The Foot: Review of Terriers--"Agua Caliente"

"Agua Cliente" is sort of the sequel the third episode of the series, "Change Partners." "Agua Cliente" returns our characters to their old partners. Britt finds himself in the company of Ray while Hank joins forces with Mark to find Britt, who got kidnapped and brought to Tijuana. The Mexican Cartel kidnapped Britt as he raced around a golf course, doing a job for Mags. The top guy of the cartel (Felipe Prado if I recall correctly) has history with Ray. Ray dragged Britt's name into the job because, presumably, Ray will die should he fail. The cartel wants Britt and Ray to retrieve a whole lot of cocaine from a police station and bring said cocaine to the warehouse (or garage). Britt only agrees to do the job once Felipe threatens Katie's life. Felipe must've watched Point Break because Bodhi used the same ploy to get Johnny Utah to assist in a bank robbery. I digress.

Britt and Ray steal the cocaine easily. They become fugitives because a ton of cocaine was stolen from the police station. Britt returns the cocaine to another cartel and politely asks for Felipe's phone. You see, they killed the men who can save his girlfriend's life. The second half of the episode is a frantic race to save Katie from any possible danger. Katie, of course, doesn't get harmed despite a brief situation with the hired muscle. The biggest threat is actually the Professor. I wondered whether or not Britt would return home and soon discover what Katie and her professor did together. The secret remains a secret; however, Hank warns the professor to never sleep with one of his students again because he will tell his wife everything along with the tenure board and the university.

The biggest moment between Britt and Ray is the fight. The duo need to get into prison and it helps that Britt wants to beat his old partner up. Britt hasn't forgotten what happened when Ray strolled into Ocean Beach. His arrival led to Britt's confession to Katie that he wanted to meet her after breaking into her house. Ray attempted to blackmail Britt into a theft job. Ray, meanwhile, wouldn't mind throwing a few punches because Britt tried to get him arrested. Unfortunately, Gustaffson and the OBPD failed to act on the evidence. Also, Ray split for Mexico. The fight is Britt's lone way to let out his frustrations against the man who won't let him forget or move past a past he wants to forget.

Meanwhile, Hank asks Mark to help him find his buddy. Previous episodes made it clear that Hank screwed up badly in the past. Mark warned Britt, previously, that Hank will let him down. In this episode, we get a glimpse of how well the pair worked together before Hank let his partner down. They find Britt quickly and smuggle him home without incident. Hank takes a bullet for Katie and Mark takes down the hired gun from the cartel. Afterwards, Britt reminds Mark what he said about Hank letting him down. Mark said Hank will have his moments but it won't stop him from letting Britt down. Britt asks Gustaffson how Hank let him down. Mark simply responds with, "he'll have to tell you the story."

I enjoyed the episode. The episode was lighter than the previous two episodes. I'm looking forward to the Hank/Mark backstory and how exactly Hank let his partner down. Terriers excells at telling effective and moving personal stories. I only hope Tim Minear is the man who wrote the Hank/Mark episode, assuming the episode was produced.

Some other thoughts:

-I love the dialogue in the show. My favorite scene of the episode is when Hank stops by Mark's office and says hello to Mark's wife. The first few scenes of every Terriers usually features sparkling dialogue.

-I wonder if this episode needed the presence of the Professor. It seemed too convenient that Katie would forget her cell phone and then he'd drop it off. One of the very few clunky spots of the series thus far.

-Phoeuf Sutton and Jon Worley wrote tonight's episode. John Dahl directed.

-Once again, for those who haven't watched the show, every episode besides the most recent can be streamed on hulu.com or viewed ondemand. You won't regret the time you spend with Terriers. It's a terrific show.

SCREENPLAY OF THE DAY

The Hurt Locker--Written By Mark Boal--http://www.joblo.com/scripts/hurtlocker_script.pdf

THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK