Syd, Cary and Kerry find themselves having followed David to the right time but not the right place. As they debate what to do with baby David, on the other side of the world David tries to help his father overcome Farouk.

After the complete lack of action and glacial pacing of the last episode, this instalment feels like it almost comes from a completely different show. There still isn’t much in the way of action, but at least stuff is happening – relevant, character-forming stuff which advances the story.

For Syd and her companions, arriving at David’s parents’ house with baby David and his mother there alone presents a conundrum which Kerry – in her typical forthright way – is quick to voice: why not just kill baby David now, quick and easy, and stop any of this ever happening? The extended debate which unfolds from this at least grapples with some serious issues, and gives me hope that the show hasn’t completely forgotten its own central themes.

Over in Morocco meanwhile, we get to see Charles meet Farouk and slowly become immersed in his world. Farouk, presenting himself as the saviour and beloved king of the place, is obviously hiding something. Pleasingly, his eccentricities and quirks turn out to be an intrinsic part of this, in a disturbing and creative way. Charles, clearly unnerved but still enticed by the fact of no longer being alone in the world, is in need of help.

When his adult son finally appears, that help appears to have arrived. There’s just a couple of small issues. First is that David – as we saw previously – is now sharing his head with multiple versions of himself known as Legion, and they’re all a lot more direct and aggressive than he is, and growing stronger all the time. They’re also a lot more angry at his father than he is. Second is that while the ‘present day’ Farouk may have been trapped in the land outside time, experience teaches us that he’s not the sort of man who’s easy to keep trapped.

Throw in the re-appearance of the time monsters and it’s all thoroughly more exciting and present than the previous instalment. My one concern was that it did seem in danger of forgetting one of the core tenets – that David is not a good person – by framing him more sympathetically. It does however address this, and in a fairly brutal way. Make no bones, David is still very much the villain of this piece.

Verdict: A huge improvement on last time out, this is compelling viewing and may actually be one of the strongest episodes of the season so far. 8/10

Greg D. Smith