The Lawson family and the Jedi run for their lives.

It turns out the best way to deal with a sudden delivery of continuity is frantic action. This episode doesn’t stop until the credits start. It does a great job of showing how the rules have changed, and just how much danger everyone is in even as it ramps that danger all the way up.

Daki and Devon want offworld. Lawson wants normality; neither can get what they want and this episode is all about them realising that. Where the last episode was bogged down in continuity, this is a lean, nasty action movie that wants blood and doesn’t stop looking for it. There are some brilliant images here, starting with the offhand terror of a red lightsaber slashing through Lawson’s door being second only to us realising we don’t know who owns it and both the options are a problem. The fight in his apartment is crisp, fast and dangerously untidy and makes it clear just how outnumbered the characters are. There are three moments where I was sure Daki was doomed. Two more where I thought we were about to lose Lawson.

This is an entire episode set the second before disaster and while it flirts with the banter so beloved of the franchise it’s mostly just four terrified people running like hell and never quite fast enough. The action never fully relents and the tension is as impressive as the execution. The dropship chase/fight/crash is a particular standout but the ending lightsaber duel is also remarkable. Everything feels dangerous, everything feels too close, too intense, too much. It’s stunningly realised and it’s exactly what the series needed after the last episode.

Verdict: Rounded off with a great appearance by Maul, this is a return to form. I don’t know if the show can keep this pace, but I do hope it can stay this fun. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart