Most shows slow down a little after their pilot. Once the premise is established they relax and lay things out.

Midnight, Texas’ second episode opens with Creek and Manfred running for their lives and being cornered in Manfred’s truck. In the space of the next 42 minutes we get Chuy and Joe’s relationship evolving, Manfred and Joe taking big steps towards solving Aubrey’s murder, Fiji attempting to exorcise Manfred’s place and Bobo beating the living hell out of some white supremacists. Oh and some solid answers about the Rev and a surprisingly nuanced exploration of the ethics of law enforcement when dealing with the supernatural. As well as a surprisingly great were-tiger, THAT SOMEONE WRESTLES WITH and the arc plot dropping into place.

Midnight, Texas is not a normal town. Midnight, Texas is not a normal show.

What’s brilliant is how relaxed this all is. Manfred, Creek, Fiji and Joe in particular all have a tremendous natural rapport that lifts every scene and keeps you grounded even as it sprints along. Even better, the episode repeatedly does surprising things and makes smart choices. This is especially a relief with Creek, who could so easily have been a damsel in distress. Instead she’s a smart, tough instinctive survivor who is no one’s victim while still doing a fair bit of running and screaming. Likewise the sheriff’s deputy makes a bad choice or two for absolutely understandable reasons and pays a massive price for it. The speed with which that develops is matched only by how well it’s handled and the episode is full of grace notes like that. Fiji’s sincere joy at her work, the Rev’s genuine guilt at what his other form is capable of. Each of these characters is much more than simply a supernatural misfit and while they’re not all sympathetic they’re all immensely compelling.

The episode isn’t faultless. The demon that attacks Fiji is an uneven sequence that walks the line between cheesy and unpleasant. But that’s a small downside to an episode so defined by the relationships between these characters and the surprising ways they interact with one another. From distracting a were tiger with a laser sight to the welcome payoff to that exorcism, this feels like a show that knows exactly where it’s going and is just breaking stride.

Verdict: Midnight may be a small town, but this is shaping up to be a hell of a ride. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart