“I only meant to hurt myself.” – Foster
There was a level of darkness in “Change Partners” that we hadn’t seen in the previous two episodes of Terriers. Sure, there was the same snappy dialogue and the main case at least started out more silly than shocking, but then things took a hard left turn into ominous.
Hank (Donal Logue) needs a home loan because, well, he told Gretchen (Kimberly Quinn) he already had one in place. After being turned down by several banks, he is approached by the president of one when the president, Foster, overhears about Hank’s occupation. Foster believes his wife is cheating on him. If Hank can get him definitive proof, he’ll make the loan go through.
If there’s one thing that’s bothering me about Terriers so far is a situation like this. It seems like every week so far, random people hire Hank and Britt (Michael Raymond-James) because they just happen to have a need for private investigators. I’m not saying I want this to be like a Raymond Chandler noir story with a sultry dame slinking into Hank and Britt’s office (as if they have one) to hire him every episode, I just find the random nature of how the duo are getting their work to ring false.
Still, as unlikely as the scenario might be, Hank’s not one to turn down a chance to get his loan. Britt isn’t as gung-ho to partake in this mission because it’s just another example of Hank looking out for himself first. Maybe Detective Gustafson’s warning about Hank’s destructive behavior sunk in.
But first to the main case: Hank follows Foster’s wife (played by Rushmore’s Olivia Williams) but finds no evidence of infidelity. When he shows this to Foster, Hank is expecting elation. Instead he gets anger and a mere $100 for his services as well as an unsigned loan application. So, Hank confronts Foster’s wife who (after macing Hank when she thinks he’s a mugger or something) admits that her husband is turned on by the thought of his wife cheating, and she just can’t bring herself to go through with it.
Ah, but Hank isn’t anything if he isn’t a master of illusion. He gets Britt back on board and sets up a fake tryst between Foster’s wife and Britt with photographic evidence to prove it. Foster is initially pleased until he quickly figures out who Britt really is. He’s all ready to reject the loan completely when Hank confesses to sleeping with Foster’s wife himself the night before when she showed up at his door. Foster signs the papers and Hank leaves happy until he realizes that one signature was missed. Returning to the office, Hank finds it empty and looks out the window to see a dead Foster on the sidewalk many floors below. In a rush, Hank forges the necessary signature, using Foster’s suicide note as a guide.
All of this was pretty grim, but in a possibly even more depressing development, it would seem Hank’s jokes about having “senior moments” in earlier episodes shouldn’t have been taken so lightly. There were several mentions of possible dementia incidents during “Change Partners”:
- Hank telling Britt about moving a box but not remembering doing so.
- Telling Foster’s to wive to be careful she doesn’t run into a box that isn’t there.
- Ordering a Tab at the bar, which the bartender reminds him doesn’t exist.
You could argue that these episodes might just be coincidental, but it seems there are far too many of them at this point. Hank’s success at his job depends on how sharp his wits are. It’s going to be a struggle to continue if those wits are dulled. And when there appears to be masked men going through his attic at night for some reason, he’s going to want those wits to be sharp as razors.
More thoughts on “Change Partners”:
- I didn’t get into Britt’s ex-partner-back-for-one-last-score-or-he’ll-tell-Katie-about-Britt’s-deep-dark-secret storyline, but it was light and cute with a satisfying conclusion. I really like the Katie character and she has been revealing her nature to be more and more fun every week.
- We learn a little about how Hank and Britt met. Back when Britt was a small-time thief, Hank caught him trying to break into a taco joint but took him out for waffles instead of calling 9-1-1. As Britt put it, they’ve been “gumshoeing ever since.”
- Hank: “You know, my sock garters are beginning to sag.” Britt: “I didn’t want to say anything.”
- “You could screen a movie on that python.”
- “Mr. Of Sunshine himself.”
- “Don’t judge me.”
Some stats and info about Terriers, “Change Partners”
TV SHOW – Terriers
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 3
AIRED ON – September 22nd, 2010
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FX
GENRE – Drama, Comedy, Crime Dramas
CREATED BY – Ted Griffin
CAST – Donal Logue, Michael Raymond-James, Laura Allen, Kimberly Quinn, Jamie Denbo, Rockmond Dunbar
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.