The final ice floe in the Arctic has melted due to global warming, at the exact moment Skinner predicted it would. As the team struggle with this realisation, and the very strong possibility he may be right about everything, Doug decrypts Naga’s memory banks and finds four sets of grid coordinates. All of them in the middle of the ocean…

Now we’re talking. The gentle, dark introspection of the last episode deepens and ties in to the overall plot here and it’s fantastic. As the team split up to cover the coordinates, we get a look at both the world and how they move through it. There’s a haunting moment of Doug driving on an elevated highway above a flooded Manila. Axel dives in the ruins of the Maldives, Leland books a ferry out to Sakishima and Chris finds herself surprisingly comfortable in her own skin in Tuvalu. The team find themselves faced with the consequences of the world they’re trying to protect, and the very real possibility that it might be too late to save it. It’s intense, quietly emotional and introspective science fiction and it’s really nicely done.

Especially as it culminates in another lead. Skinner paid for the land in all four areas and paid the locals to relocate before the flood. He hasn’t given up on the world, and so neither should the team. It’s a lovely moment and it emphasizes both the complexity and the humanity of the situation. Especially as all four populaces share the same genetic condition that renders them immune to pain…

Verdict: The way the episode balances moments of character introspection with plot developments like this is incredibly impressive. There’s been a nagging concern among some fans that the show’s constant tradeoff between character and action would never quite work. This episode shows it can and does, as Skinner’s motives deepen, the team discover that their boss worked with him and as the episode closes, Chris’ past come back to haunt her. And there are 14 days left before the end of the world… 9/10

Alasdair Stuart