Probably my favorite episode in what has, to me, been a disappointing final season.

So much of this show is about the bubbles people create around themselves, both because they are psychologically deficient to deal with the world on its own terms and because they are rich enough to surround themselves with thralls and acolytes. I like how the show uses Richard as a sort of David Copperfield— it's his…

Keep waiting for Brienne and Podrick to hook up.

The feeling sorry for himself Tyrion is my least favorite Tyrion. For him, the road to recovery begins in a whorehouse, and it was good to see a flash of his old self again.

I like how Cersei's dabbling in a bit of movement conservatism: dangle a little Jesus to the masses so they'll give you the power to get down to the real business at hand.

The best satirical fiction on television.

The House of Black and White tells the story of a prisoner who is killed in police custody. Where do they get this stuff?

I think this episode is a record low for camera time on the Starks, especially if you don't count Jon Snow as a Stark. Of course, Arya will no doubt make a grand appearance in Braavos, but with the Starks offstage and all the Lannisters now either dead, in exile, or diminished, the power vacuum described in the review…

Scientology was founded during the Cold War, and like all religions, it's very much a product of the time in which it was created. Their commitment to covert operations, collecting intelligence, shutting down dissent and discrediting detractors worked well for their organization for many decades. It kept a number of…

The walkers outside the wall are their best protection when they're inside. There's obviously some disturbing group of survivors lurking outside the town. Why make things easier on them by wasting your ammunition to eliminate their obstacles? They should keep an inventory of ammunition and strict rules about only…

I was kind of thinking the same thing. And even without a formal jail, couldn't you place someone on house arrest with the threat that if you broke the terms of your incarceration you would then be exiled? No need to go right to capital punishment. They don't seem to have thought their little civilization through very…

One of the good things about this show is that it's not afraid to have a diverse and truly ensemble cast. Perhaps the only action drama in history that passes the Bechdel Test on virtually every episode.

Karl gets his first visit to the make-out tree.

The citizens of Alexandria are so incompetent and frightened outside the wall that it seems like they shouldn't be shocked anymore when half their foraging/construction crews fail to come back. It seems odd that they would suddenly turn on the newcomers for tragedies that had to have been standard operating procedure…

"Let us all now grieve to this Nine Inch Nails CD."

True, but presumably if they're taken by surprise it will be at night. Also, if she ever decides to secretly bug out on her own, she can take it with her.

I interpreted Michonne's mounting of her katana over the mantle to be an unconvincing nod to domestication. That she's making the pretense of settling in, while keeping her weapon ready at a moment's notice for the inevitable time when she will need to bug out. That what separates our group of survivors from the…

The thing I like about The Walking Dead, and many of the criticisms in this article are spot on, is that it's a rare feat of television for a series to not be plot-driven, or character-driven, but atmosphere-driven. The characters are admittedly thin, the plot repetitious and larded with zombie fights, many of which…

My God, how did I miss the epilogue?

My only complaints are that Radical Left doesn't get any lines, and that Sgt Hatred survived the carnage.