Talon and Luna are faced with a difficult decision. Zed and Munt make their painful way back towards the outpost, burdened by their failure. Janzo and Wren argue with Garrett over the fate of 313.

The Outpost has been a pleasant surprise of late, and this episode – while having its hokier moments – continues that run with some genuinely emotional points, punctuated by the occasional bit of traditional silliness which has served as the show’s hallmark from the outset.

As far as Luna and Talon go, that means quite a lot of sitting around debating what to do when they finally locate the tomb of Aster. After all, they know that the last of the ‘Gods’ is known to the others as ‘Betrayer’ but can he be trusted or should they simply destroy him? Oddly, it’s not so much the endless handwringing that gets done over this which bothers me as the way the writers seem to run out of stuff to say and just have Talon suddenly make a choice for no real reason. Other than the plot having to happen. But it’s a minor gripe.

Zed and Munt get the Lion’s share of decent stuff here. Zed is crushed by the death of Nedra, but equally determined to not let her sacrifice be entirely in vain, and therefore to get himself and the badly injured Munt home. The interaction between these two, who have never been very close (but then Zed was never very close to anyone) is touching. The change in Zed, having finally opened himself to the possibility of affection for Nedra and then seeing her die, is fully believable, and Reece Ritchie, who has always been one of the more entertaining cast members, deserves full credit for his performance. Adam Johnson is equally good as Munt, showing a range to the character as he attempts to comfort his associate, even a slight guile as he tries a lie to spare his feelings.

Back at the Outpost itself, the traditional dance of Garrett wanting to kill 313 and Janzo and Wren arguing with him continues. 313 appears dead set on not helping himself here, showing no remorse for his choices and seeming to want to die rather than endure life without his child. When one of the Masters sets him free and entrusts him with a mission, it turns out that all that kindness shown by Janzo and his beloved may not have been entirely misguided after all.

Knowing as we do that the show is coming to an end, it’s certainly interesting to see the pieces beginning to fall into place. I’ll be disappointed if the ending doesn’t deliver after the promise that’s been built by the latter half of this season, but time will tell.

Verdict: Still prone to the odd bit of daftness but overall brilliant. 9/10

Greg D. Smith