Talk:The Beginning of the End - Part 1/@comment-27578467-20190412063756/@comment-27578467-20190503030324

In response to the “exact combo” idea, I’d describe what I talk about as a design philosophy instead of a perfect convergence. As you can see from my incredible ratings blog, I don’t consider all earlier episodes to be perfect, but I would say they all have the same design philosophy in how they use the visuals to complement the script. I am sure the production team had design pillars from which they all drew to build the world and present each story, because without them you’ll have inconsistencies, and for the most part the first five seasons are pretty consistent in their style of humor and storytelling. I’d say the newer episodes are pretty consistent as well, just hitting a different mark that doesn’t suite my tastes. It’s like if someone starts every dish with anise; the dishes might be expertly prepared, but I’m not going to like them because anise is objectively THE worst flavor mankind could possibly experience I just don’t enjoy the flavor.

Again I admit I can’t truly judge an episode I haven’t seen, notwithstanding what I consider a reliable method of determining its style. The thing is, an episode that annoys me is actively unpleasant to watch. I really like the earlier seasons and associate them with a shared understanding between me and the writers/illustrators—that we have the same sense of humor and appreciate the same elements of good storytelling. To see those positive associations reverse in real time is actually deeply disappointing, which is why I’ve pointedly held off on watching newer episodes.

Moreover I’ve been busy completing my master’s thesis and comprehensive exams, but I guess that excuse is out of the way now.