Joel Crothers does what is, to me, an unexpectedly good job as a drunk. Joe's not all-out drunk; he's just consistently not quite functioning. Later when we see Crothers in his 1795 role, lots of people say what a good actor he is, and I think to myself that there's really not much subtlety there, but today's episode had me feeling sorry that we didn't get to see more of what he was capable of.
What's also frustrating is that today we still didn't see much of what Joe is beneath the Boy Scout exterior. The writers are more interested in having him hit Liz at her vulnerable point. If, despite her great love for Carolyn, she is the cause of Carolyn's being able to more forward in life, how will she ever be able to straighten David out? I don't have any particular feeling that Joe's accusation against Liz is correct, but she clearly thinks it is.