Holed up in Teddy’s shelter, June and John Sr are holding out. Until John starts seeing Teddy’s last victim…

This is an episode of three parts. Two work very well. One doesn’t work well enough. The first success here is the sense of time and the way the script digs into character. The deep well of relief, the benevolent haunting both John and June share, gives them a well of compassion and patience to draw from that transcends the short time they’ve known each other. John introduces June as his daughter-in-law, June cares for him like a parent. The ghost of John Jr is very much present, even if he isn’t. Although, in one of the best moments, John ends the Empty Dakota has become. He doesn’t do this out of revenge for the murder of his son. He does it because he’s a good man and that goodness is what both drives him to the edge and brings him back. It’s clever, subtle, dark stuff and very much what the show does well.

The other element that works really well here is the idea that John is tormented by his old job and the thought processes behind it. He’s a cop, and this is his last case and it’s open. That bothers him, and the way that Cindy (played brilliantly by Brittany Bradford) slowly turns from a damsel in distress to the embodiment of his worst qualities is smartly handled. It’s never quite supernatural, instead functioning as a Socratic dialogue between John and his worst instincts.

This is all great stuff. What works much less well are the scenes shot outside the shelter. The mysterious, hooded soldiers who’ve menaced the season so far show up here but they show up at the edge of what’s is very, very obviously a sound stage. One that’s covered in mist certainly but that mist only makes it look smaller and, unfortunately, more like a late 80s movie video. It’s not that bad, but it never feels real and given the subtlety and intimacy of the script that’s a crucial flaw.

The plus side is everything else, including the ending where clear battle lines are drawn at last between Strand and Morgan, works really well. It’s just, for the first time this season, the show plays an off key note. Hopefully next week, everything will be back in harmony. 7/10

Alasdair Stuart