Eleina, starting to feel the Hapna effects, and Doug travel to Pakistan to track down Skinner via Popcorn Wizard the hacker. Axel is ambushed by Soryu and the fight causes chaos in the city as Chris races to help.

This is a wild episode and I’m still figuring out whether it works. The two plots unfold at different times, with Doug and Eleina’s flight landing hours after Axel’s duel is presumably over. That means the urgency the episode before set up isn’t quite there this time or rather is split in a way that takes a while to get its feet under it. It’s also troubling that Eleina and Doug’s entire plot this episode is driving to where the plot will happen next episode. There are some strong character beats, but the show has sprinted so long that they feel weirdly isolated, especially Doug’s newfound wisecracking.

Over on the other plot things are more successful. We get some overdue, and seriously interesting exposition as Hirsch reveals Axel was the only survivor of the clinical trials of a Hapna prototype. The show doesn’t quite say he’s an enhanced human but it’s looking increasingly likely. That’s a fun, dark choice, as INSCOM, the US military unit pursuing the team and who have hired Soryu, seem to be putting their own reputation above the potential salvation of humanity.

The fight is smartly escalated and inventive too, and the tempo of it is really well executed. Axel slowly shifts from his usual cocky self to a more brutal, almost frightened approach as he realises Soryu is his equal. But even then, the fight isn’t quite given enough space to breathe, because of the secondary plot. That really becomes an issue as it closes, when Soryu sees Axel’s pendant, which has barely been mentioned before and flashes back to his horrific past as a child assassin. It’s a great idea, but it’s one we’re getting in episode 11 of a 13-episode season and giving it room to breathe feels like a very big ask.

Verdict: This isn’t a bad episode by any means but it’s a very strangely paced one. We’ve got two to go, and lots to do, and I’m hopeful that the show will land everything. But this week it just isn’t clicking for me. 7/10

Alasdair Stuart