After everything said and written, and a sizable part of social media spending weeks, if not months, lost in a fever dream about the big-beam, billion-dollar, juggernaut settlement that seemed to be careering straight into Fox News, the whole fantasy veered off the road on Tuesday.

At the last moment, Dominion agreed to an “out-of-court” settlement with Fox News, apparently agreed right there in the middle of the court as the trial was set to begin. Make no mistake: Dominion won and Fox News lost, but for many this settlement marked a disappointing end to a case that was meant to redefine American democracy.