The battle for Andy’s soul has begun.

Every time I think this show has peaked, they take it one better, so I’m cautiously saying that this is simply the best episode yet this season, rather than suggesting there’s no further achievement possible. It’s an episode that plays into everything that works about this show – its roots in the William Peter Blatty novel and film, and the way in which that has been expanded to fit a 2017 sensibility. Wisely there’s no cutaway to Bennett and Mouse, but we stay almost exclusively with Andy… and therefore with John Cho, who is in pretty near every scene.

Alicia Witt is also put through the wringer as Andy’s late wife, Nicole, playing both the genuine article as well as the demon in her form (and, one has to suspect, various combinations of the two). Their scenes together are both tragic and harrowing and you come away at the end of the episode with a very clear idea of who both characters are, and how the demon is able to manipulate them.

Said manipulation also gives Our Heroes something rather different to do (and I’ll lay odds that there were some comments about British dentistry made during the filming of these scenes). Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels both have the capacity to pull terrifying performances out of the bag, and they do so with style this time around.

There’s a two-week gap till the next episode – time to get anyone you know who’s not watching this to catch up (either side of the Atlantic) and ensure that the back three episodes get the ratings they deserve…

Verdict: A great piece of television drama. 10/10

Paul Simpson