I really like Season 3, as you noted it has some of the show’s best and funniest episodes. It also has some misfiring absurdity and some of the serialization doesn’t quite add up.

Sorry, which episode was that?

My exact ranking lol. S3 is a step down from Seasons 1 and 2, I think. Still really good though.

Exploring the rise of the First Order is an interesting subject—the timeline is really murky due to storytelling choices in The Force Awakens to not explain a lot of the gap between Return and the film.

That’s one thing I noticed too upon re-watching Mad Men. The season finales mostly in some way revolve around Don, whether that be his crucial choice in Tomorrowland or being haunted by Lane’s death in The Phantom or the Hershey Pitch. But these are contemplative moments, and he doesn’t quite have a ‘tv character arc’…

You could even talk me into saying it’s on par with S3. Nothing in S6 misfires the way some of S3's wackier moments did.

More Abed/Shirley stories would have been welcome. Messianic Myths is an underrated gem.

I think there’s a big difference between the early seasons ‘fails to live up to her noble ideals in a way that’s comitragic’ Britta and ‘the group idiot’. Not a huge fan of the latter, but I think they regained some of the former in Seasons 5 and 6.

I love both to death but interestingly they have very different approaches to such material. Mad Men is the slow-burn, literary existentialist piece, whereas Halt’s hard-hitting and visceral. But in both instances the characters are so layered it makes for amazing viewing.

The characterization, phenomenal acting, breakneck pacing, and heavy thematic questions were all expertly balanced, making for one hell of an experience. And I think making it historical fiction instead of a documentary was a wise choice in many ways.

WGN. Don’t blame you in the slightest, lol. Barely received any marketing, on a network no one’s ever heard of. I think it’s streaming on AMC+ now.

Man, The Knick was a fantastic show. One of the most underrated and under-watched shows of recent times, next to Manhattan and Halt and Catch Fire. Might catch up on this just to catch S2 (heard S1 was pretty good + Matthew Rhys are also bonuses).

Nine’s great!

Kinda. Certainly got better as it went along, and it was necessary for the show to make sense, but not sure if it makes up for all the weaker Mike stuff in the earlier parts of the show. I did feel at times that BCS did indulge in a slow burn for its own sake at times, but as I said, I think it’ll hold up better to re-…

I thought S1 was pretty good, but frustrating in that the clever structure undercut any chance the show had of striking an emotional chord with me. One of Nolan’s most underwhelming projects, I think.

Sure, but even as late as S5, the writers had no idea what the flash forward in Live Free or Die was actually about until they wrote the second half of the season. Lost is another interesting one, as the ending *was* planned sometime around the back half of Season 3. But Season 6 still unsatisfying for a number of…

It worked well for Breaking Bad, though. Which is pretty tightly written.

Yeah, removing the scouring of the Shire made sense in the context of an over 3 hour film.

Yeah, I agree. I think there could have been a really good story to tell here. They’re just not telling it.

I think they should’ve made it a dark character piece about Obi-Wan’s isolation and loneliness during one of the darkest parts of the Star Wars universe. Could’ve made for really compelling stuff.