David’s powers and his confidence in them have been boosted by his recent experiences, but can the Summerland team trust him, or will his determination to go and rescue his sister from the clutches of Division 3 prove costly to them all?

After the whirlwind events of last week, an ordinary comic book show might be tempted to turn the wick down a bit and have an episode going off at a tangent from the main meta plot. Not so here, where the laser focus of the show on its central protagonist couples with the 8 episode run to ensure that we are only ever pushing forward.

David’s newfound ability – to access the Astral Plane at will and create his own reality inside it – seems like a godsend to his relationship with Syd, whom he can have join him in there, where her powers have no effect. But even from the first, bright, happy encounter, visual cues give hints that all is not well.

David himself has also altered – hubris would be the best word to describe his apparent state for much of the episode, as he revels in just how powerful he now is and what it is that he can do. As we reach the final third of the episode, the revelations about what exactly is driving this change, the source of David’s powers, and what that means for everyone around him, that hubris is revealed to be something wholly more sinister.

It isn’t just David who is throwing out mixed signals either. Melanie’s mask may be finally slipping, as we see the war within her between doing what is best for the mutants under her care at Summerland and fulfilling her own personal desire to retrieve her husband from the Astral Plane – she’s verging on reckless here, knowing the dangers that David and his use of his powers represent, but willing to risk all that means for a chance at her own happiness. Cary too gets a moment to shine, the twin characters warring with each other and young Cary reminding her bespectacled older counterpart that ‘there’s always a fight, old man’.

In terms of the visuals, things continue as before – it’s a mixture of mixed-up cultural visual references and costumes, some casually thrown-in but no less breathtaking VFX shots and the odd bout of psychedelia and creeping, dark horror. It’s a feast for the eyes, and as per usual it’ll probably take multiple watches to catch everything that’s happening.

That third act is where things get really crazy though, the show returning to its comfortable ground of psychological horror/thriller by way of graphic and disturbingly odd evidence of violence. As the truth emerges, and everyone finds themselves trapped in a fracture of reality in which they are robbed of one vital sense, you’ll feel the tremors of fear creeping up your spine as you wonder just how much worse things can get. The answer, such as it is when it comes, is a lot. The final shot before the credits roll asking as many questions as it answers. Only one thing is for certain – everyone is in serious trouble now.

Verdict: I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop in this show, for some evidence of the writers, producers or even the studio bottling it and dialling down to a more conventional format. And it keeps defying that expectation and surprising and satisfying in equal measure. This won’t ever be to everyone’s taste, but it is well worth everyone’s time. Superb. 9/10

Greg D. Smith