And I'll be damned if I can figure out why, because what? You want to hold onto your viewers so you don't do the truly edgy stuff? And so it's this bullshit compromise of being exciting and seemingly edgy without actually being either of those? Or I mean, is this about not wanting to watch female characters do the kinds of things male characters regularly do on black comedies? Is that a note you can see getting from the network? Because it makes sense: Some people spend their entire lives online bitching about how Nancy or Jackie or Cathy or Tara are worthless assholes, although I think that says more about them than it does about the audience. So what, then. Is this about failure of gumption on a level so deep that it scarcely matters? These actors are so brilliant, it's a bummer even when it's as funny as it gets.

Because if you're committed to being toothless, the least you could do is pretend that your episodes -- in a season that basically amounts to six hours of footage for the entire thing -- are actually acquainted with one another, telling a serial narrative, rather than what we're getting, which is a few big white-board ideas (MICHELLE OBAMA, PHONY NURSE KELLY, DEVIL BILL, FAT KIDS) established at the beginning of the season, which everybody's remembered to include in their episodes, but don't do much more than that.

They don't develop, or move, so much as they appear and disappear, at random, which just makes the whole thing seem like busywork or, worst case scenario, putting in time on a smaller show so you can get into a better room -- or development deal -- down the line. Which is shitty to even contemplate, because I do like the show, I like all these shows, despite this syndrome of telling us the arc instead of having one. But then, considering you see the same complaints about this show -- and practically every other Showtime dramedy, even Tara which is miles away the best-crafted -- I can't help but think maybe I'm onto something. Which sucks, because how lucky are we just to be watching these women work?