Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-16645605-20140510023151/@comment-7117024-20140510040107

That's not unusual at this point. That was already happening in earlier seasons, so by what you've said, the show has already declined since Season 3. While it does get overused sometimes, I do like the romance/drama episodes as long as there's enough other types of episodes to keep the focus varied and it isn't the same problem every time or redone.

Also, "Video 101" doesn't really have anything romantic about it. There's no indicator of romance in this episode unlike some this season, and while there's drama, it's not as great as some of the things we've seen in the later seasons of the show. In fact, if I didn't see any other episodes romance-related this season, I'd argue it's an improvement as Eileen gets her own focus episode and CJ is shown to fit in with the group without being forced in as a love interest... yet. We haven't seen "I Like You... Hi" yet, so although I get the feeling the romance is starting to fail to be its own unique character arc (Mordecai having cellphone issues with a girl? Haven't seen that before), it could be better than what is expected.

It's not like the show has lost its supernatural happenings, and the crude humor still lingers, albiet not as much as before. Like other shows that change directions, though, Regular Show is shifting its direction to deeper character moments and development. It sometimes works and sometimes fail, but I appreciate that the show is trying to keep going forth without sticking to the same place. Characters are slowly growing and changing, and relationships have developed over time between many of the characters. I wish Mordecai wasn't often limited to a romance story arc, but there's still great, enjoyable moments in all of it. Rigby and others have also gotten lovely moments to shine. For me, as long as the show keeps challenging its characters and spreads the focus fairly, I'd say Regular Show hasn't declined; it's just chosen a new, different pathway to explore while still keeping what the show's about intact.