Zed and Talon’s quest continues, and begins to bring them closer together. Janzo continues to search for a cure to Garret’s ills. Gwynn and Tobin are faced with a new set of challenges with which to deal.

Last time out, it became clear that there was a traitor among the Outpost guards, a loyal servant of the Three who was there to set Garret free. This week, well, that particular storyline plays out pretty much as anyone who’s watched the show any length of time might expect, even in spite of Gwynn having apparently hired the absolute worst of all her guards to keep an eye on this most special and dangerous of prisoners. This being The Outpost though (the land of no-consequences) said guard doesn’t seem to be able to find any depth of ineptitude to plumb which will result in his actual sacking.

Out in the world, Zed and Talon’s quest must continue, which means lots of forced exposition by way of tediously obvious setups. It’s literally just scene after scene of dross, with outcomes so predictable you’ll guess every one absolutely correctly a good few minutes before the show gets to them. Despite their mutual distrust and constant quarrelling so far, here our two Blackbloods find themselves getting closer, although I wouldn’t bet on that lasting too long – Zed’s entire story seems contrived even by the narrative standards of the show, so I am half-expecting a big twist soon.

Back at The Outpost, Tobin’s cousin is a little annoyed that he might not get the lands he was promised, what with the wedding being called off and all. Tobin – who was last episode riddled with arrows and supposedly near to death – finds himself suddenly all better, though still manages to find himself outwitted. With The Outpost under siege from an army much bigger than it has available to it, it’s time some brains were applied. Enter Elinor, thankfully back this week to give us some entertainment, and a cunning plan which – if I’ve intuited it correctly – may actually be the single smartest thing anyone’s done on the show to date.

But it’s with Garret that the show continues to dally, as he proves time after time just how thick everyone is around him (and given that he himself isn’t the brightest spark, that’s saying something). How many more times is he going to be allowed by the writers to pull the ‘Oh I feel so confused, I’m not myself, please come closer to the bars so I can AHAHAHA GOTCHA!’ schtick before everyone gets bored with this most obvious of ‘tricks’? Still, As the show closes out on Garret about to do a thing, I am left wondering if it’s quite the thing we are expecting or whether the show is going to go for another big twist to close out. Time will tell.

Verdict: The Outpost has always been predictable, and I can’t tell whether I’m just more attuned to it now or it’s getting worse. Either way, it can’t end quickly enough. 4/10

Greg D. Smith