Ok, so yeah, it got way better after the midpoint.
Episode 6 was incredibly acted and well-written. I can't really believe they got all those people to do it. Jamie Lee was particularly awesome.
As many others have said, episode 7 was my favorite. I am definitely team Richie. Just an awesome episode of television.
Controversial (and possibly stupid) opinion: I thought the ending was pretty lame? That's some Three's Company **** tbh. I thought it was super-weak in what was an otherwise pretty flawless five episodes.
And to be clear, I'm speaking of the whole I-didn't-know-I-was-talking-to-Claire stuff, not the Richie/Carmy and Sydney/her dad stuff.