The purpose of the "Heroic Journey" is a way to explain that the protagonist isn't the same person in the final chapters as he is in the first (think Luke Skywalker, Frodo). If the character undergoes some time of change, like growing up (maturing) or recognizing their partner's struggles and needs, it can still count as a journey. I haven't read your story, so I can't say if it would make it significantly better or not. "Better" is subjective.
TV shows, I have noticed, usually operate with two main types. You have episodic stories (like Friends, Reba, Baby Daddy) where there is an independant adventure each week. These types of shows wrap everything up in the 30 minute period. It also doesn't matter the order you watch the episodes in. The other type, is like what you mentioned, the early episodes are key to setting up the latter episodes and you HAVE to watch them in order.
Everything has beats. If you hare having a hard time wrapping your mind around what a "beat" is to do a beat sheet, think of beats as music. There are songs (scenes) that are fast paced with upbeat rhythms, others are fast and intense, while some are sad and slow. Being conscious of the beats in your work is like pairing the right background music to the scene you're trying to create. (ex. you wouldn't pare the Imperial March with the scene where Luke is staring into the distance thoughtfully on Tattooine.)