The gang encounter an alien parasite which should be familiar to fans of the wider Marvel universe, and all sorts of mayhem ensues. Things get worse when Yondu shows up, and as if that wasn’t enough, an especially grumpy Rocket finds the tables suddenly turned on him by his long-suffering best pal…

Though the journey the team is on this episode involves the continuing search for the Cosmic Seed, they don’t make an awful lot of progress, detained as they are by the twin threats of a vicious (and apparently evolved) swarm of Symbiotes and Quill’s former comrade Yondu, after the Seed for himself.

The opening riffs off a classic 80s adventure movie, which the writers are clever enough to have Quill reference himself as the escapade continues, and though this makes it predictable to a certain extent, it is nevertheless entertaining stuff.

The subsequent encounter with Yondu goes as expected, but as the team make their getaway, they bring a stowaway with them. Rocket carries on being mean to poor Groot, berating him and sending off to do cleaning duty. This comes back to haunt him, with the stowaway feeding on the negativity and resentment of his leafy pal as it takes him over.

With Gamora and Drax removed from play, it falls to Quill and Rocket to stop the Groot/Symbiote creature before it’s too late, and with their course locked for the Kree homeworld, that might be too late for a lot of people. Fortunately, Rocket’s gadgetry manages to provide the key to saving the day. Three times in fact, once Yondu turns up again near the end to throw another spanner in the works, though Rocket’s own spanner provides a final solution there.

Verdict: It’s a breathless episode, full of excitement and peril and nice little nods for the older audience as well. Another solid effort in what is proving to be a great series. 9/10

Greg D. Smith