ugh. i KNOW that i should really lower my standards for medical accuracy in tv shows, but i guess the loophole managed to clear the incredibly low bar of "fluid exchange guides the receiving partner, no you cannot suck the backlash out like it's snake venom" so my guard was down.

but.

BUT.

guiding does not fucking work like that! medication for alleviating backlash symptoms is like any other medication in that it targets specific symptoms, you can't just grab a pill bottle off of any old esper and expect to get the results you want. and it doesn't make the underlying problem actually go away! there are more generic formulations, but those operate by speeding up the acute-to-chronic metabolism rate. so if you're going to chew up half a dozen pills (??????) katya-style and then start frenching your partner to get the medication in her with your saliva, you'd actually be making the guiding work worse.

not to mention it just completely removes all the thematic weight from miriam's sacrifice, to try and go "oh but she got guided in time, it's okay!" but i'm more used to writers being unable to really commit to any sort of real consequences or stakes, so whatever. it's fine. i'm normal.

ugh.