With only Alex and Kyra remaining unaffected by whatever is being done to the pupils of Point Blanc, and Kyra scared she’s next on the list, escape is more urgent than ever. Back in London, Tom is about to get into some serious trouble.

So now James is apparently brainwashed as well, which leaves Alex and Kyra only each other upon whom to rely. Having established that whatever the mystery for which Baxter was killed was not in the hidden second floor, Alex reasons there’s just the basement to check. But while he wants answers, Kyra just wants to get the hell out before she gets to be next for whatever’s being done.

This leads to tension, and a split between the two which sees each of them going their own way. And we get to focus on Alex and what he discovers in the basement, which suddenly makes an awful lot of stuff much clearer. Having not read the book, I have to confess I was nicely surprised by the reveal of exactly what’s been going on, and exactly how it feeds into a bigger, more nefarious plan on the part of Greif and whoever is standing above him in the shadows. It’s certainly a fairly original take on the standard plan for world domination.

As the episode progresses, we also get to see Alex use his resourcefulness and his own mental and physical toughness, some of which, if I’m being honest, stretches credulity more than a little bit. But then again, he’s the hero, and if he wasn’t super smart and tough then he wouldn’t be. Otto Farrant once again delivers a strong performance with the material he’s got, but I was a little disappointed to see Kyra start to default into a more standard type of spy thriller female character.

Back in London, Tom can’t believe his luck when he gets a call that seems to suggest he’s been discovered as a young filmmaker by none other than Roscorp, and of course promptly skips school to go and get himself into a bunch of trouble. All I can say is that he’s very lucky we live in the age of social media and that Jack happens to follow him on Instagram. Still, it’s that kind of show where small contrivances have to be worked in.

The ending, when it comes, delivers somewhat of a shock, after a thrilling sequence that was easily one of the highlights of the series so far. It’s definitely gearing up for a big finish, by the looks of things.

Verdict: It still has the odd convenience nudging the plot along, but it’s so well polished it’s difficult to care. 8/10

Greg D. Smith