User blog comment:Mattalamode/A Second Opinion: The Roots/@comment-30307603-20171008012545/@comment-31194372-20171008202540

I'm so glad I wasn't invested in the show as deeply when "The Roots" came out as to skew my expectations, because I can see that irritating a whole lot of people.

The thing with "The Roots" is that TAWOG is a show that fully understands the way the status quo operates, and it's careful about how it uses it. Even in episodes that seem to defy that sense of an episode's importance in the long-run, the show is still cautious to make it known that no new precedent is being ultimately set forth, usually by going as meta and self-aware as it can manage. (Think "The Finale" or "The Signal.") "The Roots" doesn't do that, though, so it instead becomes more of a jab at emotional episodes in general, and it actually really works. It's full-fledged, deconstructive satire, and it's gorgeous.

On a broader note: people never seem to pick up how adept TAWOG is at breaking down traditional storytelling conventions. Hilariously enough, whenever the show actually does it well ("The Promise," "The Others"), people complain about how the episodes don't work and how much of a waste of time they were. That's the point, though - the show is openly defying the viewer's hopes and expectations by depraving us of satisfaction, and it's brilliant.

As for "The Dress," yeah, likewise. I legitimately do enjoy the episode, but the issue arises in me not knowing what I actually like about it in the first place. It's one the most "Season 1" episodes I can think of, so I have to somehow turn that around... ugh.