Isn't that the way to do it though? Do you really want an Affleck Batman running around with a Robin? I'm a big Robin fan, but there's no question that the best Batman stories ever feature him on his own.

Best as Robin, maybe. But that's more of a generational thing than anything else. Dick Grayson didn't really become a three-dimensional character until he'd been around 40 years. If he'd gotten his own title in the 80's when he was at his creative zenith instead of the mid-90's after he'd been returned to being a…

Not today, of course not. But back in his heyday, when The New Teen Titans was far and away DC's biggest title, the annual CBG poll had Nightwing as the #4 most popular character in comics, behind only Batman, Wolverine, and Alan Moore's Swamp Thing.

"This line is bad and yet I don’t mind it."

Agreed, but I think those things are all breadcrumbs that'll lead to how this all falls apart. Most big Shameless storylines end that way — a Gallagher kid settles into something good (college, relationship, job, etc.) and then something destroys it.

I was so convinced that either Zeek or Camille was going to keel over toward the end.

You have to give credit to the writers and director, too. They trusted the actor to be able to communicate that moment of realization with no dialog. Krause nailed it, so the subtle, trusting writing and direction really paid off.

He had just moved out of his dorm. His stuff was most likely still packed…

I'm surprised there's so little talk about Amber's behavior since Ryan left. She ditched work and got boozy at her Dad's, then was all manic and pushy (and drinking again) dragging Drew out to the frat party last week, and this week it was weed and wine.

I think people are making too much of Kristina's comment. You can plainly see at the end of the exchange that she and Adam were laughing about it. Kristina was simply picking on Sarah. It wasn't judgmental; it was just her saying, "Should we really be taking parenting advice from a woman who is sitting inches from her…

You make some excellent points, but this all boils down to Zeek being active and Camille being passive. It's not that they care more about Zeek, it's that Zeek takes action, and action gets attention and generates REaction. Looking at your list…

I totally agree with you about Crosby. My issue with Camille is her attitude and actions in general.

Crosby was being a twit, no doubt, but Camille's soapbox is starting to get a little wobbly. Her speech this week reminded me of that old Chris Rock bit where people seem to want credit for stuff they're SUPPOSED to do.

First of all, they were on better footing when they adopted Victor. This season began with Joel and Julia in dodgy positions professionally, but otherwise they seemed okay.

I don't disagree with you on the Victor thing. For me, it wasn't so much what she was feeling, it was how she handled it. One of the most important parts of that story was something small that emerged early on, where Julia was letting him get away with everything because she thought being nice to him was the key. …

No, I'm talking about the one they did with Sydney. Something died — I think it was a bird — Sydney was sad, they knew she was going to ask about death, so they talked about how to handle it. Julia was on the fence, but pretty clearly wanted to go the heaven route to minimize Sydney's sadness. Joel is not religious…

"We’ve been over and over how silly it is that Joel left his wife for things he, himself, did back in season one"

I can't believe you gave this a B (though I applaud your "negligible homicide" typo as the funniest I've read in a while). This was easily the worst-written episode of this show that I recall.

You're talking like these things don't accumulate. If you owned a business and an employee kept making the same mistakes over and over, some larger than others, eventually the time would come to fire them, no matter how nice you are.

You're just not recalling those stories because, again, this has been an ongoing, building thing for as long as the show's been on.