Wolgast is tied up with his ex-wife (literally), Amy shares her regrets and Jonas has to make a heartbreaking decision.

This is more like it. The Passage is at its best when it’s exploring the human (or vampire) condition rather than lingering on the hokey thriller elements. And not only do the show’s two big hitters Wolgast and Amy get to play out some major guilt, but the reality of the situation finally appears to be hitting home.

Wolgast and his ex-wife are in the boot (trunk) of a car, being taken out to the middle of nowhere to be assassinated, but this invokes flashbacks of the death of their daughter, and suddenly you see why the former agent feels such a loyalty towards his surrogate daughter. Amy herself is having a bad time, explaining to Carter the guilt she’s carrying for her mother’s death. Young Saniyya Sidney is superb, the tears rolling down her face, and you just want to reach out and reassure her.

We get a better idea about Fanning’s plans – he needs a dozen vampire minds to be connected to move forwards, and the recently-infected Elizabeth will make 12. But Jonas’ wife releases the implications if she keeps on mutating, meaning that she has to die in the arms of her husband, another powerful performance by Lost’s Henry Ian Cusick. Oh, and then there’s that ending.

Verdict: The stakes are raised (though not at the vampires) in Fox’s pulpy fantasy show, suggesting that the final three episodes will start delivering the goods after a couple of unfocused instalments that kept treading water. 7/10

Nick Joy