Reeling from their loss, the Royal Family find themselves divided on exactly how to proceed, while Maximus’ paranoia increases in the wake of Tibor’s betrayal. An inevitable showdown for the throne looms.

In its penultimate episode, stuff actually starts happening finally in what has been, to date, the dullest MCU property yet. Having forced us to endure 6 episodes of the main protagonists divided and largely unable or unwilling to use their powers, we now have the full gang together and ready to rumble (sans last week’s random casualty of course).

And for once, the action delivers. Sort of. We get a decent amount of serviceable fisticuffs scenes, but very little in the way of actual powers other than Karnak finally getting his back to full working order for no apparent reason that’s shared with the audience. Still, it’s nice to actually get some stuff happening. It’s unfortunate that it’s undercut so badly by some odd plotting choices.

The main offender here is Maximus. Having tried – poorly – to assign him some air of complexity as a villain, this episode undermines it all with a final revelation as to his real motives which weakens any of the agonising he’s done over any of it. His sympathy for those enslaved by the caste system, his conflict at what he must do to the Family to get rid of it, all gets washed away by the simple fact that his driving force is a purely selfish one. That the writers make him extra unlikeable by a couple of particularly blatant ‘bad guy’ moves which just compounds the error further. We know that Iwan Rheon can do tortured villains – here, he’s not stood a chance from day one.

Elsewhere, we get some domestic conflict between Black Bolt and Medusa which might have had more impact if it felt as if anything changed because of it. For all her lofty declarations that she wants to be his equal and that it’s that or nothing, she then just carries on following him about the place, going along with the very leadership style she’s bemoaning. It reduces the character from imperious queen (which Swann has struggled with since the pilot) to ineffectual nagging wife. Just a reminder, this is supposed to be the Queen of Attilan – a mighty paragon of the Inhuman race.

On the human side of things, we get Professor Declan and that’s it. On the one hand, it’s a relief to be rid of Crystal’s beau, Dave, but on the other Louise was one of the few things worth watching the show for, and her absence is properly felt. Declan’s job is mainly to look terrified and provide occasional bits of exposition, and Cusick does his best with what he’s given, but ultimately it’s a bit nothing.

Two characters stand out in the episode, one of whom I will mention no further here because spoilers. The other is Auran. Finally, we get someone actually get to showcase a bit of depth. Where other changes in the paths of characters have felt forced and stupid, Auran’s feels a little more genuine, having been the enforcer for Maximus and therefore at the sharp end of things from episode one. Her disquiet at Maximus’ methods was starting to appear last time out, and it’s only getting more pronounced. It’s a shame that there’s only one more episode to see how this plays out, as it’s the sort of storyline that could benefit from more screen time, but apparently it was more important to have most of the cast wander separately around Hawaii for six episodes.

And that’s the show’s main issue. We have talented actors, we have potential dripping from these characters, but it’s all been wasted in favour of fluff. I would much rather have seen a carefully developed and dynamic arc for Auran over the course of the whole series rather than Karnak and some random weed farmer getting it on for no reason. I would have rather seen more of the epic fights we get here than the odd love triangle-ish of Crystal, Dave and Dave’s veterinarian student ex-girlfriend. It just feels like the show has deliberately steered away from anything interesting, and you could argue that’s budgetary restrictions at play, but I don’t see why such a fantastical property was put forward with a limited budget in the first place.

Verdict: As it reaches season’s end, the show finally starts to pick up in some areas, but bad writing and terrible plotting just keep dragging it down. Of a weak series, this was the strongest episode, but it feels too little and much too late. 4/10

Greg D. Smith