Then click again. And then again. Oops, clicked the picture instead of the text? Go back and try again. But don't accidentally click on the whitespace or you'll have to start over. I'm pretty sure the UI is 100% driven by counting "engagement" events rather than providing usability.

I get what you're saying but for me it hasn't been an issue. I see conversations on twitter highly disposable. I usually read the top level replies only and in some rare occasion I dig deeper.

Not saying it is good but it kinda works for my purpose on the site anyway.