Previous seasons were very good about creating wonderfully deep, multilayered stories that combined international intrigue with good character development. I was impressed with the writing not just in world building but also dialog.
I do not know what changed. Maybe there was a big exchange of writers, maybe the producers decided to take the show in another direction, maybe the crew just got bored and wanted to mix it up. Executive meddling is always a favorite scapegoat. Whatever the cause, the show isnt as good as it used to be. They focus a little too much on character drama and not enough on the complexities of 21st century politics. Even worse is they decided to use the old cliche of cutting back and forth between different time periods to explain "what happened" and the worst use of this cliche is a courtroom or in this case a senate oversight committee. Its been done to death and in the sixth season of Madam Secretary they even made it boring somehow. This episode has some focus on V. A. issues and impropriety of staffers, but nothing fun happens, nor anything terribly important. The actors also seem a bit bored at this point. Maybe the show ran too long.
Since season 6 is shorter than most I think I will tough it out and finish the rest of the episodes, but I'm actually glad the series finally ended. They ran out of good ideas a while ago and the show deserves enough respect to end with dignity.
I do not know what changed. Maybe there was a big exchange of writers, maybe the producers decided to take the show in another direction, maybe the crew just got bored and wanted to mix it up. Executive meddling is always a favorite scapegoat. Whatever the cause, the show isnt as good as it used to be. They focus a little too much on character drama and not enough on the complexities of 21st century politics. Even worse is they decided to use the old cliche of cutting back and forth between different time periods to explain "what happened" and the worst use of this cliche is a courtroom or in this case a senate oversight committee. Its been done to death and in the sixth season of Madam Secretary they even made it boring somehow. This episode has some focus on V. A. issues and impropriety of staffers, but nothing fun happens, nor anything terribly important. The actors also seem a bit bored at this point. Maybe the show ran too long.
Since season 6 is shorter than most I think I will tough it out and finish the rest of the episodes, but I'm actually glad the series finally ended. They ran out of good ideas a while ago and the show deserves enough respect to end with dignity.
