{"id":5703,"date":"2016-07-15T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2016-07-15T15:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5703"},"modified":"2016-06-22T18:28:58","modified_gmt":"2016-06-23T01:28:58","slug":"mark-watches-terriers-episode-3-changing-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/07\/mark-watches-terriers-episode-3-changing-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Terriers’: Episode 3 – Changing Partners"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the third episode of\u00c2\u00a0Terriers<\/i>, what the fuck what the fuck WHAT THE FUCK. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Terriers<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For suicide.\u00c2\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Jesus christ, WHAT JUST HAPPENED ON THIS SHOW.<\/p>\n

Britt<\/b><\/p>\n

I do enjoy it when a show doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t waste time, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Change Partners\u00e2\u20ac\u009d certainly escalates the story for most of the recurring characters. In a rare feat, both the A and B plots of the episode are just as intriguing and engaging as one another. In Britt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, the writers address Detective Gustafson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comment to Britt in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dog and Pony\u00e2\u20ac\u009d about his past. AND WHAT A PAST THAT IS.<\/p>\n

I found this all so interesting because of how directly the script addresses the awkward nature of the story. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly a shocker that Britt was a criminal before he met Katie, but\u00c2\u00a0where<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0the show takes that reveal was far more surprising to me. Indeed, I can see how Britt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s secretive nature about what he does with Hank could eat away at the trust in his relationship with his girlfriend. (I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re actually married; I must have messed that up in the last review.) So when Ray (played by the lovely Maimiliano Hern\u00c3\u00a1ndez) returns to Britt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life to insist he take on another job, the situation has all the makings of a disaster. Hank hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly been all that helpful when it comes to money, so Britt is\u00c2\u00a0desperate<\/i>. The temptation to do a quick and easy set of jobs to make a quick buck is pretty damn high.<\/p>\n

So why doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Britt end up accepting the offer? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s here that\u00c2\u00a0Terriers<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0starts to build a characterization for Britt that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s complicated, and I appreciate that. His love for Katie is undeniable, but love doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pay the bills. Once Ray hangs Britt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s secret about how he met his girlfriend over his head, though, Britt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conflict morphs. I think he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a man whose made a lot of bad decisions, but he largely escaped the consequences of those actions. Aside from being arrested, we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that Britt ever saw any jail time or paid for his crimes. Yet this specific problem will have an immediate repercussion from him, and he knows it. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no escaping it!<\/p>\n

Initially, I thought he devised a method to get rid of Ray that would also prevent Katie from finding out that HE ROBBED HER HOME A WEEK BEFORE HE MET HER AND USED THAT TO MET HER. Which is so many levels of gross, and Britt\u00c2\u00a0knows<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0it. However, he actually takes Hank\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advice and tells Katie the truth anyway. God, Hank was so right here: tell the truth because your partner will find the truth out anyway.<\/p>\n

I cannot say that I ever would have expected Katie to react as she did. Good fucking god, what a surprise.<\/p>\n

Hank<\/b><\/p>\n

It was clear that the Foster case resonated with Hank because it allowed him, for a moment, to entertain the fantasy that he could repair his own marriage. Of course, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an absurd thought, but fantasies are often absurd in nature. The case certainly doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t start off as one that Hank can relate to. Hell, it was pretty standard, at least until Hank (and the audience) realized that Miriam\u00c2\u00a0wasn<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>cheating on her husband.<\/p>\n

And for what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth, I was impressed that the show largely ignored Britt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s take on this relationship and instead tried to humanize the very real issues that Miriam and Armand were having. In one sense, the cuckold arrangement is played for laughs, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it was\u00c2\u00a0taken<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0that route once Hank began to explore why Miriam stayed in her marriage and why she went to such lengths to preserve it. How could he\u00c2\u00a0not<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0relate to someone who was making possibly disastrous decisions over and over again, all out of the hope that love could last?<\/p>\n

Look, I viewed the first two episodes of the show through a specific lens: this is a show about bad decisions. It\u00c2\u00a0is<\/i>, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an inaccurate statement. But what constitutes a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bad\u00e2\u20ac\u009d decision? In this case, was it a\u00c2\u00a0bad<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0decision for Hank to sleep with Miriam? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what Armand wanted, and Miriam found happiness in the moment. Hell, even Hank found some joy in that. If no one is hurt, does it count as a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bad\u00e2\u20ac\u009d decision?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, everyone gets hurt. Everyone. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still in awe at how spectacularly this all falls apart in such a short span of time. Why? Hank\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sloppiness. Armand\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s need to control the details. Miriam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inability to tell her husband the truth. Each of these acts is complicated by other factors, but this episode features a bad decision of\u00c2\u00a0monumental<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0proportions. Hank\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s angry admission that he slept with Miriam is self-serving. He just wants that bank loan, and he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think about how his words will affect someone else. When Armand commits suicide, he takes his bad decision a step further: he uses Armand\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suicide note to forge his signature.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all so terribly, horribly fucked up, but somehow, I felt that Hank\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s visit to Miriam was the first part. The whole thing is a tragedy, but the way he admits to her that he needed the loan, even if it meant her husband suffered because of it. This is a real low for Hank, one that goes beyond just a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bad\u00e2\u20ac\u009d decision that we can shake our heads laugh. Hank did something that forever changed Miriam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life, and not for the better.<\/p>\n

WHO THE FUCK IS LIVING IN HIS ATTIC, BY THE WAY? WHO THE HELL WAS THAT?<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0Let me just end this review by stating that\u00c2\u00a0that<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0scene was brilliantly filmed and composed because the show lulls us into thinking we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re getting a sappy, guitar-filled little montage, and NO. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NOT. SOMEONE IS LIVING IN HIS HOUSE.<\/p>\n

What the fuck.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Changing Partners\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.<\/b>
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0 Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"