Evoke emotions unaffectedly? Didn’t think it was possible. O well.

I absolutely agree about the need for moderation. Fortissimo feels powerful only because there exists gentle and soft voice of pianissimo and vice versa. Not so sure about this notion of tipping point. I think R2 still has the opportunity to exercise moderation, bring down its tone to more acceptable level for next few episodes, where they can then release an epic climax ala season one. Calmness is an essential ingredient to any epic climax imo.

I also agree on this point: a good plot twist “have to go through logical scrutiny, they have to survive at least a reasonable amount of suspension of disbelief to be credible and they have to add something to the plot that lingers longer than a momentary shock”. Another aspect I observed from excellent plot twists (for example, from Monster and Kaiba) is that they are meticulously planned from the beginning and how all the puzzle pieces from previous episodes fit together to produce an amazing image, far more profound than one puzzle piece twists that are dumped out of nowhere (most twists from Geass).