There is certainly protective irony layered in, but the fact that Cohle is portrayed as so ridiculously competent makes it hard to argue that he's not a fantasy identification figure in large part.

Yeah, Larry David is one of the masters of story structure. Another is Terry Winter—anyone else notice that seasons of Boardwalk are constructed like episodes of Seinfeld and Curb? A number of parallel stories collide at the climax in surprising fashion. Describing it baldly it occurs that it is actually basic plot…

I think they were taking a page from Boardwalk Empire, where a character consistently mispronounced Masseria as a running gag.

Cinematography.

In the year since this thread, Eli Thompson vs Warren Knox earned a place in that pantheon.

Much of the Skyler hate isn't morality based but aesthetically driven. She's simply not a successful character (albeit well-acted.)

Skyler is an ill-conceived, boring character, though, and Mara did make a poor first impression. No denying there is some truth to your point, though.

Re: thicker accents under stress, see also Jeffrey Wright as Valentin Narcisse.

I like the show ok, but that was one of the most offensively stupid story lines I've seen on a "quality drama."

I say suck my dick, you say " want me to lick your balls, daddy?"

BrBa season 3 is great from One Minute on, but the laughably one dimensional cousins hurt the early part in my opinion.

SPOILERS
It boggles my mind when people write off season four as inessential to the main arc or something that can be skipped, considering Lem taking the heroin for collateral (in an effort to save Shane's ass) is what leads quite directly to Shane murdering Lem and Vic in turn falling out with Shane. It's not even…

True, a difference being (and note, I love BrBa) Skyler was poorly conceived and written as a character, however despicable and misogynistic many fans were in expressing this.

I actually liked it as a sort of rough draft of the Boardwalk Empire method in which elements that seem episodic or tangential to the primary story end up being crucial to the climax of the season. As noted above, the gears show a little and Boardwalk would refine this particular device to the point it has become one…

Jesse had a horrible experience, but he got away (Gilligan said in his mind he makes it to Alaska, which is admittedly improbable but I like to think so to) and Skyler and Jr, after a very rough patch, will have it made in the shade in the very near future, and Walt died having vanquished his enemies, getting to be…

I'd say the end harms the show, albeit it's still great. It does prevent me from considering it in the running for best of all time though.

It was good, but I wouldn't go full A—more like B+ or maybe A-. It all seemed so telegraphed—I called the way out of the polygraph dilemma as soon as the issue arose, and never thought the to do list was about anything but suicide.

You forgot Oz, as everyone seems to.

I loathe the new credits—the original had a cheap, bootleg VHS quality that was exactly right for the show tonally, like something copied a dozen times and passed from one paranoid Coast to Coast AM listener to another. The slick new credits not only stomp all over that vibe, they reek of desperation.

Except his funeral is officiated by a Christian minister quoting the New Testament ("I am the resurrection and the life saith the Lord…"
Mulder being mistaken for Jewish is just a running gag. He's Dutch Protestant ( see also: he seeks solace in a church in "Conduit.")