I'm gonna throw this out here, because I think it's not something white viewers ever think about. Michonne is a dark-skinned black woman, with a wide nose, and thick lips.

A dark-skinned black woman with the male lead. Yes, indeed this would be racists' breaking point.

I see what you did there.

Rewatch it and you'll see what I mean.

I don't think she's terrible, just miscast in that particular role. I think back to Winona Ryder being the worst in any period movie ever, but great as a sarcastic teen in Heathers.

The two biggest positives in this episode is that Zoe called out Crane on being an ass (like a real live woman) and Abbie does explicitly have residual effects from her time in the Underworld.

Next episode will tell me all I need to know.

Hand-kissing is way too ambiguous to me. A lot of people could easily dismiss that as platonic just as another commenter in this thread has dismissed everything that has gone on so far.

They easily could have, but the showrunner's taste-level and competence was awful and now I think the new showrunner is simply trying to make everything this show could have been into a typical procedural.

That reunion scene at the end felt like such a cop-out. So much dangling the carrot and pulling it back at the last second because they know the carrot is now the only real reason to watch. It's a damn shame how much they've dragged this show down into mediocrity.

I think the nature of the internet encourages people to one-up one another in increasingly nasty ways, because it's anonymous and harder to personify, I guess?

I agree that the characters left much to be desired. They need to get away from the stoic Asian stereotype. It could have been refreshing to see him have some personality.

Ichabod said he's afraid of losing her, to promotion, of all things. That's not something I say about platonic pals. I support them doing well in life, in my space or out of it.

Sarcasm, that's cute too.

She's the worst because the writers haven't organically integrated her into the show. She's "action girl" and trying to make fetch happen all in one character.

Because the monsters aren't sent with the intent to actually defeat the Witnesses. I think Pandora knows better.

Because the monsters aren't sent with the intent to actually defeat the Witnesses. I think Pandora knows better. She sends them to planet various seeds or maybe fertilizer would be a better metaphor for her evil tree. In other words, the real point is what the MOTW pulls out of the Witnesses.

I thought it was great that for once women in Ichabod's vicinity, other than Jenny and Abbie weren't throwing themselves at him, but reacting like most women would to an arrogant cosplayer.

Tom Mison never worked on a Joss Whedon show.

You're misapplying that phrase. Encouraging someone to air their opinion isn't protest.