When an old Bloodhunter arrives in Opal City, Tyson is challenged as to how far he’s prepared to go.

There’s a slight drop in pace in episode 2 as Warwick Thornton explores the world of ‘Suckers’ ‘Bleeders’ and ‘Bloodhunters’ and the wider logistics of the Firebite world he is drawing for us, but it’s all interesting and involving stuff, as the old warrior Jalingbirri comes to the rescue just as Shanika is faced with impossible odds.

But who exactly is the inscrutable old man – and what is his hold over the irascible Tyson?

Meanwhile, The Vampire King (played by Callan Mulvey reminiscent of a young Matthew McConaughey) is staking out his territory and preparing for…?

We’re not quite sure, but I suspect we’ll find out by episode 8. First of all, though, there’s the small matter of The Last Bloodhunter to be dealt with.

Episode 3 (We Don’t Go Down) gets off to a rip-roaring start with the help of the kind of tools best used with sturdy gloves and safety goggles. Needless to say, they aren’t employed here for the purposes of home improvement. After an exhilaratingly gory intro, the show rolls along digging deeper into the relationship between Tyson and his unofficially adoptive daughter, Shanika. The screen chemistry between Rob Collins and Shantae Barnes-Cowan is terrific. It’s the kind of thing you can’t buy. It’s what makes a series like this – which might look a bit improbable on paper – something this reviewer could easily fall in love with. I now officially care about these people and I want them to work it out – disposing of as many vampires as they can along the way (of course).

But they’re not going to for a while (of course) and the episode hook sees teenaged Shanika going dangerously rogue…

Having watched a few episodes I thought it was safe to take a look at what others were saying, and it seems that generally people share in my sense that this is a joyous and exhilarating show. I have, however, read some less favourable criticism, saying that it confirms negative stereotypes of indigenous Australians. That seems a tad literalistic to me. Yes, there’s drink and anger and poverty, but Firebite seems to have a much richer subtext, which posits that this is the price of compromise. Tyson has to choose. Is he just a pest controller, or does he have the guts to be a full blown bloodhunter? Is he content with assimilation and/or survival – or is he prepared for armed resistance and/or death? Live on your knees or die on your feet?

Verdict: As I said after the season opener, it’s hardly a subtle metaphor for the legacy of colonialism but it is delivered with such conviction and punch it’s hard to see it as reinforcing negative stereotypes in any way. I know whose side I’m on! Bring on the next five episodes. 8/10

Martin Jameson