Holly presents her theory about the connection between two other child murders and the Frankie Peterson case, but Ralph remains sceptical.

Arguably we’re not much further down the track by the end of this instalment, a fair amount of time being spent on Holly sharing her hypothesis to some incredulous interested parties, but the sense of dread is certainly ratcheted up.

As a viewer, part of the problem with this show is that we’re already a good few steps ahead of the police and sundry investigators and it’s frustrating watching them play catch-up. The reality seems so unlikely that Holly gets both barrels from Glory Maitland, who can’t believe that this is the best they can come up with. And yet, deep inside, she knows that the inexplicable nocturnal visits by the mystery man must be connected to something supernatural

Jeannie (Mare Winningham) continues providing support to Glory, but our greater focus is on Hoskins, who continues to transform. We breathe a sigh of relief when Holly survives a ride with him from the station, but it’s picked up again in the episode’s cliffhanger, and the pustules on his neck are starting to erupt!

Now that El Cuco has been outed as the villain, it’s likely that it will take desperate measures. It transforms into Hoskins’ dead mother before kicking the living daylights out of him – no doubt in an attempt to spur him into action. Ralph is starting to accept Holly’s conclusions – they really are the only ones that make sense – and Paddy Considine’s Claude Bolton is preparing to play a more substantial role in the plot.

Verdict: Predominantly serving as an opportunity for the characters to get to a shared understanding, the show looks like it’s shifting gear for its final four episodes. 7/10

Nick Joy