What if…

A small time jump from March to June, in Huntsville, where Floyd has just done this episode’s Bad Thing.

We’ve all been there – done something stupid after a few too many orange juices in our youth. Pity poor Floyd, who has really screwed up. His 911 operator is Ana and she displays award-worthy stoicism in the face of a very distressing call. He sounds dreadful, broken, and I am once again impressed at the ability of the cast of Calls to bring such raw emotion and convey so much through just one medium.

Ana gives us the next threads of the main story arc of Calls to weave slowly together, as she takes a leap of faith and puts two and two together to actually make four. She shares with Floyd that he is not alone and he realises he may get a second chance, but the clock is ticking, in more than one way. My heart is in my mouth at this point, as I have absolutely no clue which way this could go.

The graphics this episode become circular rather than triangular as a third caller is added, and again, there’s some crafty echoing of the story as the circumference splits and bends and twists into a figure of 8. It’s only really at the end of each episode that you fully appreciate the way the visual and audio elements complement each other.

This fifth episode shares a specific theme with the third, except it’s told from a different perspective and the denouement is more redemptive than darkly humorous. When our backs are against the wall, that’s when we humans show our true colours and I think there’s hope for our Floyd yet – don’t think too much about that right at the end, though, you’ll get a headache. Now where did I put my aspirin…?

Verdict: A nail biting but more hopeful episode as one person amongst all the chaos gets to make amends. 8/10

Claire Smith