Hmm. Let me parse this out. On the one hand, yes, so much of it is obviously intentionally ridiculous. But there's a way in which it has this serious, dramatic core that is the "main" narrative, the one that the humor dances over and around. So you can either connect to this srs bsns narrative, or to the crack. This is also something I love about the X-Files: there is the serious narrative of aliens and family betrayal and government corruption, and then there are the funny episodes, which are designed to point out how ridiculous these goddamn people are.

So, you know, I like to think about the questions of interpersonal betrayal and state response to terrorism in A Scandal in Belgravia...but I also love it because of these assholes trolling the fucking queen.