Trevante finds hope just as he’s ready to give up. Caspar finds himself in direct conflict with Monty. Mitsuki get a surprise. Ahmed and Aneesha continue to flee North.

Well, things really pick up this episode, with all sorts of exciting developments.

Just kidding – the show continues to plod along as sedately as ever; honestly the inhabitants of Earth may just die of old age before the invaders ever reveal themselves. It’s not that what we are getting isn’t good human drama, it’s just – as ever – difficult to see where the show is actually going or when it might ever get there.

Opening on Trevante, he’s still stuck with a native who he doesn’t understand (and who doesn’t understand him) and is about ready to just chuck it all in when he finally gets a sliver of hope in the form of a beacon from one of his squad. Following it leads him to trouble, though it takes the remainder of the episode to get there and is a little anticlimactic when it does. My main issue is that Trevante continues to be the absolute stereotype of the US soldier in the Middle East and I am increasingly unclear as to whether the show is doing this in a self-aware fashion or if it’s just another slice of irony free Hollywood style ‘For the Troops’ patriotism. Either way, it’s uncomfortable to watch and makes it difficult to feel any sympathy towards the character.

Back at the wreckage of the bus, a rapid change in circumstances leads Caspar to throw caution to the wind and damn the consequences. Monty, realising that he’s losing his iron grip on the group, elects to follow if he can’t beat, which leads to another bit of serious anticlimax, as you ask why the thing the kids end up doing isn’t something they did ages ago. Hey ho, ours is not to reason why, etc..

Meanwhile, in Possibly The Worst Marriage in Genre History, Aneesha makes increasingly awful discoveries about Ahmed while still somehow not managing to rise much above passive aggressive snark thrown in his direction. Seriously, don’t tell me that she’s a fully qualified doctor and all round strong badass woman if she’s just going to be this pathetic in the face of her husband’s unfaithfulness and general douchebaggery, it’s just not consistent. Anyways, they have a row, and the kids can sense something isn’t quite right with Mom and Dad and… well, I’m sure you can take an educated guess where all this goes, though the way it resolves leaves me a little unsettled – maybe something interesting is about to happen.

And as for Mitsuki, having locked herself in that room and done all the exciting stuff last time out, she’s just… allowed to go (albeit with a threat that if she comes back she’ll be arrested). She then seeks out Kaito’s father and her reception by the elder is…interesting and surprising (or would be if the show didn’t flag it so laboriously beforehand). Still, it’s a rare bright(ish) spot in what’s otherwise been one of the more depressing and awkwardly written subplots.

All in all, it’s definitely a series of scenes that are happening on a screen, but it’s still going nowhere in particular. Maybe the actual aliens will arrive soon?

Verdict: Are they nearly here yet? Not by the look of it. 5/10

Greg D. Smith