Kovacs has been abducted by unknown captors who are subjecting him to extreme torture, but will his combat experience be enough to keep him alive?

This one will test your resolve for sure – an intense portrayal of a man being subjected to the most extreme forms of mental and physical torture, starting at finger nail pulling and progressing to immolation and the insertion of parasitical beasts. But because it’s all in his head, Kovacs can be pulled back from the brink and the next indignity meted on him.

This is a great chance for Joel Kinnaman to flex his acting muscles – as opposed to his ripped physique – and you see the terror in his eyes as Battlestar Galactica’s Tahmoh Penikett lines up the next agony, each corresponding to a humorous emoji on the scientists’ consoles. And this is the most disturbing part of the horror, the dehumanisation of their subject and complete disregard of his condition. When the tables are turned – and surely that’s no spoiler – those complicit in the torture only have themselves to blame for releasing the beast inside.

Director Alex Graves is best known for his recurring work on Game of Thrones, and he conducts the action set-pieces well. Renée Elise Goldsberry is in hand again to help Kovacs find a way out, but the real humanity is within Martha Higareda’s sub-plot where she brings back her grandmother during Day of the Dead festivities, but within the body ‘sleeve’ of a violent perp. Oh, and Adam Busch (Warren in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has a nice scene as a techno-whizz helping the good guys to track down our hero.

Verdict: Kovacs striding through carnage with multiple guns and a unicorn backpack might be some of the most extreme violence you’ll witness on TV this year, on a show that is still refusing to be tied down as all elements are thrown into the crucible. 8/10

Nick Joy