Quick Take: Terriers, "Fustercluck"
"Steal a quarter of a million dollars from me." - Lindus
Review: Terriers, "Fustercluck"
(S0104) Terriers might have been too clever for me, but it wasn't too clever for Noel Murray over at The A.V. Club. In his (excellent) review of "Change Partners," he surmised that the mystery person in Hank's attic might be the real explanation behind his episodes of memory loss. I didn't put two and two together, but Murray's suspicions were confirmed this week with the revelation that the attic-dweller is actually Hank's sister, Stephanie, a mentally unbalanced woman who recently checked herself out of an institution and quit taking her medication. For the past three weeks she's been hiding out in the attic (not to mention at Hank's previous apartment before he moved) and making the occasional trips to the main house to eat Hank's food.
Stephanie is played by Donal Logue's real-life sister, Karina, and she brings a nice believability to the role. The little details about her character (Former MIT wunderkind! Great at Scrabble!) that were revealed offered a nice introduction to a character that will likely be very important in upcoming episodes.
But interesting character introductions aside, "Fustercluck" was really all about Hank and Britt becoming re-embroiled into the Robert Lindus storyline. The two are eating lunch when they are approached by Lindus' wife with a request: visit Lindus himself in jail (and get $1000 for doing so). The dynamic duo reluctantly agrees and Lindus meets them with a job offer. Inside one of his offices is a safe that the police hadn't found when they were investigating and freezing his assets. Inside is enough money for Lindus to be bailed out and a key to a safety deposit box. If Hank and Britt succeed, they'll be rewarded with $100,000 and the name of the man who killed Hank's friend, Mickey, in the pilot.
In order to rob the safe, Hank and Britt (using Britt's past burglary repertoire) set up an elaborate ruse in which Britt broke into the building, changed the contact information to the building's alarm company, and purposely set off an alarm. Then, the night watchman calls the company only to be connected with Hank instead who soon appears in the disguise of an alarm technician. It only takes a few minutes for Hank to sweet talk his way into being left alone in the safe room and make his way out with the loot.
The heist sequence was downright spectacular, though I wasn't sure why it stood out to me so much. Then it hit me: there was no score. It's become such a common thread in heist films to feature jazzy, cool music during scenes such as this (a prime example would be Terriers creator Ted Griffin's Ocean's Eleven and Matchstick Men) that a sequence without it seems odd but refreshing.
The boys take the money and key to Lindus' wife and get their payment and the name William Cumin in return. Cumin turns out to be nothing more than a low-level drug dealer who poisoned Mickey at the behest of some powerful men who are also out to get Lindus for his knowledge of some illicit information. Hank and Britt find the recently bailed-out Lindus about to leave the country with his family on his private jet when they kidnap him and force him to spill the beans about what's in the box the key (Hank gave Mrs. Lindus either a fake one of a copy) belongs to. It turns out to be something to do with an illegal land survey (or something; I was kind of confused about the actual crime being committed).
When an opening presents itself, Lindus tries to run away from Hank and Britt but gets hit by a car in the process and shows signs of serious injury. Our heroes take Lindus back to Hank's house, but when they realize how much of a, well, fustercluck their situation is, they decide to come clean to the police. All might have worked out if Lindus didn't have to go and die on them in Hank's bathroom.
Making matters worse, Gustafson shows up to take them in for question regarding Lindus' sudden disappearance. All it takes is keeping Lindus' body hidden in the bathtub and Britt sitting on the toilet to appease Gustafson's curiosity that Lindus might be at Hank's, but Hank and Britt are forced to go with him, leaving Lindus' corpse behind for Stephanie to stare at creepily.
A few more thoughts about "Fustercluck":
Review: Terriers, "Fustercluck"
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