Ortega returns to Kovacs, but is she who seems? An attack on the Head in the Clouds is planned and we finally find out the secret of the mystery woman who fell to Earth.

Watching Altered Carbon, you take nothing at face value, and unfortunately it does undermine some of the jeopardy because if someone dies it’s likely that they’ve got a spare clone body sleeve that they can slip their stack into. If somebody acts a bit weird, it’s never because they’re having a bad day, it’s because they’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Armed with enough motivation and resources to lead an attack on Bancroft’s stronghold, Team Kovacs prepare their sortie. Ortega is missing, confined in the Head in the Clouds base, her family has been butchered, and Kovacs is now reclaiming his role in this drama, having been released from detective duties. As AI hotelier Poe observes, Kovacs’ relationship with honesty is passing at best, though his desire to blow apart Bancroft’s empire is noble at best.

When Vernon (fairly easily) passes himself off as a rich thrill-seeker and offered the services of a 19-year-old sex worker, you realise just how depraved Bancroft’s business is and you’re just waiting for Kovacs and his unicorn backpack to step into the fray with his unicorn backpack, guns blazing.

Verdict: Maybe not the action-packed fight-fest we were expecting at this stage, but all pieces are on the board and in the right places for the final showdown.  7/10

Nick Joy