After the brutal attack on Karen, Joe has to find a safe haven for young Sam, and Mia decides that it’s time to get political.

As is inevitable with all serialised drama, the ebb and flow means that one episode can be full of incident, paying off what has been set up previously, and some episodes are pretty much all setup. After Episode 4’s shocking conclusion it’s understandable that the drama is dialled back a little this time, but it can’t help feel like a retrograde step this far into the run.

Laura has played her role in getting legislation changed so that there’s now a £300 fine for assaulting synths, but it’s when Joe turns up with Sam that things get interesting. Joe and Laura were a great couple and seeing them estranged has been difficult. There’s a great moment when Joe encounters “Neil from work” on the doorstep, and a very awkward Mark Bonnar beats a hasty retreat.

The core of this episode is young Sam, trying to get his head round grief and loss, and there’s a beautiful moment when he and Joe have a heart to heart. Tom Goodman-Hill is excellent as the surrogate father, showing a humanity that most of the homo sapiens in the show are lacking.

There’s no Niska this week, Mattie is being very open and naive with a new colleague (we never saw that coming) and Mia is leading a peaceful march to get in front of the Dryden Commission.

Verdict: I suspect that things will hot up in Episode 6 to take us through to the finale, but this one feels like a series of workmanlike bricks being placed in sequence as a means to  an end. The Joe/Sam stuff is what saves it from being fairly uninspiring. 6/10

Nick Joy