In the present, Madison is rescued from the train carriage by Mo and Dove. In the past, General Krennick, the military officer in charge of PADRE works to inspire his children, Sam and Ben, to help rebuild the world.

As you’ll see, episode 4, King County, tries to do a lot of stuff in a small space and doesn’t work. This, on the other hand, does. That’s because the format here is friendlier to this sort of storytelling, with the  flashbacks informing the present and showing just how tragic PADRE’s monstrous present is. This really was the organization Alicia dreamed of it being: a vastly well resourced US Army one ‘seed vault’ for society run by an idealistic and kind officer.

Michael B. Silver’s Krennick isn’t in the episode much but he’s excellent and his loss feels like a vital turning point in the show’s history. The fact it’s an accident is all the more tragic and gives the excellent Maya Eshet and Daniel Rashid some fun stuff to do as two very different versions of their characters. The reveal that PADRE is a curdled family operation is wonderfully creepy, the Krennick kids using their own trauma in a warped attempt to defend others. Everything works from the big emotional beats to the curdled, poignant origin of the bird codenames.

The present day plot also works well, picking up on the pacy ending of the previous episode and cleverly folding Daniel back in and tying off some very touching minor plots. Kim Dickens and Ruben Blades have never been less than fantastic in this show but their reunion here is a highlight. Two people with years of blood on their hands grabbing the chance to maybe wash it off with both hands. It’s a good episode for Mo and Jayla Walton as Dove are both especially great here and the way the kids are more morally open to difficult choices than the adults is the first hint that PADRE’s programming hasn’t taken. Jennifer Christa Palmer is great too as Dove’s mom, Diane and the episode contrasts their relationship with that of Mo, Morgan and Grace tremendously well. PADRE really has ruined everything for these people and while the two people at its heart stand revealed this episode, they’re also still in control and with almost nothing to lose.

All this comes together into an episode that gives PADRE context no villain in the show since Strand has had. It makes them a damaged but not lost opportunity and emphasizes the stakes eloquently.

Verdict: It’s a great episode, using the past to build the future and giving the large cast, even minor players, a lot to do. Great work. More of this please. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart