Garrett finds Talon, but not before other trouble has found her first. Janzo’s search for a cure for Plaguelings becomes more pressing. A surprise from Gwynn’s past causes extra complications. The Prime Order begin testing a new and devastating weapon.

So in her duel with Zed last week, which ended with her booting him back through a portal into the other place, Talon got stabbed. Again. Just for a change. This means that she’s a little bit weak for a bit, leading to her having the misfortune to run into precisely the sort of people she’s trying to avoid, meaning that by the time Garrett finds her, getting her to trust him is merely the first of a list of issues he faces. Not to worry though, Talon will probably be all better in a little while, she ‘heals fast’ after all, something the writers seem to feel we might occasionally forget without constant reminders, judging by the number of times she gets stabbed/beaten etc.

Back at The Outpost, Janzo is feeling the pressure to develop a cure for Plaguelings more than ever, given that his own dear mum is now a bite victim. Based on previous history with the show, and its use of Janzo as a kind of swiss army knife to solve any problem which can’t be solved by beautiful people whacking things, it’s not difficult to predict that he’ll get there in the end. Doubly so, given that Elinor is one of the few genuinely decent characters in the show.

But the show does at least hit a few spots of interest on the journey. Janzo feels duty bound to suddenly report Elinor’s elicit sources of income to Gwynn for… some reason (I’m not really one hundred percent on why this becomes an issue for him now, but let’s go with it). This has some rather predictable results. There’s also an extended two-hander scene between Elinor and Janzo wherein the former weaves a tale of just how very clever the latter has always been, how she has always known what a good investment he was etc. It ends pretty much as you’d expect it to – Elinor is a mercenary soul through and through after all – but the two actors at least have fun playing it out.

But finding out her closest advisor is a bit of a criminal overlord on the side is the least challenging of Gwynn’s issues this week, as someone from her past re-appears to cause additional complications. The real question is whether this person is who they say they are – if so, the implications are far-reaching indeed. What piqued my interest is that there is a fairly dreary and obvious answer that the writers could take here, but I’m wondering if they are going for something a little more creative. Time will tell, I guess.

And back at the Citadel, Nya is still trying to avoid the attention of the authorities, after her for the murder of Dred. While she’s searching for a way to escape their notice, she ends up accidentally witnessing the testing of a brand new weapon – one that could cause grave problems for the denizens of The Outpost.

Verdict: Still daft as a box of frogs being kicked down the road by a badger, but becoming slightly more endearing with it. 6/10

Greg D. Smith