A user trapped in Reverie by his own fantasy of a life as a robber with a taste for the theatrical spells trouble for OniraTech from his distraught wife and her lawyer. Meanwhile, Mara is also dealing with the visions of her late Niece – is she still up to the job?

It’s odd to think that seven days ago this show turned out something so lazy and tired, when this week it manages almost the exact opposite. From the beginning, it’s genuinely puzzling why our victim of the week is stuck in the Reverie – in the real world he has a wife he loves and a baby on the way. Sure, he’s lost his job because of his addiction to Reverie which we learn has been steadily getting worse, but surely that should motivate him to quit it all the more, given his circumstances?

It makes the conceit of the show work, having this sort of mystery for the audience to unwrap alongside its lead, and though it at first feels like there’s a small mis-step in exposition partway through, with a clumsy revelation made that should really have rated higher on the list, it actually proves to be a little more complex. What you start out thinking is the solution really isn’t, and even though the final answer isn’t a million miles away, it’s still enough to rate as a decent motivation for the character.

Elsewhere, Mara gets to know her co-workers a little better. In the case of Paul, this means being granted a fairly intimate glimpse into some of the fundamental internal struggles the character has and the source of them. This is tricky, because although it does give Paul depth, it rather comes from nowhere, and where the writers seem to have been shooting for profundity in the revelation granted, the brevity and delivery of it come off more as glib. It’s a shame, because it’s an interesting character beat, it’s just not really given the time it deserves. Then there’s Alexis, struggling over corporate obligations she has no interest in, who ends up opening up slightly to Mara (via a cheeky move on the latter’s part) and whereas the two don’t exactly bond, per se, there’s a definite sense of a thaw in Alexis towards Mara. It’s a nice moment, and well-judged by both the script and the actors.

The parallel beat to the victim of the week though, is Mara’s own struggle. She’s not taking Paul’s advice on her hallucinations, and they’re becoming troublesome. What’s nice is how the story of the latest victim is used to help Mara on her own journey – for the first time here we see the final message of the opening voiceover to the show – that maybe in the process of helping these people, Mara can save herself – writ large. It’s deftly done, although the ending leaves us with far more questions than answers.

Verdict: It seems that (hopefully) last week’s low point was a blip. This is well-scripted, well-acted, tight narrative drama that only once slips on its own desire to be clever. I’m sold. 8/10

Greg D. Smith