Yeah, that had me covering my mouth and going "ohshitohshit" a few times.

Even though I knew, intellectually, that Britt and Katie would be fine, I was still afraid for their lives. Britt's showdown with the drug lord, holy CRAP. I kept waiting for it go south. KEPT. WAITING.

There was some great juggling. Because apart from the physical jeopardy there was "ohshit is the prof going to answer her phone and say something dumb -- no, okay, phew, but ohshit the prettyboy classmate knows she slept with the prof? -- ah, he doesn't...ew, maybe he suspects -- but ohshit the prof is MARRIED too, jesus.." And I think cutting to Hank being lowkey for most of it made that more effective, because I was all "I know you're trying to be reassuring but things are MUCH WORSE than you suspect, in several ways!" Which is a neat narrative trick I shall file away.

I agree about the juggling. So much ohshit potential. OSP?

Which is a neat narrative trick I shall file away.

I am filing away "Be understated and grounded rather than artificially heightening tension when it doesn't need it."

Happy Birthday Tim, have a great day.

Ditto with the HSQ. I'm really starting to wait for it, every week (just to point how much: I wrote "wait for her", as Hebrew relates to anything by male/female, because the show has a soul now, in my mind).

Even though I knew, intellectually, that Britt and Katie would be fine

I didn't. It's a Tim Minear's show. For all I now, he can end them in their sleep, not plot related, cause hey - shit happens.

And while this might feel a bit pointless to write, yet never pointless to wish from very, very afar - happy belated birthday, Mr. Person I Never Met Or Knew And Yet Dear To Me As Much As An Evil Mastermind Who Sees Into My Mind Can Be.

Hippo birdies, Tim.

BTW, has there been a Tim-penned ep yet? I keep spacing on checking the credits. There's that "as good as Out of Gas" episode coming at some point.

That's episode 11.

Yeah, I figured I hadn't seen eight million posts in this thread and so Britt and Katie would survive, but I didn't *know* they would. It was scary.

And I really like Ray. I mean, I like the way Ray is written. He's a believable antagonist, doing stuff for reasons that make sense, even if not helpful to our heroes.

I loved loved Hank's understated threat to the prof. Yeah, I may have just been shot, and you may have no idea about me, but I am a badass in protecting my friends and their like from you.

Part of the problem for me in this show is how the teevee right answer isn't always the right answer in life. And I really really think Katie should have told Britt what happened and let them deal with the fallout straight up. And when Hank gave her the counter-advice, I was freaking out. But the problem with it is, it might have been the right advice. I still think no, but that's how life works, you know? You make choices and sometimes they're the right ones and sometimes they're the wrong ones and sometimes they're somewhere in between and you just have to deal with it.

And I like that this show is written that way.

I think Hank is the ultimate wrong choice to give relationship advice. But I think this show is all about the wrong choices. Come to think of it, more general than this show. A whole lot of the world's great works would have been much shorter if people had not made bad choices or even used simple common sense. Heck political soap operas set in monarchies offer tons of plot possibilities not available to those set in democracies.

Yup, and the trick is, do you as the viewer understand why those bad choices are being made, why they seem like the right choices to the character? And in Terriers they achieve that. I am begging them to do something else, to make a different path, and yet, I understand why they don't.