All they've really done is turn the "big bad" on its head this season, especially since Drew has turned out to be nothing more than a former bad guy and now a not-so-bad guy. If anything, it's now Mike O'Malley, but really, this season has been much different in structure. Much more about personal stories, with Arlo and Raylan, Raylan's scattered and empty personal life, Ellen May as the unlikely "heart" of the season (to steal from trans). The last one in particular is one that is hard to define, and I can see why Irish would cast her off as a useless MacGuffin, but I think there is a lot of intangible grace the show utilized in keeping her on the fringe but inspiring so much of the drama, all the while she is spurned from one place to the next as an unwitting chess piece who winds up with a spiritual peace that is something so much more than all these other aimless, petty, and godless characters that the show has fun pitting against each other can ever manage.Quoting ledfloyd (view post)