Alfie and Martha break into L7 to save Lucius. The effects of Foulkes’ drug on London’s populace make themselves felt – from the ordinary man in the street to the highest echelons of power.

That thread I was looking for that suddenly seemed to have been found in last week’s episode just turns out to be another distraction in this episode, to a certain extent. It drives certain elements of the micro plot here but it all feels a little superfluous otherwise, demonstrated in the way in which a central figure is summarily disposed of.

That said, there’s stuff to enjoy here. The Waynes finally reaching the point where they find common ground and remember what it is they really love about one another. Dave Boy and Sally reconnect in the midst of all the drama occurring in the city and Ramon Tikaram gets to have possibly the most fun he’s ever had playing Prime Minister Aziz very much in the grip of a hallucinogenic delusion which makes him believe he’s some sort of ancient warlord and that the incessant calls from General Thursday are the mewling protestations of rebellious underlings (about which, to be fair he isn’t entirely wrong).

Best of all there’s the reunion of the Sykes sisters, still as mad bad and dangerous to know as they ever were but now one of them has a baby she sort of adopted and super strength.

However. Amidst all the wacky weirdness going on, there can’t help but be a feeling that the show has fundamentally altered in many ways. Bet’s death and resurrection are a clear example – though the show has dealt with resurrections before, Bet’s death having murdered John Salt at last felt like it had meaning. This was a beloved character and that finality hurt. Bringing her back feels a little cheap, no matter how welcome the character always is to see. There’s elements of this throughout – stuff that used to feel messier, more ill-defined and rougher around the edges now feels cleaner, more self-contained and neat.

It’s perhaps a function of the show – as indicated by that long-winded new subtitle – leaning harder into the comic book side of its IP, but there’s no escaping the fact that it feels as if it’s a subtly but no less definitively different show because of it. The ending juxtaposes a bit of that neatness with a big swing for the fences, but given how deftly this season breezed over the Battle for London which Season 2 had left as an epic cliffhanger, it’s difficult not to imagine the same will happen here.

Verdict: Anti-climactic in many ways, despite there being small character bits to enjoy. Difficult to really see where the show goes next. 6/10

Greg D. Smith