Sentence:  Individual episodes are still thrilling and often quite striking, <WSD>give or take</WSD> some pitch-black battle scenes. But the gradual ramping up of the plotting that has grown steadily in the past three seasons crossed some invisible Maginot line this year, where the formerly acceptable trade-offs of focus for fun are no longer quite so taken for granted. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Approximately; within a certain margin of error.