I will say that what is tragic about Healy is that he does on some level believe in his job, but doesn't understand how poorly suited he is to do it, since he knows nothing about women and cannot tolerate them existing outside of his infantalized/idealized concept of them.

That was indeed a shameful, criminal, garbage thing to do. But I think the interesting thing about Healy is that he seems to have enough of a CONCEPT of decency that he takes some tentative steps toward changing—and I, as an audience member, feel investment in whether that change could be possible/sincere/lasting. …

Very spot on. It's probably too gross to call him one of my 'favorites', but I definitely think he is one of the best-written characters on the show. Also, Michael Harney plays him with enough wounded naivete that you root for him to get over his emotional disorders, and the series wrings a lot of tension out of the…

Yeah, I love Nicki, but/and it seemed perfectly in character for her. She's sexually voracious and honestly, it doesn't seem so awful to come up with a points-based competition considering these women are in prison, for chrissakes. They're fucking BORED. I doubt they'd be playing the game if they had their freedom,…

Actually, I can't remember if Poussey's scenes were subtitled, but Gloria's definitely weren't. Was that an intentional decision on the show's part (It was pretty easy to follow, even without speaking Spanish)? Or is my Roku fucked up?

Holy crap, it's definitely time to re-watch 'Deadwood'. I totally forgot about that character!

Well, I guess I just find your terms a bit reductive considering that he does SPOILER SPOILER when SPOILER happens. And there is the time when he SPOILERS SPOILER. But granted, he's still majorly fucked up and he's hardly a redeemed human being— He's still capable of pulling some nasty shit down the road, I'm sure.

I feel a bit weird that this talkback is where I defend Healy AND Larry, but I loved watching Larry fight back. The sun/moon dialogue was good and the guy has a point. He's never gotten to see much of the much-less-self-absorbed-prison-version-of-Piper… He's still dealing with the dishonest, entitled brat who…

I feel like Myles overcompensates by dismissing Healy as simply 'loathesome' and 'garbage'. I'm not going to touch on anything the character does in future episodes and I'm certainly not defending the character— He's a deeply fucked-up misogynist, after all— but he's a compelling character and Healy's behavior is…

Good point. In that case, I'd gladly wait a couple of months for them to shoot 2-3 more episodes if it helps the quality of the storytelling. This season was good, but it felt rushed and represented a noticeable dip in overall quality from the first three, if you ask me.

As you should have!

I'm not a book reader, but I would say Todd has nailed the problem with this season. Moments like Littlefinger murdering his wife and Dany exiling Jorah are huge developments, and were nearly lost in the noise of all the other big plot developments. Those are stories that really, really needed another episode or two…

For once, HBO GO's lack of 'Previously On' segments was a great boon, because I really got to enjoy that WTF moment.

Everyone saw this scene differently than Adams. The general audience, the actors, the director, the writers, GRR Martin, the producers, the executive producers, the extras, the boom mike, the key grip, the best boy, the script girl, the teamsters, the wolf wrangler, craft services, your mom, your dog, your…

Go watch 'Head On'. That should help you get over your Sibil Kikelli problem.

Great finale, too much plot for ten episodes and the season suffered for it. C'mon HBO— You just announced that it's eclipsed the viewership of the Sopranos. Time to pony up for 13-episode seasons. And sell it a la carte!

I actually agree. The show is certainly not precious about preserving the lives of favorite characters, and doesn't usually play the 'ambiguous death', but I think it's possible that they may be pulling a Daavos-getting-blown-clear with one of these guys.

Welcome to Erik Adams, who happily gets paid to completely miss the point of a scene that anyone possessing average gifts of perception would understand for free.

I have my fair share of problems with this season, but I realized it's still my favorite show on TV when I'm watching a duel between two characters and I'm biting my hand at the thought of either one of them dying. And yeah, RIP Tywin, you magnificent bastard.

I agree. There was so much plot to get through this season that I felt many of the character moments didn't have the weight they should have. Still a lot of great stuff this season, but it's been my least favorite for that reason. Without the nuanced character work, this show is in danger of devolving into…