She said he had to die just two weeks ago, by the hand of "a Son." So she wanted him dead; not merely dethroned. This ridiculous reversal on her part cost the episode a full-grade deduction from me. They need to be either more consistent with her or realistically explain why she would shift gears so drastically.

Tony commits no major acts of violence in this episode, and yet he was never a bigger monster. Quite an impressive feat.

There may be yet another swerve. Like maybe the father that raised Johnathan turns out to have somehow fathered him after all. (Just because I don't think a comedy like this would really go down the incest road.) But even before the reveal, I was thinking Johnathan and Rose would show some restraint, since it was…

The way I see it, things can only end in one of two ways: either Jimmy winds up crawling back to Nucky to give him back the throne & go back to being under his wing… or he's toast.

I know— most of the debate on Jimmy's intelligence was really from last week. But after considering it in the interim, I really just think it makes sense for the character to be in denial, as I described. The one thing that they've made crystal clear was how much he wanted to avoid a violent conflict with Nucky. So…

A "B" is still a good grade— it's what I gave it. (Although with hindsight, that one cleaver-to-the-head scene might have been worth pushing it to a B+.)

More largely, I think he was killed for considering the deal that the Brits were offering. It was apparent that his comrades felt he had lost his stomach for the cause in the wake of his son's death. Had he passed on Nucky's deal for other reasons but was still committed to a fully-independent Irish nation, I don't…

On Jimmy's intelligence: I don't think he's stupid, as some have posited, but he's certainly inexperienced and naive when it comes to business and politics. I could see him dying very easily as a result of all this by season's end. (That's putting aside any contracted commitment they may have with Pitt.)

This show may have been written by old-school supernerds for other old-school supernerds, but to its credit, you didn't have to be an old-school supernerd to enjoy it. It will be sorely missed.

I feel almost guilty for not giving it a higher grade, and yet I find it impossible not to grade the show on some kind of a curve. If I only judged each episode based on what other shows were doing, literally every episode would be an A. If I only judged the show based on its own track record, nearly every episode…

"And, hey, we had to give the people who end up buried on page seven of comments and complaining about that fact a fighting chance, right?"

"A longer-than-usual episode doesn’t quite know where to focus."

I will squeal with the delight of a schoolgirl when this show finally returns. I miss it so.

My tiny heart is breaking.

The more thought I give it, the more brilliant Nucky's play looks. He just put himself under the radar, allowing him to make a huge deal with the Irish for those guns while no one is watching.

He's good looking and murderous. It's a combination no woman can resist.

In any case, I don't think the poor child is long for this world.

"Streets Ahead" is verbal wildfire!

So far, I'd just call him a smooth muthafucka rather than a badass. If the show stays true to history, he'll definitely venture into badass territory on his way out— dude gets whacked and when he has a chance to finger his murderer, he basically tells the cops to go screw.

Be careful about your expectations regarding Margaret & Owen's little tryst. I'm not sure anything is ever going to come of it; or that they'll ever be discovered at all— even if Margaret goes back for some more of that good dick. Winter cut his teeth with the Sopranos, after all, and that show had a habit of leaving…