There’s something to be said for “National Anthem” that presents a dystopic idea that brushes up against sci-fi, but never goes all in on the genre. More episodes would benefit from this approach.

“15 Million Merits” is probably my favorite episode, too, and it saddens me that it seems like it barely comes up in discussion. Plus, Daniel Kaluuya before he was a big deal!

Season one (and maybe two?) are on Shudder. Then there’s that BritBox thing...But yeah, it blows my mind how popular the show could be if it simply was available on Netflix or Hulu.

Inside No. 9 is always 5 stars quality, but their live episode, “Dead Line,” is seriously one of the best pieces of television ever made. Best of 2018, bar none, but freaking stupidly intricate.

I LOVE that “More and more we’ve come to expect less and less of each other,” and have definitely used it myself, but LORD, Sorkin uses it at a commencement ceremony!?

Not for nothing, but a lot of this may also have to do that he was writing (every episode of) Sports Night S2 and West Wing S1 at the same freaking time and coked out of his gourd.

God, i forgot how flagrant this is! I have such a blindspot and love for Sorkin, but goddamn.

It’s really tough when you realize that Jeremy is actually an asshole.

He definitely was aware.

I think he thinks it’s to excite his fandom. Like re-used lines are supposed to be callbacks that celebrate his strong writing. He created dialogue so “brilliant” before, why even bother changing it?

The Ian Malcom cameo is actually from Dreamworks Interactive’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park game, not Trespasser.

It’d probably be Sin and Punishment, to be honest.

I think the ultimately better moment is from their high school reunion where it looks like they’ve performed a “good” dance, only for reality to then destroy that image. Obviously they couldn’t do the same gag, and the purpose of the scene is entirely different, but that seems like a better rounded sequence.

I mean, give them an Emmy, sure, but does McElhenney deserve a comedy acting Emmy for a dramatic dance performance? Insanely talented, yes, but it still feels like there’s disconnect.

I’m really curious what the take on this episode would be if McElhenney just ruined that final dance number. Like, not trying to do a terrible performance, but just never rises to the occasion and it’s an awkward maneuver. They’re super fortunate that Rob had the time to commit and perfect such a number, but if it was…

Right. There’s no disputing that the dance is incredible, but even the review mentions that everything that precedes it is kind of lazy. Is that the point? Couldn’t this still have been an all-around strong episode that then concludes with that whopper ending?

Or you know, spontaneously flying all of them there (and presumably back) from the event.

Still though, these past few episodes have just made me remember how much more she was being given on The Mick.

The original plan was to do this week and next week’s episode as an hour-long Superbowl installment (although not intercut with each other). It also perhaps explains why each episode is a scant 18/19 minutes, as put together into a block it’d be less noticeable.

I’m in agreement that this is perhaps the first season where I’m like, “Well, I guess 13 seasons is just too many...” If next year is in fact the end, I hope they strive for higher quality than this season has delivered. I’d say that the premiere is perhaps the only “classic” episode so far.