Yeah, you just don't have any of that filler you usually have, like Teri getting amnesia for a few hours, Kim getting chased by the father of the kid she babysits or the dude from Rudy giving money to his crackhead sister.
True, the excising of some of the B-stories has been a plus....although I feel like they've given short shrift to the Boudreau/forged signature storyline. That is far more interesting to me than the Navarro/Sara's husband angle. I also think they missed a way to build on that when he was forced to allow President Heller to essential sacrifice himself. The idea that allowing that to happen would also protect him from blowback regarding the forgery was all but ignored. Maybe they'll bring that back though.