[8.1/10] It’s no shock that there is an even grander plan to “save everyone” in the offing. But I do like the retroactive reveal here, where it seems like everyone is off on their own, having moved on from Mo and trying to save their own asses, whereas actually, everything is (seemingly at least) going according to Mo’s plan. Blair’s scheme with the pastor, Dawn’s pitch to Marcus, and Keith’s would-be reconciliation with Lenny suggest are all (again, apparently) part of another grand scheme by Mo. I don’t know how I feel about it. There’s a very Jimmy McNulty/Carrie Matheson/Hildy Johnson sense to this thing, where Mo is very good at this sort of thing, but it’s also personally destructive to him, causing him to regress after making progress. Dawn champions his “rebirth” in her birthday note, but now Mo is back to snorting cocaine and concocting elaborate plans to save folks which nevertheless require screwing other people over. It’s a sad sort of regression for the guy, even if you’re rooting for him to succeed because you want our protagonists’ butts saved. That said, I really like Dawn telling Mo off. Mo is in his feelings, trying to explain his romantic affection for Dawn and making that fantasy of running away the most important thing. Meanwhile, Dawn is trying to get him to consider her struggles, as a black woman “on any street” who’s aiming to make it in the same world he is, not just be Mrs. Mo. You feel her frustration, and it’s a good sequence. There’s also some real laughs with Keith and Lenny. The two of them palling around in ridiculous pants and escalating terrible and ridiculous pranks is a lot of fun. Theirs is a weird, goofy friendship, and I want more of it, even though it seems like that’s not in the offing. I also enjoyed Blair’s stunt, if only because it represents a new self-serving low for him, Mo’s philosophy taken to its logical, yet terrible extreme. Fabricating a suicide note and boxing in the “Master Pastor” is malevolently ingenious. But the most interesting part is that Tiff has had enough. Blair’s become a sociopath and she no longer wants any part of it, let alone a child with him. On the whole, this is a hell of an intake of breath before the exhale of the finale. I hope it’s more satisfying than last season’s final episode, because it’s certainly put some intriguing elements in place.