A new arrival may be the gang’s secret weapon against the Headmaster…

Lead writer Emma Reeves takes up the pen again for the latest foray between Lizzie and the gang and the Headmaster, and if you thought that the mentions of Dinah Hunter and the portrait of Terrence Hardiman’s Headmaster were what have been described as “kisses to the past”, then you’re mistaken. The show fully embraces its legacy here, bringing Dinah back as a fully fledged MI6 agent who comes to the gang’s aid, giving them helpful hints to prevent the Headmaster from controlling their minds. But is she all that she seems? Charlotte Beckett’s goes toe to toe with Nicholas Gleaves’ Headmaster but the outcome seems inevitable… and those who watched the original series and know all that the character has been through may well share the gang’s despondency at the end of the episode.

There’s a lot of good character work throughout – particularly, once again, for the two Jordans (Cramond as Tyler, and Rankin as Blake) – and the younger actors rise to the material. Beckett has a certain amount of exposition to deliver and it never feels forced, while Gleaves shows other sides to the Headmaster as he’s ever so slightly on the back foot.

Verdict: Series 4 (and that’s definitely what this is!) continues to be a lot stronger than many other genre shows currently on air. 9/10

Paul Simpson

Read Emma Reeves’ commentary on episode 7 here