I actually finished watching this episode and unlike some who dismissed it for all kinds of bizarre "political" reasons , is was actually pretty good. I think the negative reactions reflect nothing more than some deep indoctrination and inability to critically think about issues even tangentially related to politics which this episode was. The writers at no point attempted to express a political opinion throughout this episode.
Politics didn't play a centerstage role in this episode, the writers sure didn't attempt to demonize to vilify one side or the other, which adds to my confusion about some of the reactions this episode has received , especially from folks on the right. How on earth is revealing some recurrent characters to be on the right an attack on the right? Oh, right, you didn't actually get through watching the entire episode, didn't you?
It is kind of unfortunate that the point of the episode flew over some people's heads, which in itself is ironic, because the writers were trying so hard to establish the humanity that is innate in all of us, and that no matter how irreconcilable and fierce our differences might feel, we're a lot more alike than we are different. In this case, two mothers anxiously waiting to hear some good news about their gravely injured children. But alas, the political gap is too wide for it be bridged this time. The country has been in a tumultuous civil war for a while now, we can't notice it because it's not conventional, but it's a civil war nonetheless. We got to start talking to each other again if we want a future for ourselves and our children, otherwise, we're just frogs being slowly boiled alive, something our adversaries can't wait to happen.
Finally, I can say that the only fault of this episode is that it was too ambitious for what it's trying to achieve, some folks aren't bright enough to pick up on the obvious message of this episode and some didn't bother to finish watching it. It could be that some who rated this episode down hated that two characters reaching across the aisle and reconciling with each other. I'm terrified to know the extent to which that's the case with some folks especially on the right which is where most of the negative "reviews" were coming from.
Politics didn't play a centerstage role in this episode, the writers sure didn't attempt to demonize to vilify one side or the other, which adds to my confusion about some of the reactions this episode has received , especially from folks on the right. How on earth is revealing some recurrent characters to be on the right an attack on the right? Oh, right, you didn't actually get through watching the entire episode, didn't you?
It is kind of unfortunate that the point of the episode flew over some people's heads, which in itself is ironic, because the writers were trying so hard to establish the humanity that is innate in all of us, and that no matter how irreconcilable and fierce our differences might feel, we're a lot more alike than we are different. In this case, two mothers anxiously waiting to hear some good news about their gravely injured children. But alas, the political gap is too wide for it be bridged this time. The country has been in a tumultuous civil war for a while now, we can't notice it because it's not conventional, but it's a civil war nonetheless. We got to start talking to each other again if we want a future for ourselves and our children, otherwise, we're just frogs being slowly boiled alive, something our adversaries can't wait to happen.
Finally, I can say that the only fault of this episode is that it was too ambitious for what it's trying to achieve, some folks aren't bright enough to pick up on the obvious message of this episode and some didn't bother to finish watching it. It could be that some who rated this episode down hated that two characters reaching across the aisle and reconciling with each other. I'm terrified to know the extent to which that's the case with some folks especially on the right which is where most of the negative "reviews" were coming from.