What faroutgal said about S2 holds for me as well. The show recovers in S3 and S4 might just be the best season the show has had. While I enjoyed watching Tom go off the deep end, I still think he was treated unfairly by the rest of the cast.

I liked Ruth right away but I didn't really fall for her character til S3. By the beginning of S4 she was one of my favorite characters on the show.