the owl and the olive tree

I don't think that sort of thing happens in every episode, or even all that frequently. I mean, I can't say the writers NEVER rely on that device again, because I can think of a couple of instances out of the three seasons I've seen, but there's also a lot of other great non-anxiety-inducing stuff in between those few occasions. They do like to bring the drama but they also manage to find other ways to do so.