The team confront a new frontier as they must set up a Reverie in the mind of a dying woman to try to get her to relive the memories of the incident which fatally wounded her in an attempt to prevent further deaths.

Oh Reverie, you wonderful little conundrum. On face value, this is a show whose central premise reeks of cliché. A VR system that creates experiences so perfect that people don’t leave. A burnt out ex-hostage negotiator with a tragic past, brought in to try and save the people within the system from themselves. It feels like something which should be extremely limited.

But last time out, and here, the show really steps up with its concepts and its writing, to match a cast who have been giving their all since the pilot. A bomb goes off in a busy government building, causing mass casualties. There is good reason to believe that more bombs are coming, and the only potential lead lies with a security guard caught in the blast and in a coma with fatal injuries.

What happens next not only changes the parameters of the show and what the Reverie itself might be capable of, but also develops the narrative of the show in an organic and unobtrusive way. While it might not be immediately obvious, the setup for the episode gives the writers the chance to give us a bit more development on exactly where some of Oniratech’s money is coming from, and what sort of price might be attached to those investments. It gives us the opportunity for characters to have meaningful conversations which deepen not only our understanding of them but also of the context of the show.

Best of all, it doesn’t feel like this is being done at the expense of the other side plot developed last week about the de-realisations, and the dangers inherent in the envelope-pushing being done by 2.0. Rather, it feels as if a more three-dimensional picture of proceedings is being developed here, of which those issues are a part which will play out in their own way as time goes on.

Per usual, Shahi really sells the central conceit of the episode and her character. So empathetic that she can’t resist trying to help, regardless of the risks to herself, she’s still smart enough to recognise when that empathy is used against her as a manipulative tool. It lends the part the sense of veracity that it desperately needs to help the audience sustain our suspension of disbelief at the nature of the science on display. Mara is the perfect blend of characteristics to do the job she does, and the scarring left by her own personal tragedies forms a part of that without overwhelming the character.

Ashleigh LaThrop also deserves credit for her portrayal of the episode’s ‘victim’, stuck in a Reverie she doesn’t know isn’t real even though she senses something is not right. It’s a complex role which she is called on to play, as well as an emotional one, and she easily matches Shahi here in intensity and commitment. There are genuine tear-jerking moments in this one.

Verdict: Week by week, this show continues to impress. The creativity on display in exploring the central conceit, as well as the nice organic development of the world in which its set combines with the commitment of the cast to make something very special. 9/10

Greg D. Smith