Taylor and Hayley must search a city for energy cells when their Jaeger runs low on power, but what they find will surprise them both.

So I’ll admit the first episode of this didn’t impress me much at all, as generic as it all felt, but early indications after this episode suggest that maybe they actually have some interesting ideas in store for us.

First up there’s an interesting use of the Drift mechanic here – two pilots sharing one consciousness to pilot the mech, meaning each has access to the thoughts, feelings and memories of the other. That means that however bad Hayley was already feeling about having ‘caused’ the death of all their friends when the Kaiju attacked, she can always feel worse when she sees into her brother’s innermost thoughts on the matter.

Then there’s the city itself where they are forced to make a pitstop after their Jaeger runs out of power. Firstly, there’s the unusual nature of the smaller ‘Kaijus’ that they encounter – much smaller than anything we have seen before. Where are they from and what’s their purpose? Throw in an altogether larger and even more mysterious entity also prowling the deserted streets, which may be friend or foe, and things are certainly getting intriguing.

None of that compares to the most bizarre part of the episode though, when they find a power cell but it’s connected to the biggest mystery of all. Clearly, the PPDC were into all sorts of stuff, some of it potentially quite shady. I hadn’t expected from the pilot that we’d get a show that sought to interrogate just how far the ‘good guys’ might have been willing to go in their war against the monsters, but that seems to be where we are headed.

Kudos as well for the development of the relationship between our main characters, through both flashbacks and in the present day. Whereas there’s friction between the older Taylor and his younger rebellious sister, there’s also love. Something that’s been there since they were kids and has persisted in spite of outward appearances. Suddenly, an extended road trip with the two of them doesn’t seem nearly such a dreary prospect.

Verdict: Picks up a great deal from what felt like a terribly dreary and predictable pilot. Colour me intrigued. 8/10

Greg D. Smith