War & Peace Quote by Lee Tergesen

Tergesen is describing a quiet sleight of hand that good TV pulls on its audience: it smuggles self-recognition in under the guise of plot. The distinction he draws between “the character” and “he” looks small on the page, but it’s the whole thesis. “The character” is a safe container for aggression and fantasy-the part of viewing where you want a dramatic reversal because drama is fun. “He” collapses that distance. Now the crew guy isn’t rooting for a scripted move; he’s projecting a need, a personal ache for agency, dignity, maybe revenge. The show stops being entertainment and starts acting like a mirror with teeth.

There’s also an insider’s tenderness here. A “crew guy” isn’t a critic, not even necessarily a superfan. He’s someone proximate to the machinery of storytelling, supposedly inoculated against getting swept up. Tergesen uses him as proof that the material isn’t just landing on the obvious demographic; it’s reaching the people who build the illusion, too. That makes the show sound less like escapism and more like a pressure valve for everyday powerlessness.

Subtextually, Tergesen is pointing to how audiences negotiate their own compromises through fictional proxies. We don’t always admit we want to “fight back” in real life; it’s easier to outsource that hunger to someone on screen. When a show is strong enough, the rooting interest reveals the root wound.