it turned out to be a joke at the expense of shippers. See, I didn't think of it that way at all. Because it was so very obvious by its over-the-top-ness that it was never going to be Annie (I'm not sure Britta was ever in contention for the goal line for that sprint, other than her being the only other person we've seen Jeff have a romantic interest in) that it never felt like a deliberate thumbing-their-noses-at-'shippers thing. The whole point of that wasn't "oh look, he's going to Annie", but "it can't be Annie, so WHO IS HE TALKING TO?"
I will say, though, that I am with you on the other stuff. When you sacrifice substance for yet more meta, you're going in the wrong direction.
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See, I didn't think of it that way at all. Because it was so very obvious by its over-the-top-ness that it was never going to be Annie (I'm not sure Britta was ever in contention for the goal line for that sprint, other than her being the only other person we've seen Jeff have a romantic interest in) that it never felt like a deliberate thumbing-their-noses-at-'shippers thing. The whole point of that wasn't "oh look, he's going to Annie", but "it can't be Annie, so WHO IS HE TALKING TO?"
I will say, though, that I am with you on the other stuff. When you sacrifice substance for yet more meta, you're going in the wrong direction.