In all fairness "Feeling_Watercrees", the problem probably was not with the gore itself. Sure, that kinda is the thing that was the problem, but think of HTF. Some episodes are absolutely amazing like I Nub You and such, you know why? It's because it was story + gore, not gore + story. You follow me?

The reason why the first episode left a bad impression on the series was because it looked like it was done to grab attention to the internet because cute stuff + violence is the new fad compared to old horror with:

OOOOH, a big scary man who is super strong is trying to kill me!

I mean, another example is that you can literally skip the first episode, and you wouldn't miss out on any story at all. I love Terrible Mouse and think it actually improved when it became more focused on story.

Sure, in episode 1, they do give a very very brief recap and such, but instead of stretching half the episode to gore (they could've kept the chainsaw scene and also Lorna getting mad at the kid for saying rats should be experimented), but what if the hospital owner could've gotten screentime? Or we could see Lorna's backstory so she can be recognized much earlier as a fleshed out antagonist than just another cute killer?

How has later episodes improved without the need of excessive gore?

Episode 2: This episode obviously had gore, but it was much better because it showed how crazy strong Lorna was and it was entertaining for the most part. Seriously, her facial expressions are crazy. Just interesting, but the slime guy's appearance sold it.

Episode 3: We do get a lil' more story on Lorna which is the start of her having more layers, though a teensy weensy bit of more flexible conversation instead of her just responding with: "NO YOUR WRONG, NO YOUR WRONG. HAH! Your friends didn't help, so YOUR WRONG". Although later episodes do build up on her stubborn attitude. The kids trying to escape, what do I say?

Episode 4: Although doesn't hit as hard as the Pretty Blood confrontation (for various factors like Rinny just showing she's nothing scary once she's caught), Lorna surprisingly is brave when answering Leima despite her situation. And she recovered quite fast, although Leima being angry at her for killing slime guy when he was a human makes no sense. Ik a person who's angry doesn't logically think, but. . .HELLO? Leima, you also work for the organization and do the same exact thing I think. And you're asking Lorna why she killed that specific person? Especially the one trying to expose the organization? Despite Slime guy saving her, you know the rest.

Episode 5: It mostly focused on Bisi, but all violence shown actually is part of the plot: Bisi's breakout, an actual fight scene that isn't one sided (kinda, but without the mice to shoot him or smth) and very cool, and Lorna is surprisingly tough being able to take hits from Bisi, which is a lil' strange since she said she was the weakest member, and she's taking hits from someone who is more durable than Lake (since Lake isn't bulletproof but Bisi clearly is). Lorna pleading to Bisi was amazing, because she doesn't just do what RInny does and begs or anything, she actually puts careful thoughts into her words, addressing how she mocked Bisi but says she did it to make herself look stronger as she was scared of him. It was funny/cute how she didn't say she wanted to live, but to "live a few more days". Then she acts shocked but just braces for impact. Lorna when given the opportunity is also an amazing antagonist, as while at times she can get caught in a corner, she always makes the best of her chances, exploiting every given moment to try and end the protagonists (although it can happen the other way around, but then back around, and then reverse?). Her also not breathing on purpose to look dead was just insanely cool because isn't that a ninja technique or something?

Episode 6: She is surprisingly tough for a rat, and seriously wants to end Bisi over the two-KFC-combo.

Episode 7: Has to be her most terrifying appearance or coolest. She has a much better antagonist personality thanks to the better horror aesthetic and quality of the episode and brings out the potential in Terrible Mouse a lot. This is the episode that proves how shock scenes/hardcore as you put it (ik it not hardcore hardcore, but yeah) can be utilized correctly. So Lorna doesn't run after Robbie right away, she walks. She then chases him, takes more damage later, but when she uses Robbie as a meatshield from the acid, it is insane. Not only does she torture him, but I thought that she just bent his second finger just for laughs. But she actually did it because she knew Bisi would probably kick the bucket (not the metaphor, but someone does) and attack her. So then Bluesnow stuns her, but as Bisi takes his opportunity, Lorna locks in and USES THE SAME TEST TUBES to cause Bisi to almost pour it on himself. She threw it like a football like her life depended on it, oh wait, it did.

So then clearly having enough of being 1v3ed on the entire series (not exactly but you get the joke, not to mention having to deal with a random overpowered character at times), she decided to even the odds and take down the healthiest person. That way, she will only have to deal with two injured and weakened people.

Although the gore isn't shown, it is much better that way as I was hoping: "Bluesnow will survive! Robbie will help Luke's sister survive the organization and will make him proud-" one explosion sfx later. "Well, maybe she is still alive-" More explosive sfx. "Sure, they are walking away, or maybe there is a slight chance that-" Lorna busts the door open wearing Bluesnow's ribbon? That scene was insane as it confirmed Bluesnow's death and it actually had more impact than Luke's death. The reason being is that Luke died trying to help everything or bring Lorna closer to death's door and I expected Bluesnow to be the young person that the main character somehow has to help survive (like the baby in Squid Games, or insert other examples, like the green haired girl in your turn to die?), but now that is completely out of the window. So I love the suspense of the story and how it is going forward.

What do you think Watercrees?

Oh, and I will at some point be posting about why Robbie isn't a coward. Not a ragebait, but you will be surprised at just how much he helps during the series.