The final showdown with Jones provides action, suspense and a few surprises.

After a slightly lacklustre prior episode, this finale actually shapes up quite nicely, dragging some interesting elements into the mix and making the best use of its evil twin plotline with some frantic body-swapping. But does it tick all the boxes you want from a decent finale? Well, ish.

Part of the issue is that, unlike Noah, Jones kind of started as a villain from the get go. There’s no real reveal because the audience have instinctively never trusted him, so although Nathan Dean has clearly had fun playing a darker version of his usual character, there was never the same level of tension there. That said, it has been a genuine joy to watch Dean have that fun, and the writers gifted him a character who’s as charismatic as he is outright evil.

No shocks to say that the bunch of people left hovering in mid air by Jones at the end of last week don’t die – so far so good. As to the actual mechanics of what’s going on, like the fundamentals of the formula, the Lockhart machine and so on, honestly I got a little lost by it all. As best as I can work out, Liz’s concoction will separate Max and Jones’ ‘link’ so that Jones can be killed and Max unharmed. There’s also a necessary bit of body swapping that I really am not clear on the outcome of.

That said, it’s a very entertaining episode. Isobel’s quest to rebuild her sword leads to a triumvirate of her, Maria and Rosa working together to solve the problem. Michael finally has a bit of a personal epiphany about how to be slightly less emotionally dysfunctional. Dallas is brought into the fold more. And Liz? Liz gets to do what Liz somehow always ends up doing – saving the man she loves at the same time as saving their relationship. Only this time in a very literal sense, as she is confronted with the obvious issues that come with that love of your life having a literal evil twin who can also swap bodies with him.

In fact, if there is an issue, it’s perhaps that the main plotline gets wrapped up a little too quickly, leaving the back end of the episode – around fifteen minutes or more – to basically set up all sorts of little threads for the next season. Kyle’s new crush. A new start for Rosa. Max and Liz finally getting their happy ending (until something else goes wrong, presumably). Dallas being fully accepted into his new family. And then a little surprise twist that suggests far from being alone, our heroes might start feeling a little crowded out by their own kind soon.

Verdict: A decent finish hampered only slightly by some predictable parts. 8/10

Greg D. Smith