That said, props for the inclusion of Songs from the Second Floor (but so low!), Force Majeure, and Offside.

Lists are for beefs, and I have a few:

50 Shades of Grayson?

Fun fact: the day after "Fight Club" aired, Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weeky's TV critic, wrote a post lamenting the uneven quality of the show's seventh season and wishing that more episodes were as fresh and funny as the previous night's.

Weird. Literally just this morning, I was thinking to myself that it'd been an unusually long time (~2 years) since Roth had published a novel. Sad to hear that he's hanging it up, but I'm glad he at least eked out Nemesis in 2010 so that The Humbling wouldn't be his swan song.

Weird. Literally just this morning, I was thinking to myself that it'd been an unusually long time (~2 years) since Roth had published a novel. Sad to hear that he's hanging it up, but I'm glad he at least eked out Nemesis in 2010 so that The Humbling wouldn't be his swan song.

God, I've been holding out on reading Sabbath's Theater for years simply because I expect it to blow me away, and I want to have the experience of reading it on some perpetual horizon. I might have to finally break down now, though.

God, I've been holding out on reading Sabbath's Theater for years simply because I expect it to blow me away, and I want to have the experience of reading it on some perpetual horizon. I might have to finally break down now, though.

I like season 7 more and season 8 less than most people, so my opinion probably isn't representative; nevertheless, I'd definitely put "X-Cops," "Je Souhaite," and "Requiem" (which is as good a series finale as the show could have hoped for) in the A-range.

I like season 7 more and season 8 less than most people, so my opinion probably isn't representative; nevertheless, I'd definitely put "X-Cops," "Je Souhaite," and "Requiem" (which is as good a series finale as the show could have hoped for) in the A-range.

"Via Dolorosa" is probably the most blatant—and, not coincidentally, the most problematic—S3 attempt to blend S1's emphasis on serial killers with S2's focus on biblical mysticism. It's so unsuccessful, I think, because there's such a disparity in the scale of the threat each poses; a measly serial killer is small…

"Via Dolorosa" is probably the most blatant—and, not coincidentally, the most problematic—S3 attempt to blend S1's emphasis on serial killers with S2's focus on biblical mysticism. It's so unsuccessful, I think, because there's such a disparity in the scale of the threat each poses; a measly serial killer is small…

Yeah, that's the finale in a nutshell. Suffice it to say, S3 is neither coherent in itself nor congruous with what came before it. You're better off just watching S2 and pretending that season's finale is the series finale (unless, of course, you're interested in the truly misguided experiment that is S3, which…

Yeah, that's the finale in a nutshell. Suffice it to say, S3 is neither coherent in itself nor congruous with what came before it. You're better off just watching S2 and pretending that season's finale is the series finale (unless, of course, you're interested in the truly misguided experiment that is S3, which…

Oh man, Human Essence and Omerta are both terrible, but the latter is a true curiosity; it's essentially the show's stab at a heartwarming Christmas special. Given your affection for holiday eps, Todd, I'm sure you'll at least find it a fascinating watch. I think it's probably the single worst episode of the series…

Oh man, Human Essence and Omerta are both terrible, but the latter is a true curiosity; it's essentially the show's stab at a heartwarming Christmas special. Given your affection for holiday eps, Todd, I'm sure you'll at least find it a fascinating watch. I think it's probably the single worst episode of the series…

When there's trouble, I don't like running
But I'm afraid I got more in common
With who I was than who I am becoming.

When there's trouble, I don't like running
But I'm afraid I got more in common
With who I was than who I am becoming.

Episode ranking, eh? Because I can't help myself:

I expected the response to this brilliant, muted finale to be mixed, but I'm a bit flabbergasted by just how overwhelmingly negative the reaction has been; regardless of what you thought of the rest of the season (and I, for one, would put it alongside Season 2 as the series' best), the consensus seems to be that "The…