Heh. It's precisely because 4.16 is so dark that it ranks as one of my all time favourites of anything. *g* But then I tend to write dark, too, so it's no surprise. And I guess we'll just have to smile and shrug at each other about the other two. *g* I don't think anything important was missed out because of those eps.

I will grant that there have been some issues, especially earlier in the season, with pacing and tone. Partly I think that's because they were trying to juggle the story with the chance of being cancelled so they just didn't know how much time they had to do all this. But that's the reality of tv and I think we, the audience, need to chill with that. Unless you've got the luxury of a guaranteed long term pick up you're always dicing on the edge of the abyss. Given the uncertainties the team have had to cope with from the get go I think it's astonishing they've kept the story as coherent as it is.