Hopeful about what exactly? Rust's position before was basically that we are a species biologically programmed to survive and reproduce and that our evolved consciousness has basically damned us to a lifetime of being forced to creating meaning and trying to form an identity in order to cope with our existence. I…

I think you can accept a piece of art on the artist's terms and still point out the flaws in it or even outright hate it. I think taking the show on its terms simply means looking at what the show is trying to do and then judging it on that level. For example I think The Dark Knight and There Will Be Blood are both…

Rust seeing humans as being somehow separate from nature was always one of the biggest flaws in his philosophy, so I'm glad he reconciled that. But the rest of his speech just didn't ring true to me and felt somewhat out of character with what we were presented before.

I think the show has certainly gotten braver in terms of how it tells its stories. I couldn't have imagined the Mad Men of season 1 doing something like "Far Away Places" or "The Crash". Its hard to put my finger on it, but in general there a different feel to seasons 4-6 compared to the first three (this is also true…

From what I understand objectivism is all about pursuing ones own self interest, so I'd say that applies to Bert pretty well. He knows how great Don is at his job, so as long as having Don is good for Bert's own interests, he couldn't care less about what he's done.

Another great line from Bert is "I assure you, theres more profit in forgetting this". Its such a wonderfully capitalistic line. As Burt says, this country was built by men with far worst backstories than Donald Draper.

Quentin Tarantino often tried to downplay how much his earlier films lifted ideas from other works. Pizzolatto on the other hand has been a lot more forthcoming. He's spoken about how he felt the Yellow King's story within a story fit thematically with the show and has also repeatedly mentioned the work of Michael…

Honestly, I never saw this show as really transcending the noir thriller before tonight. Don't get me wrong, I love this show, but I always felt it was pretty well steeped in familiar noirish detective stories, it was just very self-aware about that fact. The strengths of this show have all been in the execution for…

I saw another interview where Pizzolatto was asked if he thought he could find a character for next season that could match Rust and he responded by saying, "I've found him". So based on that and his deleted twitter message, I'm guessing we'll being seeing one male and one female next season.

I feel like this season is shaping up to have more of a three act structure, so I don't really see a lack of direction. Boyd's story this season seems to be about moving him further away from the life he and Ava talked about when they were planning on buying a house, as his machinations to get Ava out of prison drag…

The way the writer explained it, Maggie realizes that sleeping with Rust is the only way to get Marty out of her life. If she slept with some random guy, he'd be pissed, but he'd keep coming after her like the last time they broke up. She knows that she needs him to want to leave, which is what will happen if she…

The showrunner has said that he wants people to root for Frank despite themselves. He's also said what I've always felt, which is that amoral characters like Frank or Walter White liberate viewers from the morals they normally live by and allow them to explore their darker self.
http://www.vulture.com/2013…

Well I guess it depends on what you mean by the "journalist subplot". You say you feel it wrapped up midseason, but I don't really feel that way. Lucas is in jail, but may get out and they're probably keeping the other female journalist around for a reason. As of now, they've spun it off into the hacker's story, but…

I definitely got the impression that it was a threesome. Claire seemed as interested in Meechem as Frank was, if not more so. And the way the three of them exchanged kisses, first Claire to Meechem, then Claire to Frank, then Frank to Meechem, really seemed to imply a threesome. Claire felt hung over the next morning…

Zoe's death is what led Lucas to the hacker storyline which looks like it will be a key story in season 3 so I wouldn't say it ended it so much as it spun it off into something else. There's also the chance that Lucas can still get out of jail.

For all the talk about how the anti-hero genre is "over" or played-out, True Detective proves that you don't necessarily need to do something particularly original to be grade-A television. The strengths of this show are the acting, the interplay between the two leads, and the way it's shot. Execution can be far more…

You mean Lip? Because I don't think Carl knows either. He overheard Jimmy say that Ian was gay last season, but Jimmy managed to brush it off.

It seems like this season is heading towards an ending where Ian, Fiona, and Lip effectively ruin their lifelong dreams and its Frank who comes out as the ok one. Never thought the show would take that direction, but its an interesting one. Lips vandalism at school will likely come back to bite him, Fiona is in danger…

That Stewart cameo had me in tears. One of the funniest bits Gervais has ever done.

Yeah, after the way Andrea got separated from them following the attack on Hershel's farm, you'd think coming up with a rally point would be a priority when they decided to set up camp somewhere else. On Carl making noobie blunders, I can somewhat understand it. He had some time between season 2 and 3 clearing houses…