The Lock-In begins. The Mogui makes his move. Jentry chooses a home.

I do love a good prompocalypse and this is one of the best. The show draws every thread together and ties them up inside a high school under siege and a group of brilliant, brave young people making the best choices in the worst circumstances. Buffy Summers would be so proud, and I don’t mean that in any way that suggests Buffy’s the better show. Rather that Jentry Chau walks a similar path and both she and the show she gives her name to, find peace, and happiness, and monster punching in similar places to Buffy.

Everyone gets a moment in the spotlight, or more, this episode. Vice Principal Wheeler gets some long overdue comeuppance; Michael, Stella and Jentry fight side by side with Ed; and Gugu is both confronted by and confronts the consequences of her actions. This is a story about family and the damage it does, and the three generations of the Chaus we’ve spent time with are all forced to confront and move past that damage. It’s Gugu who has the most work to do, and does it, Lori Tan Chinn bringing a furious peace to the great-aunt who has been the cause of so much trouble. The script doesn’t excuse her, or Moonie, their actions but it also finds salvation in the choices that brought them here. There’s an incredible powerful moment late in the episode where Gugu possesses her daughter and the forced perspective that gives them both is key to the day being saved.

This episode is also wall to wall action and it’s done with the balletic invention and grace the show has made its own. Stella and Ed taking down the barrier is thrilling to watch and if there’s a criticism here it’s that Stella is great and I wish they’d used her more. Meanwhile downstairs, Michael and Jentry nickel and diming the Mogui is a brilliantly handled fight, their unity the one thing just keeping them ahead of their enemy. Jentry’s tactics are the sort of smart that comes from desperation too, continually dropping the Mogui long enough to remove its soldiers or evacuate the other kids. The tide turns, significantly, when Michael rallies the other kids behind them and that idea is core to the show. We’re all stronger together, even if sometimes the victory that brings comes with a cost.

The cost here is Gugu, and as the show closes you realise that’s the only way it was ever going to end. Chinn is superb in this episode, and the script cleverly explores why it has to be her and how moments that have been threats earlier in the season are assets now. Her death is mapped onto Jentry’s growth but they don’t cancel each other out. Jentry is who she is because of, and in spite of, Gugu and the show finds its most peaceful, affecting moments in the closing minutes because of that.

Jentry Chau vs the Underworld is a Netflix show and I’m delighted it was made, but have to talk about the inherent caution we all have at Big Red N shows and whether they get to finish or just get stopped. There is absolutely another story to tell here but if the show doesn’t get a second season this first one is a complete story and one that’s as complex, fun and deeply satisfying as anything else you’ll see this year.

Verdict: A fantastic achievement and one that deserves your attention. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart