Alex learns a whole new set of things about his father’s past from his kidnappers. The rest of the gang discover a lot more about one another in their mission to rescue him, and some parental bonding occurs that might make things even more complicated.

The last episode ended with Alex being bundled into a car as Nico shouted helplessly after him, and this episode dives straight back in, after a little flashback showing us a bit more about Geoffrey’s history and exactly why the man kidnapping Alex has a particular axe to grind with him. It makes a lot of sense of things we’ve seen, and leaves us in no doubt that Geoffrey really has, in a sense, forgotten where he came from, although the skills he acquired have not apparently left him. Alex has always been one of those more certain that the parents are up to no good – here, that gets cemented, hard.

Meanwhile, as the gang charge off to rescue him, aided by Nico’s staff, Chase is unreachable by them because he’s working with Victor in the garage. It’s a nice subversion, showing us a softer and more relatable side to Victor who has been quite an easy character to despise up to this point. The bonding between him and Chase as they work together seems genuine, the father excited by the son’s potential and finding that it rekindles his own passion for his work. It almost feels a shame when Chase finally leaves to join the others, and it’ll be interesting to see how this develops.

When the gang do catch up to Alex and his kidnappers, the showdown calls on nearly all of them to showcase their talent, meaning that at least one running theme which was starting to get old can finally be retired. Unfortunately, before they had arrived, Geoffrey had been engaged in an attempt of his own which has an unfortunate result. If Alex doubted for a moment that his father can be ruthless, the upshot of this confirms it, and the gang are off to try to save the day once more.

After the dust settles again, Nico finds herself having an unexpected encounter with Tina. Again, having set the parameters of what we thought we knew about the two characters and their relationship, the show decides to mess around with it, to great effect. What we are seeing here is a realistic take on what it might be like to be a teenager confronted with the fact that your parents are complex human beings with flaws and faults, capable of good and bad. The kids all have strong moral values, but at the same time, they can’t quite bring themselves away from the fact that this is their parents they’re seeing. It makes the show wonderfully tense and deep, and gives the writers plenty to play with, without the need for massive displays of power week on week.

Verdict: If the last episode was a damp squib, this is the exact opposite. Crammed with plot and character development from beginning to end, and with a healthy dose of action thrown in as well, this is the best this show has been yet. 9/10

Greg D. Smith