The Hemlock has escaped its pursuers and thanks to the newly freed Dr Emma Grieves is making its way to Arcadia, a complication arises as a spy is revealed among the fugitive band.

Ordinarily, a season finale will try to wrap up its plot points and story arc. Far from wrapping up, Episode 8 of Intergalactic opens up the story, clearly looking for a second series in which these stories can be explored. This may be due partially to the series being reduced from ten to eight episodes, but that decision had been made before Covid struck production and so, the intent to leave an ambiguous, open ending was a conscious choice. The production team must have felt confident that they would be recommissioned on the strength of the first eight episodes.

The question must be asked, has Intergalactic found its fanbase? Given the initial reaction to the series online, which was lukewarm to say the least, it would not appear to have done so. It may not have done enough to earn a return to our screens. We may never get to see what fate awaits our disparate, diverse and morally ambiguous crew. Genevieve has been lost in a poker game to the deliciously villainous Zeeda. Drew is bereft and incomplete with her gone. Tula declares that she wants to find her daughter. Ash seemingly found love with Verona, only to lose it in the latter stages of the episode. Verona abandons the Hemlock to an unknown fate. Mya Miller (Emma Appleton) returns in a new guise from the previous episode revealing she has recruited a spy among the fugitives, implying it could be Echo. Rebecca Harper has led a military coup on Earth and seems to be establishing a neo-fascist galactic government. Yann Harper awaits an emotional reunion with his daughter and Emma glowingly declares she has come home. In life, there are no real endings, in drama it helps if there are.

Verdict: The episode ends with far too many unanswered questions. This is narratively dissatisfying if there are no plans to follow through with a second series. It may have been more pragmatic to close some storylines at the end of the series and to only leave one or two arcs open ended. Some would say always leave them wanting more. Intergalactic may have left its audience wanting far too much. If there had been a second series announcement, the episode may deserve a higher score. 6/10

Andy Evans