First off, fair warning. This episode is advertised as episode 3 because technically the Christmas Special was episode 1 of season 2. However, because it’s the second episode on the season 2 list so… you know what let’s just run off names shall we?

Obligate Mutualisms plays a lot like a direct response to the criticisms of season 1 being too slow. In the space of a single episode we get Sun breaking out of prison, the Sensates’ successfully bargaining with BPO, the origin of BPO, the revelation that it’s way more factionated than previously thought and Whispers going feral.

The show doesn’t quite throw Mr Koom’s bloodstained corpse at the screen and yell ‘HOW DO YOU LIKE US NOW?!!!’ but it does come quite close.

And it’s brilliant. The show’s visual vocabulary fits together in a manner that is, frankly, breathtaking. Look at the jail break: the way it’s Capheus’ hands that hotwire the bus but Sun who gets into it. The shot a few moments before where Sun sneaks up on a guard but we see it as Will, then Wolfgang, then Sun. This is a show that genuinely moves like nothing else on TV. Its elegant visuals even aid empathy, as the characters, crew and audience get more comfortable with the concept as time goes on.

And Obligate Mutualisms throws a lot of high end concepts at you from the get go. The conversation with Jonas, his meeting with his father and the beautiful image of the older man passing with all 80 of his sensate children with him is deeply moving. It’s followed in quick succession by the revelation that BPO is both comfortingly redeemable and frighteningly human. The idea of 9/11 as a Singularity in terror makes a lot of sense and here, far more than anywhere else, provides welcome context instead of a cheap emotional pop. Likewise, Wolfy’s apparent discovery and near instant seduction by a member of another Cluster is both a nice piece of stakes-raising for the Berlin story and a welcome expansion of the world.

But for all the massive ideas at work here what stays with you are the emotional moments. The sense of jeopardy when Sun is being hanged and the others are feeling it is horrifying. The image of Jonas tearfully hugging his dad, or thin air, depending on the perspective is a season highlight. It’s smart, character-driven emotional stuff and it moves in absolute lockstep with the big concepts.

Verdict: This is a fantastic show that’s growing into itself with every passing episode. From the joyous moment of victory to the horrifically brutal closing sequence it’s wildly eventful, endlessly sweet-natured and completely gripping. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart