When ex-vet Helen and her two daughters travel to Osea for a holiday, they are unprepared for the less than warm welcome. Turned away from the cottage they booked they urgently need to find somewhere to stay, especially once circumstances prevent them leaving the island.

Yes, once again a visitor to this most peculiar of destinations decides to mooch about and leaves the possibility of leaving until the last moment, despite it being quite clear something strange is afoot. That was Sam’s big mistake of course, and it won’t be long before you’ll be shouting at the telly for Helen and her kids to get the hell out while they still can. She’s determined to stay though; the trip is ostensibly a birthday treat for her eldest, Ellie, who she thinks is mad keen on archaeology and will find Osea fascinating. Unsurprisingly there’s more to it than that. Ellie’s gran has previously let slip her mum has money troubles and Helen’s determination to stay hints at another motive for the trip entirely. Her fury when she catches Ellie talking to Larry also suggests some sort of trauma we’re not yet privy to. Admittedly, knowing what we know about the deeply worrying Larry, she’s perfectly right to be concerned, not that she knows that.

On display throughout the village are numerous disturbing images, some blasphemous, some of a sexual nature (or both), and there’s a sense that Osea is in decline since we last visited. There’s a few new faces in the village as well. Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones/Dennis Pennis) seems to be a recent arrival, and with his droopy moustache and western outfit is credited simply as “The Cowboy”. We also encounter Janny, a mild mannered and, it seems, bullied hotel owner, played by Hilton McRae. Return of the Jedi fans will remember him as the A-Wing pilot who made a successful kamikazee run on the Executor, although he’s had a long and distinguished career (before you ask, yes, he has an action figure). Both fine actors I look forward to seeing more of here, likewise Freya Allen (Ciri in the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher) who’s so far only appeared fairly briefly but who hopefully will have a much more significant role to play for the remainder of the series.

Helen herself is superbly portrayed by Naomie Harris, best known to most as Eve Moneypenny in the current James Bond movies. Since we won’t get to see her latest jaunt with 007 anytime soon it’s a pleasure to catch her here. There’s a real warmth to her character, offset by the aforementioned edge at certain moments. Her relationship with her screen daughters is convincing, helped no doubt by Harris having been a young actor herself (Simon and the Witch and later the mid-90s reboot of the Tomorrow People). They’re played by Nico Parker and Charlotte Gairdner-Mihell. Parker, one of Thandie Newton’s daughters, was the best thing by far about Tim Burton’s Dumbo remake and is equally impressive here; thoughtful and natural, with an underlying sadness no doubt to be explored further. Gairdner-Mihell, making her screen debut, does well too, as her younger, stroppier, screen-obsessed sibling.

Unlike the opening episode of the “Summer” series, it’s easier to feel involved in the drama since we know Osea is a dangerous place for outsiders, and while it’s mostly unnerving rather than frightening there’re some seriously suspenseful moments. Along with part 1 writer Dennis Kelly this segment brings in the talents of writers Kit de Waal (best known for her novel My Name is Leon) and Dean O’Loughlin (second runner-up in the second series of Big Brother – really) and as real-life siblings presumably are responsible for the convincing familial interactions. Needless to say this episode’s denouement turns everything on its head (unless you already guessed) and I really can’t wait to see how this develops.

Despite it being mere days since the live marathon, this feels like a fresh start with new mysteries to solve, but which may just shed more light on what we’ve already seen. 8/10

Andy Smith

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