Tivo, my friend. Tivo. It’s well worth it.
And this is exactly what I would go with, that you are a subscriber, and only downloaded that which you had already (via subscription) paid for… You weren’t reselling it, you weren’t giving it to your non-subscriber friends, etc.
IOW, it’s not as if they lost revenue of any kind by your downloading of the episodes.
Now, they can make a case against whomever uploaded the content, but that is another matter entirely.
Them not knowing you are a subscriber is a moot point, and it’s also reasonable that they can’t even be absolutely sure ‘you’ are the one that downloaded it.
IANAL, I don’t play one on TV, etc, etc, ad infinitum.
In using a torrent, though, you are giving the file to possible non-subscribers. You upload as you download, and everyone shares in a great, big, happy socialist paradise.
Just FYI on your planned ‘unsecured network’ defense - most ISPs don’t give a shit if your network is unsecured (IANAL, but I do work for an ISP). Check the T&Cs you signed at startup. Most ISPs (not all, yours may be different, that’s why we check) will have a tiny little paragraph in there somewhere basically laying any and all blame on you, regardless of whether you’re aware of the fact or not.