That's why Davos tried to keep her at Castle Black, and glared with trepidation at Melisandre.

I don't understand Missandei as a person. How does she feel about things? Is she always that fucking jumpy? Like always, her candid line to Dany was eventually all about Dany.

I think the point of the show's rouge's gallery is to portray the arbitrary nature of power and cruelty. The endless cycle of rulers and politicians has no protection against inhumane activity and a culture of sadism.

-Ramsay's all bluster and dumb sadism, it's actually pitiful to watch him show off. You get the feeling Roose doesn't mind fucking him over because he hates the monotony of dealing with a desperate child.

So she stands to lose about $750,000 with this McCann deal. That makes her actions a little bit clearer.

I think Joan objected to the mountain of excuses that always followed Don's cyclical implosions. To her, it was just another privilege a white man enjoyed, while it took years of consistency and toil for Joan to be considered Don's equal. So her anger with Don, though somewhat misdirected, wasn't entirely unwarranted.

-Nice to see the SC&P partners doing their best to support Joan in the new office. Don's encouragement, Pete's professional recommendation, and finally Roger's appeal to reason. It's a shame the show's answer to Joan's 'Can a woman have a successful executive career in 1970?' is "Nope."

-Cersei: "Well, if you want something to change, Tommen, then go king some stuff, ya'know?"

-Jeez, Britta. You're standing next to Jeff with his abs exposed. Stop acting like Annie's the only one being objectified.

Ted's role in this last season is pretty unclear. The show seems aware that he isn't one of the main characters, generally alluding to his non-work life instead of showing it. He serves the narrative as another creative asset for SC, since Don is no longer seen an infallible. But, other than letting the advertising…

-I had the same mortified expression as Stan during Peggy's confession. Elizabeth Moss is such a convincing crier.

-It was The Mountain under the sheet, right? Right?

The longer runtime is definitely stretching out the characterization of Frankie and Elroy. As Joshua's review noted, both have emotionally resonant backstory that they're hesitant to share. But this isn't 'The Wire', where Kima's sexuality and Lester's family situation were acknowledged and given several seasons to…

I think Don enjoys the familiarity he has with these Rachel-types because they're the most similar to him, personality-wise. But he just doesn't know how to connect and be honest in any other scenario, so it's always casual sex/affairs. He's generally unaware of the stark psychological underpinnings, to the benefit of…

Actually, that's a good point. There's definitely some projection going on in that scene. I was too busy absorbing the exposition ('Wait, so, she's not a knight anymore? Or is she just in despair, or…is a lord-less knight like a ronin? How does the warrior class work in Westeros?')

-Jon Snow's running monologue this episode: "How the fuck am I on Mance Rayder's side now? I save the fucking continent like three times, Stannis shows up, and now I'm the morally compromised guy? Fuck."

Stannis' entire body language consists of inserting a stern frown into moments where a shit-eating grin would be more appropriate. Dillane can certainly pull that off.

I don't think Mance would really want citizenship, personally, and he projected that onto his army. Some of the more brutal Wildlings will probably reject southern society, true, but the vast majority would choose safety over death.

Britta's tribulations seem intentional this season, like they're leading to something. So hopefully the group has a reason to change their minds about mocking her soon.

The psychological damage of corporate cruelty and 'rigged' social hierarchy fuels the deviance of both characters. These are people that are betrayed personally, to the larger indifference of society. Then expected to retain faith in the institutions that devastated them.