BTW, we are just about at the mid-point in the series.
Let's see. There are 1225 eps in the entire series, so far there have been 6 preemptions, so, given that this is Ep #625, that means this is actually the 619th ep in the series. So, we already passed the mid-point in the series at the midpoint of Ep #619.
And it's interesting that the mid-point comes so close to Alexandra Moltke's last ep (Ep #627) because I tend to divide the series into two eras: The Vicki Era and The Quentin Era. And the differences are not just the fact that those two characters tend to define them - it's that even the tone of the show becomes different once Vicki departs and Quentin arrives.