I'm afraid the story of the beetle-killing Lannister cousin is a pretty exact allegory for Martin's stewardship of his fictional universe. A tale told by a malicious simpleton, full of crushed insects, signifying nothing.

This opens up all kinds of possibilities for a gritty MST3K reboot.

Hasidem, but I didn't beliedem.

Offhand, I can't think of another closing-shot camera pullback on Mad Men like the one that ended this one except at the end of "The Phantom"—that lit rectangle of stage where Megan's getting prepped for her commercial slowly being swallowed up in darkness. And in this episode, too, as the camera pulls back the frame…

He couldn't have followed her, though. Remember that he was solely tracking the backpack, not keeping visual surveillance on the car (which Elizabeth would have spotted). After a certain point he decided too much time had passed, and he had to risk getting in closer to see what was going on. That lag allowed…

It doesn't seem that much of a mystery to me—and it doesn't seem as if he cares about Jared as a target. It's just that the kid is his best lead to the "scumbags" who he does care about and wants revenge on.

The poor man's pride in his craft just got devastated. "Is it … is it possible I'm not the wigmaster I thought I was?"

I'M A FIDDLER CRAB! SHOOT ME, IT'S FIDDLER CRAB SEASON!

"Dunham is discovering how to actually make an episodic television show." That's it, pretty much, that's what this season is about. But I don't think it's great. I don't think it's a remotely heartening development.

What's scented meat?

That ain't what kinda world it is.

Hey, I went to Momit's Meat School too!

If he was dying, he wouldn't bother to type "AAAARRRRRRRRRRRGH," he'd just say it.

Or Fawlty Towers?

"I'm writing you an email! It isn't sended."

Also disagree with Todd about the cameos. I thought it was a fantastic idea: of course the underground world of a Greendale, its infrastructure, has to be weird and layered and elaborately, mysteriously coded. What better or more economical way to gesture at that—to give it dimension, in fact—than with a sudden…

It's what Mike understands about Walt, not some meta-truth about Walt's narrative. In that respect it's a character moment, and completely consonant with everything we've known about Mike's attitude toward Walt from the start. In fact, it's a perfect way to end the thing: Walt's inability ever to get a form of…

"Critics of the show often complain that they have trouble relating to Hannah, but in this moment, in this idea of how hard it can be to set aside the self and simply grieve in a moment like this, Dunham is reflecting one of those universal experiences we’d probably all rather not think about. Some deaths are easy to…

Yes, the Gawker was right: snow was general all over Brooklyn …

It may be even worse than that: they seem to be splitting the difference with the main characters by deciding to go all-in sitcom. I mean, Christ we've got wacky neighbors now? Laird with his turtle carcass and Gaby Hoffman leading a life-affirming (but edgy, cuz she's nuts) romp through the cemetery (a sequence…