As an avid television viewer and consumer of pop culture media of all kinds, I have been disturbed over the last few weeks to note a trend toward Big Love-bashing. And all I can say is: Cut it out!

Several prominent entertainment and television weeklies (you know who you are) have begun a steady drumbeat of negativity as season four draws to a close. The comments mostly run along the lines of 'the shortened (nine-episode) season has made for hurried plotting' and 'there's too much zaniness/craziness/illogical behavior.' 

That first rap on the show might be debatable, except in many cases these are the same mainstream media outlets that accused Big Love of being too deliberate in its plotting in prior seasons. Yes, there have been a preponderance of important storylines crammed into the shortened season, but on the whole, that's made for an exciting ride.

And the second accusation is just plain wrong, especially if you've watched closely since the premiere.

For instance, one particularly silly remark I read said that it was over the top that Lois could get her hands on a machete at Hollis' camp--the one she uses to cut off Hollis' arm. But we're talking about Hollis Greene here. His little band of oddballs has all sorts of weaponry lying around. In fact, I assumed that Hollis was going to use that very same machete on Bill, since he had just condemned Henrickson to death. And it's certainly not at all unrealistic that Lois would use it on Hollis, as most mothers (myself included) would do just about anything to save their children.

Besides, Big Love has always had extreme elements and extreme characters in the mix--though not so extreme that you can't still recognize them as humans pushed to the limit.  Remember when a disturbed Wanda tried to poison Alby? What about the repeated use of Nicki as a sort of fundamentalist Jane Bond-like spy, both inside the district attorney's office (for her father) and in the political campaign of Bill's rival? (Don't these people have surveillance photos of Roman's daughter? How can they not recognize her?) What about Lois' shenanigans? She hides money from husband Frank in coffee cans, claiming to hate him, but always takes him back, even as you're yelling at the screen for her not to. This season, JJ is clearly up to something darkly sinister, though just how sinister we've yet to learn.

And the Greenes themselves are responsible for several outrageous moments, though not as outrageous some of the actions of real-life faux-Mormon fundamentalists, such as Rulon and Warren Jeffs and their followers. Given the show's context, Lois grabbing a machete doesn't seem very extreme at all.

Without having seen this week's finale (opposite the Oscars, unfortunately--thank goodness for DVRs), I can't comment on what will get wrapped up and what will become a cliffhanger for next season. But while certain journalists may be disappointed in this season, the fans (and the ratings show we're a growing lot) are not. We still love the Henricksons, and we still love Big Love.