Jharrell faces interrogation at the hands of Homeland Security. Keisha and Isaiah have a frank conversation. Andre and Logan get to know one another as Shanice and Mariah explore the boundaries of their own relationship.

I actually thought perhaps I’d accidentally fast forwarded past a scene in this episode at first, which gives you an idea of how much it throws itself straight into the heart of the action, with Jharrell being interrogated in, shall we say, a forceful manner as Jess tries to get the details of Manny’s work out of him. Standing the other side of the two way mirror with her is none other than Soraya. I was so gutted to see her apparently betray a confidence last week and this week Kausar Mohammed really gets to have some fun being scarily evil, which is sad for me but good for her as she’s evidently enjoying herself.

But essentially, much of the episode is devoted to flashbacks which give us, for the first time, a picture of who Manny is, and what his and Jharrell’s relationship was like. A lot of this is quite surprising, given how close Jharrell has insisted they were up to now and how much he clearly loved and was desperate to find his little brother. Turns out, much as that’s true, theirs was a complex relationship indeed, and Manny a very interesting character who might hold the key to all sorts of things.

Back at the hotel, Isaiah and Keisha find themselves forced to spend an uncomfortable couple of hours alone together which is made all the worse when the good Reverend suddenly deduces Keisha’s sexuality. Since we saw his response to the news that his son was gay, Isaiah’s attitude on the subject has been clear. Now, trapped in a situation he can’t escape with an unapologetically gay woman, his prejudice gets put under the spotlight, and for all his rote recitations of hating the sin not the sinner, it’s clear that Keisha makes an impression. I don’t expect him to attend a pride parade anytime soon, but he’s certainly been given things to think about.

The complexities in the lives of Shanice and her loved ones start to be ironed out a little more this week. She and Mariah, after a rocky start, are starting to get a feel for the kind of relationship they can build with on another going forward. And Andre and Logan get an opportunity to spend some time together which starts out as awkward as you might imagine and then goes to some unexpected places.

And as a storm rages in the city, Claudette takes in a lost soul with nowhere else to go and they have some serious heart to heart time. It’s a joy to see Jaye Ladymore’s character back after her brief absence at bartending school, and we get to see an even fiercer side of her here than we already had. Claudette is not to be messed with lightly, and all those folks worried about the dangerous ones in the 4400ers may be looking in the wrong place entirely.

It’s an episode which has a lot of very nice character beats which in different hands could have been schmaltzy but work fine here. It’s also an episode that provides as many laughs as it does sad, tense and poignant moments. Honestly, in a week of good TV, it’s up there as one of my favourites.

Verdict: Yup, this is exactly what I want from my genre entertainment. 9/10

Greg D. Smith