Twist and shout

Excellent, we’re getting back to the main story arc, the big shimmering orb thing that’s stuck in the ground, I’d almost forgotten about that.

We return to the origin of the Turns and all of the whys and wherefores of the strange phenomena surrounding the Touched, phenomena that seem to have no coherent pattern – not at all like the plot…

Does our duplicitous villainess want to experiment on the shimmering orb thing or ‘kill’ it? Can it be killed, is it sentient? Did it have a hand in the capture and condemnation of our other villainess, the non-duplicitous one? How in the steamy punky hell does that work, then?

Cue a navel-gazing smorgasbord of an episode. A moral tug-of-war between the Touched as they consider the merits or otherwise of capital punishment, and whether or not inviting the public in was due to the convict being Touched, thereby making it an event that should be thwarted by the Touched. I’m a little irked by this, as this arch baddie, with her Jokeresque level of unhinged was quite interesting to watch. All the while a reporter is snigging around at the police station and there’s something ‘off’ about her that I can’t put my finger on – is it her accent?

There are more questions than answers as we move towards the half-way point for the series, and I’m really hoping that we get some clarity before the mid-season finale. Why are they x-raying the city? OK, they’re doing it to find the shimmering orb thing but how did they know to do that? Our male villains seem to be teaming up too and I can’t get a clear handle on their motives, but they don’t half talk a lot. “If London is to be saved from chaos, it needs to see chaos – just enough.” Right you are then, that sounds like an excellent plan, chaps. Oh and how on earth is the walk-on-water guy from the last episode still alive?! That’s disappointing. Who or what are the Gallanthi?

I’m feeling more confused than ever with this episode as our ‘nice family day out at a hanging’ goes sideways fast, but I have to be impressed at the level of premeditation and planning involved. There’s another mission going on with half of our Touched gang, but all we see is the aftermath of it. What, did they use up all the budget on the extras at the hanging? Nevertheless, as our gallant Inspector has a lightbulb moment, and the aforementioned chaos arrives in London, the reason for the unsettling feeling I had about that reporter is explained. Wow.

Verdict: Two of these points are awarded solely as a result of the last approximately 90 seconds of the episode. Way to claw it back. 7/10

Claire Smith