The Wausau authorities start cracking down on Revivers, while, out in the woods, things are moving…

This is the episode where the show starts to show its cards. The disfigured Reviver we see break into Aaron’s house at the start is a neat reminder that there’s more than just the war between the Sheriff’s family and the Checks going on in town. There’s also the wonderful, terrifying sequence of something glowing and angelic touching the tent Jordan and Cooper are camping in. The town is starting to feel like skin stretched to breaking point, normality shattering as whatever’s underneath it breaks through.

But the core of the episode is Em, once again, as she starts anger management with Nithiya Weimar, Aaron’s wife. Em’s journey backwards through her own first death seems to point directly at Aaron and the case seems to collapse in on itself in that way all good detective stories do. Seeing Dana work the case from one end, and her sister from the other, is a great way to showcase how similar the two women are and Romy Weltman and Melanie Scrofano do great work this episode.

David James Elliott too is exceptional as a man who is starting to look like he’s riding his beliefs into Hell because realising how powerless he is terrifies him. There’s an especially affecting beat where Wayne is asked to look the other way for a friend and colleague who’s now a Reviver and can’t. Looked at one way he’s principled, looked at another, he’s arrogant or a monster. He thinks there are no easy answers but as the episode concludes, it seems we’re getting some. Dana and Em both confront Aaron, get answers at last and then as the episode closes, Aaron is executed and Dana is shot with Em literally holding the body.

Verdict: Revival isn’t playing nice anymore and it’s all the better for it. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart