One of the hilarious things about this show is that the producers don't plan ahead at all, so they never lay down a marker for a future character. In the first season, it is firmly established that Hardy only has one living relative, his sister. They make a big deal of her being in danger, because there is no one…

I have very little faith in this show's ability to pull off the abduction and captivity of a teenage girl in a non-exploitative or offensive way. So I am very much not down with this development.

That may have been the worst episode of the series. I am not sure how that's possible, given how bad every other episode has been. But there it is.

Yes, if you cast a tall actor like Ben Affleck no one will criticize it.

CCH Pounder and Melissa Leo, together making triumphant returns to TV cop dramas. Sadly I doubt CCH is a big enough star, given the Harrelson/McConaughey precedent and the popular momentum from this season.

Yeah, this makes NO SENSE, but he's alive. Luke is magic.

1. Odelay
2. Mutations
3. One Foot in the Grave
4. Sea Change
5. Midnite Vultures
6. Guero
7. Mellow Gold
8. The Information
9. Modern Guilt

Has this show even tried to establish why Hardy won't work with Mike? Mike covered for him when Hardy executed a prisoner. I don't think his loyalty is in question. I know they have to stretch things out for 15 episodes, so Hardy calling in a SWAT team to capture the various killers he locates (Carlos, Lily, now…

A small moment I liked:

The really bewildering thing about this episode was that for the first time Hardy was NOT too late. He actually figured something out (that Lily is a cultist) before the evildoers knew it and had the opportunity to get one step ahead of the cultists. Given that he was talking to an FBI agent when this happened, and…

Well, the show seems to have forgotten about that entirely, so I was ignoring it. But yeah, that would add a revenge angle to it. The way the show ultimately developed both Ray and Charlie it is hard to understand how they were ever supposed to be close friends in the first place. Charlie went to college with…

While the Marnie/Ray sequence was amusing, it also felt a bit like a symptom of this show not having a large enough universe. Brooklyn is only populated by about 6 people, so the list of people Marnie might seek advice (and other things) from is short. Ray had nothing else to do this episode, so Ray it is. The whole…

It sounds like various people think Kim Dickens was underutilized in at least 3 different shows: Treme, Friday Night Lights, and Sons of Anarchy. You could maybe make a case for Lost too, though it is a bit hard to say where she would fit in. I don't know if this means she has been criminally misused, or maybe we…

Does anyone understand how Javadi evades all suspicion here? Brody comes in saying he has information about Javadi. Javadi flees the building. Subsequently Javadi sends a team to pick up Brody, telling them to leave an obvious CIA operative alone. Then the obvious CIA agent makes clear to the team she has a…

I feel like Kim Dickens has been stuck in the same repetitive plot throughout Treme. It's not terrible, but it just seems like they could do more with her (and maybe Steve Zahn too).

I dislike pretty much all of the historical characters (except Capone). They are almost all extraneous to the main plot of the show, and yet by being in the show they greatly restrict the possibilities for the series. That said, some of the actors in those roles are quite good. Kelly MacDonald and Michael Stuhlbarg…

I don't know, this season she helped another secondary character I don't care very much about (Rothstein) stay afloat. How significant was that?

I'll have to check out The Returned. Top of the Lake was excellent, and Rectify is very good. Though I have to say that when it comes to "slow burn" Rectify is some next level stuff. Definitely not for everyone.

Gal Gadot is cool, but this movie sounds like it will be absolutely terrible.

I actually agree the show would be better off without the baby, and I was aware the baby dies in the comics. But the show doesn't follow the comics that rigidly, and I don't trust the producers to make the right decisions in terms of plot. And I really can't see them allowing anything this significant to happen…