Teddy introduces Alicia to the family, and the plan.

This claustrophobic little character study is the perfect palate cleanser before the histrionics of the season finale. Alycia Dabnam-Carey and JohnGlover are great as is Zoe Colettii as a Dakota desperate to fit in and not that concerned about with who.

But oddly it’s the plot not the characters that stick with you this time. This entire episode is an experiment, conducted by Teddy in which we and Alicia are unwitting subjects. We see him pick up his ‘mother’, see him head back to the Old Stadium and see him save Alicia from himself in the closing seconds. It’s all part of the plan, and clearly the plan of a dangerously criminally insane man, but the plan nonetheless. Glover shows us this with his customary avuncular charm too but weaponizes it in a way I’ve not seen before here. Teddy is playing the bumbling old man, cleverly utilizing what people see and turning it into what people think. We see a doddering old man until he’s ready for us not to. Then we see the architect of a nihilistic future, delighted to have a playmate. It’s remarkable work from a remarkable actor and really helps establish Teddy as a terrifying antagonist in almost no time.

Glover draws the attention but Dabnam-Carey anchors the episode. Her exhausted, unflappable approach is Strand and Madison to a tee and it feels oddly reassuring to have that energy back. Make no mistake, Alicia isn’t fine, but she thinks she is and Teddy looks set to disavow her of that. Whether she emerges uncharged or not remains to be seen.

Verdict: What’s clear is this a bleak, tightly plotted episode with three great central turns and one chilling message: the end has begun. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart