And as we've learned from House of Cards, dog killers make pretty effective politicians.

I'm glad we got an explanation for Jonah's inexplicable prominence in Washington. The character has always been amazing, but I've often wondered how he managed to obtain a job in the White House despite being so recklessly irresponsible and loathsome. (And I think Selina and her staff have wondered this as well.)

Dan is probably a sociopath. It seemed very much in character to me.

But was it really accidental? Louise is far more perceptive than Tina, and probably has a better grip on what Jimmy Jr. wants more than her older sister. I saw Louise's shtick as a way to empower her passive sister a bit (in addition to the obvious shit-stirring that Louise thrives on).

Linda's behavior ultimately killed this episode for me - well, at least Gene's plot. Tina and Louise's hijinks were solid.

I like Marissa, but I dunno, there's just something about that Traci Rearden…

As someone who grew up on a dairy farm and has actually performed A.I. on a cow before, that was the quickest and cleanest artificial insemination I've ever seen. It typically involves quite a bit of shit, considering you have to get all of the manure out of the cow's rectum to allow you to feel for the cervix. Long…

As the clone who mysteriously grew a penis?

I'm kind of relieved that Mrs. S slaughtered her fellow "Birdwatchers." Between the Neolutionists and the Prolethians, I can't say I was looking forward to following yet another faction of weirdos on this show.

He's basically the Mark Brendanawicz of Orphan Black.

It's definitely an A-, at least. I thought last week's episode was pretty overrated, considering its main purpose was to tie up loose ends from last season's crazy finale.

No Paul this ep, though I barely noticed his absence. (And I'm guessing I'm not alone.)

The idea that a woman can eventually consent after initially fighting against the sex so violently seems quite loathsome to me. It seems somewhat related to the guilt that rape victims feel for experiencing any pleasure at all from non-consensual sex, even when the pleasure was purely biological and not a result of…

It's mainly the change from the book's depiction of the scene - which was aggressive-but-consensual sex - to the television show's depiction of blatant rape.

I find it a bit surprising that they didn't consult GRRM on this scene.

I think it's unrealistic in that it seems extremely premature for anyone in the party leadership to be offering visible public support for a particular candidate this far in advance of the primaries, especially with formidable adversaries like Danny Chung in the mix.

Agreed. It also makes me wonder how they're going to rewrite the poisoned locust assassination attempt on Dany.

They certainly could do it in a single season. Despite being twice as long as ASOS, AFFC/ADWD contain an abundance of filler and could be cut down into a single season with relative ease.

I'm glad they seem to be giving Daario a considerable makeover in the show, because he's probably the single worst character in the entire book series.

Providing perspective from the Tyrells is probably the single best creative decision that D&D have made.