A woman suffering in a loveless marriage, finds that upon his return from battle, her emotionally abusive husband suddenly appears to be a different man – in more ways than one.

Based on Philip K. Dick’s short story from Startling Stories in 1955, the final instalment in this season of Electric Dreams before its Christmas break (the final four will be aired in the new year) is a strong sci-fi hour with a great ‘what if?’ On this occasion it posits what would you do if your mean, heartless warrior partner returned from the wars as literally a different person? Would you be prepared to accept this caring and loving enemy metamorph, or would you be duty bound to tell the authorities?

Bryan Cranston plays the dual role of human/Rexorian Silas, while wife Vera is Essie (The Babadook) Davies, supported by Game of Thrones’ Liam Cunningham as a military commander. The scenes in the courtroom are very tense – will Vera perjure herself, or what can Rexorian Silas do to save himself from execution?

Director Francesca Gregorini has multiple episodes of Humans under her belt, and uses the fairly static setting to good advantage. It’s clear that this isn’t a big-budget production, but the money is spent well in establishing the tech of the location. Writer Jessica Mecklenburg is Co-executive Producer and a writer on Stranger Things, which is appropriate considering the retro nature of this futuristic yarn.

Verdict: At the heart of PKD’s work is the question about what makes us human, be it replicant, robot, android, clone or… human. The sci-fi trappings are a great hook, but questions around humanity are timeless. A beautiful and moving episode which makes you think. 9/10

Nick Joy