think about the Picard flute episode of TNG, if we only had 8 episode seasons and that was one of them, people would probably be upset.
But ultimately I’m happy with “filler” episodes, because the character development is usually worth it. Even if that episode is rated poorly, it usually improves the overall story.