Wow. My hat is off to you, Keith Phipps. And without mistake! I finally saw this travesty of a show, and your first two paragraphs made me LOL like I'd forgotten the AV Club could. It was really the "suspiciously 18-looing Maggie Grace" line that set me off, but really, Liam Neeson's participation in this…

Thanks, yes. I caught that on a rewatch.

I think yes. HBO too.

Wait a minute, I can't be the first to point this out. But I searched "lindsey" and "randall" via text search and nothing in the comments hit a similar argument.

I'd consider the possibility that he wanted to go to prison to get Dickie.  But he had no idea Dickie had been shot and arrested the very same night he shot Trooper Tom.  I'm thinking you're right, @avclub-c404a5adbf90e09631678b13b05d9d7a:disqus , Arlo knew he was going away for shooting a State Trooper and he could…

@Dr_John_Zoidberg:disqus  I disagree with the idea that Raylan feels any hesitation to put away Boyd for fear of another unfamiliar criminal enterprise replacing him.  One of the few things that's easy to recognize about Raylan is his uncompromising desire to "put away" the "bad guys."  I think that's why he felt like…

Yeah. And why didn't Food Inc. make this list?! All kinds of animals died in that movie.

I've been living in Japan the last two years.  Yes, they eat some crazy cuisine over here.  But few experiences compare to fishing with the local fisherman.  That shit is out of the water and in your stomach freakishly fast.

Ummm, not to be a dick, but how many octopuses (octopi?) die of old age?  As brutal as it is, an octopus being eaten alive is probably the most normal way for them to die.

Not to be a prick, but I'm pretty sure it's "have ye a valediction, boyo?"

Auslander is worth reading.  He kinda comes off as a pretentious prick who hates everything on TAL, but that's a pretty small sample size.  Beware of God is a great read and totally worth picking up.

These exchanges do give BE a charm that goes a long way for me.  I hope season three sees more exasperated Nucky reacting to Eddie (and specifically, Eddie's inability to keep Nucky's guests in the waiting room).

Ha ha ha. . . I think we know as much about Richard as the writers do.

He's kinda funny looking.

Good point.  "Doyle" has shown more skill this season, and his giggling doesn't annoy me yet.  But "less is more" is right on.  It's got to be a slow transition for the audience to buy it.

Christ, I live for her one-liners.  Telling Van Alden "there goes my dream" or the priest "I don't think I'll need it" in reference to his "moral support."

Agreed.  Jimmy did get the most time onscreen, so other characters' strengths may come into light with more face time, but I'm considerably less invested in this show.  Margaret has become a drag.  I'm glad Lucy Danziger is basically gone.  Eli is almost insufferable.

But my point is getting at something else.  I don't think it's within Richard to get pissed off.  I think he's your WWI vet that's witnessed enough death and suffering to accept that the world is a harsh and absurd place.  He doesn't really care about anything*.  Even Angela's death was met with silence (and a weird…

Yeah, I agree that offering a window into the WWI vet's psyche was a compelling part of BE's overall story.  As discussed during season one, it's interesting to watch the different characters' ideas of what Jimmy was actually doing over there.  The cameraman talked about hearing radio reports and thinking about…

More Rothstein, yes.  More Van Alden.  More Esther Randolph (as she's apparently the strong woman we wanted Margaret to be).