Idalia and Eric are in a world of trouble. They’re on the run through the woods, pursued by Walkers and the only option they have is a house Daniella knows all too well but doesn’t really want to stay too long at. It’s large, fenced and full of resources. Why wouldn’t they stay? Why wouldn’t they stay forever?

This is the strongest first season any iteration of the show has had. Each episode has been wildly different, stayed true to the core show and broken new grounds. This episode is no exception and takes the series into a very different kind of horror.

Daniella Pineda and Danny Ramirez are great from the start even as we meet their characters in the middle of their story. We find out what they’re running from in good time but for the first half at least they’re instantly likable; Pineda’s Idalia a determined and principled survivor, Ramirez’s Eric very much an early Daryl Dixon in demeanour and approach. That changes when they meet the lady whose house they shelter in. A bruja or witch, played by Julie Carmen, she’s as upright and precise as the other two are ragged: a cliff in white they break against and, they think, break her. Even if it is by accident.

What follows is a wonderfully fast, but still measured, descent into Hell. Idalia sees ghosts, eyes in the walls (in what is surely a nod to the classic short story The Yellow Wallpaper) and is plagued with nightmares. There’s a lovely, itchy moment where she’s besieged by multiple tiny metal Jesuses. Eric is calmer, more grounded, and as things get worse, the balance of power shifts. Lindsey Villareal’s script hints deftly at possible other reasons for what’s going on but trips its characters and viewers up with expert narrative Judo. The moment Eric’s denial becomes annoying is the moment the script shows us and them exactly what’s going on and by then, it’s far too late. It’s a delicate seesaw, always moving and living in the details. Pay attention to the first scene, pay attention to the moment Eric talks to someone on the other side of the fence. This is one of those horror stories where the calls are coming from inside the house and no one is going to pick up the phone in time.

All of this is portrayed wonderfully by Deborah Kampmeier’s direction. The house is a glorious, brooding pile of wood panelling and threat and the visions and nightmares are all presented with grindhouse viscera and precision. It feels entirely different to every other episode. It feels in lockstep with every other episode and the ending, brilliantly, suggests that the zombie apocalypse may be more survivable for some than others. At least humans…

Verdict: A witty, visceral signoff to one hell of a first season. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart