The end of the world is over. Now the rebuilding can begin. But the years of hard work and hard fought alliances have taken their toll on everyone, not the least of which is Abby Grant. Abby is about to get everything she ever wanted in the absolute worst of ways…

We’re officially in the end game with Survivors now, with just one more season to go before the main arc concludes. That gives season 8 both a chance to have a little stylistic fun and also the responsibility to lay the groundwork for the ending, it does both admirably.

‘Bandit Train’ by Christopher Hatherall is a straight up action story. The train now ranges even further and on a transport run between settlements Abby, Jenny and Craig come under attack from a group of very young bandits.

A lesser series would have let this sit as is, but Hatherall pulls off two gut punches here. The first is Abby’s understandable reluctance to fire on the kids, in particular as Peter may be among them and how Jenny reacts to it. Abby’s single-minded determination has always been both an engine for the show and the character and Seymour doubles down on it here with fierce conviction. Likewise Lucy Fleming who manages to give Jenny the exact level of furious exasperation she needs at the same time as respecting her friend’s wishes. Better still, that idea of being trapped between a rock and a hard place becomes the focal point of the season even as the scope of it expands. A deceptively clever set up with a very big surprise in the final minutes, it’s one of the strongest season openers the show has ever done.

Jane Slavin’s ‘Robert’ is just as good. Robert Malcolm, the ex-soldier who saves everyone in the first story gets a detailed, horrifying background here. Malcolm was one of the unlucky ones, his life slowly collapsing in horrific precision even as he tried to balance caring for his institutionalized wife and building something with his girlfriend. He fails at very nearly everything, in the exact complex untidy way people do. Hywel Morgan is exceptional as Robert throughout but here he’s centre stage and worth every second of it. A complex, nuanced, intensely dangerous man, Robert is convinced he’s the hero of his own story. He may be right too.

‘The Lost Boys’ by Lisa McMullin is the lynchpin around which the entire season revolves. This is where Peter Grant steps into the spotlight at last and he is absolutely worth the wait. Abby’s boy is a child soldier, charming, officious, cruel, bitterly sarcastic and utterly aware of what he is. Peter is both terrifying and terrified Joel James Davison hits it out of the park this episode particularly. He shows you the inner torment of the poor kid, shows you what he knows is wrong and the places where he’s somehow still just a child. And then he orders two people to fight to the death. And they do. I have no idea if Survivors’ own Kylo Ren is redeemable. I do know it’s going to be gripping to watch people try. Tightly plotted, bloody knuckled and with a glorious horrible moment for Craig, played by the always excellent George Watkins, this is a series standout.

And then the war begins. ‘Village of Dust’ by Roland Moore, closes out the series with Abby intent on seeing Peter, Jenny preparing for war and a familiar village stuck right in the middle.

This is the prelude to the big push and it has a real Henry V feel to it. There’s a confrontation between Abby and Peter which is just electric, as Abby appeals to the better nature of her son and Peter totally fails to process the anger he feels at being left behind. Meanwhile the logistics of defending the colonies we’ve spent eight seasons getting to know comes to the fore and there’s a tangible sense of something massive about to break across this fragile world. It’s vastly tense to listen to, tightly written and acted and a great set up for the new season as well as landing spot for this one.

Verdict: I’m going to be genuinely sorry to see the overall arc come to a close but at the same time I’m delighted it is. Eventually the A-Team have to be proven innocent. Eventually Sam has to leap home (let me have that one!). Eventually the Galactica has to find Earth. And eventually, Abby and Peter have to be reunited. The fact that reunion is this fraught, this well written and acted, is a testament to every level of production on this standout show. Listen to them all. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart