Critics seem to be shitting on the fourth season of Arrested Development—or worse, trying to grade each episode as a stand-alone specimen. Fortunately, I'm not a rabid teevee critic—I'm just a modest rape critic with a moderate drinking problem.

And here's my take: Aside from Portia de Rossi's creepy child-of-the-corn face, I really liked it.

Sure, the first few episodes are confusing—that's long been the structure of the show. And yeah, I would've loved more family scenes. The show's greatest strength is that at its core, it's a fucked up story about filial piety. Still, each progressive episode builds on its predecessors like a clubfoot ballet, barreling towards crescendo. And for me, it works. The jokes mostly land, and I'm willing to forgive the ones that don't (George/Oscar's convoluted role reversal, for example) because shows that do interesting shit deserve some leeway.

But what do I know?