With a renewed sense of confidence and purpose after her experiences at the Helix Institute, Courtney sets out to reconcile with her friends and get the JSA back on track. But she has a big favour to ask of them

I wasn’t a huge fan of what felt like a slightly unnecessary side quest in last week’s episode, but this feels like somewhat of a return to form, even if it does rely on a few contrivances along the way still.

Full of a renewed sense of purpose, Courtney arrives back in Blue Valley ready to try to get the band back together. It helps of course that Yolanda has been turfed out of her home and has nowhere else to go, giving Courtney somewhat of a head start, which is good because as well as apologising to her team mates for having made them feel lower priority and wanting to get back to working together, she has a fairly enormous favour to ask them as well. Rick doesn’t take it all that well, though he relents, but in all honesty even with his hourglass-powered ‘roid rage’, it’s difficult to disagree with his point. The gang’s anger at Courtney derived partly from a feeling she had put the safety of all of them at risk. It’s difficult to see how her new proposal, having just apologised for that, is much different.

Pat meanwhile has also returned from the Helix jaunt with a plan, though in his case not the one you might expect. The Shadowlands suggested to him that Mike is resentful of his father’s lack of attention. Pat’s solution to this is… unconventional to say the least. I can see why he is going the route he is, and to be fair it does tie in thematically with the basic overarching themes of family which run through the show in general and this season in particular, but it still feels like Pat is missing the obvious answer in all this.

Mr Deisinger goes to see Cameron’s grandparents who by this stage must surely be getting sick of all the people turning up on their doorstep. Deisinger’s intentions are good – he wants Cameron to return to the art he so clearly loves – and once again there is disagreement between Sofus and Lily, but that conflict is minor compared to what’s coming.

Beth’s goggles manage to locate the source of the mysterious surveillance camera signal, in one of the show’s more annoying feats of narrative convenience, which sees the whole gang amassing for a showdown which actually isn’t anywhere near as predictable as you might expect. A long and complex fight unfolds, and when there’s finally a potential casualty, the show does its thing surprisingly deftly.

And what of Mike? Well, he and Jakeem are still intent on finding Cindy and that particular quest leads them into the path of all-new danger. If only there had been some motivation for Mike’s father to pay more than a passing bit of attention to his wayward son…

Verdict: Better but still struggling thanks to a few too many conveniences and badly hidden bits of handwavium. 7/10

Greg D. Smith