As you know, I am right there with you. The acting was baaad, if anything worse this episode than the last.

Sorry about the triggering, especially if that was from my post. I have many feelings about is hook up and what an asshole move it was by the writers, but I don't think they belong here.

I've been chewing over the WWII/McCarthyism story ever since I watched the episode. Maybe it wasn't manipulative/designed to tug on viewers' heartstrings? Maybe it was well-meaning but just terribly written? I'm not sure the story 'belonged' here anyway - as in it felt very shoehorned in, inorganic, and basically inauthentic. It was just so badly done.