I've actually arrived at the conclusion that Sally's lack of mercy/cruel justice (in using Gene to punish to Rolo) is actually a means for her to symbolically punish 'Don' for his actions.

Wow, reading this made me change my grade from a C+ to a B. Love when comedy tackles grief.

Did the Sally subplot play into this week's theme - 'the quality of mercy?' Been racking my brain trying to think of how it might fit together with the other plots.

Great ideas. I think the conclusion is ultimately the same though. The idea that the quality of 'mercy' that was being displayed here was simply self-interest masquerading as good intentions.

Can anyone explain Betty's sudden transformation into Mother of the Year? I mean, it's definitely connected to her newfound confidence after weight loss, and it probably has to do with the narrative too (to demonize Don further by putting Betty up on a pedestal). And yet I'm not sure if I buy it COMPLETELY.

TV Shows 
1. Enlightened
2. Justified
3. Mad Men (incomplete)
4. The Americans
5. Game of Thrones
6. New Girl

Omg you're in for a treat.

So many of my favorite seasons of shows are Season 5s. The Sopranos, Lost, Buffy, Seinfeld, The Shield, The Office. Don't know why but somehow Season 5 seems be the time when a lot of long-running shows deliver a definitive statement on what makes them so great.

During the Nintendo Direct, it was revealed that Pokémon X & Y will include the new Fairy-type which includes Sylveon, Gardevoir, Jigglypuff and Marill and is super effective against Dragon types. A new Pokémon was also revealed called Vivilion and one called Noivern. 
A new feature called Pokémon-amie allows you to…

Always can count on digi to speak the hard truths. Respect.

I gave both episodes B+, but I agree that this week's episode wasn't a huge step above last week's. I think the final moments/exchanges were well-done, and the motif of psychic driving gave the episode some good tension at the end, but at times while watching I also felt this episode was less focused. Some of the…

Harmon makes some great, persuasive arguments for returning to the 'pearls on a necklace' structure of S2 (and thanks so much for sharing the article).

I think you're absolutely right. Though S4 did feel like an alt-S1 at times…

Just a thought. Since Harmon is coming back (god never thought I would be typing this, but here we are), would you prefer if he created an alternative-S4 in S5 (i.e. continue from where he left things in S3 finale)? And if so, would we now consider S1-3 +5 as strictly canon, and S4 as some weird pastiche/detour into…

LOVE this interview. Also really glad that every bit of nuance and insight Todd gleaned from the Slings & Arrows reviews SHOWS in the creators' words. They sound as wise and knowing as I would ever have expected them to be.

Oh yeah great catch. Forgot to include Parenthood S4, Louie S3, Rev. in my runners-up. I don't think it changes my top picks, but thanks for the reminder : )

Now that the TV season is wrapping up, thought it would be fun to share my picks for best drama and best comedy.

I love this show so much that I've dabbled with placing it in my pantheon of top dramas of all time (Deadwood, The Sopranos, The Wire, with Breaking Bad and Mad Men soon to follow). It's just that good. What it lacks in actual length it more than makes up for in staggering depth.

Couldn't agree more. For me the change was S4's 'Return to Malice'. Really felt like the show had go on to another level (after the leaps the show took in the S1 finale and the 1st half of S2).

I still like it a great deal, and I think the S3 finale is also fantastic. But it got a little too mythology-heavy at parts (not a bad thing in itself, but there were times I thought they explained things that didn't really need explaining/showing - The Invisible Hand of Fate, Now Museum - Now You Don't, ORB - and…