Iris and Felix process their feelings. Silas gets a job. Hope settles in and finds out her Dad’s life is very different to what she expected.

World Beyond’s final season continues to embrace the serial model and its mother show’s fondness for splitting the cast. This week, arguably more than last, that pays dividends.

Let’s start with Hope, who finds herself living in moderately idyllic circumstances with a father (Joe Holt) who has a long-term relationship with colleague Doctor Lyla Belshaw (Natalie Gold). As Lyla tries to charm the new arrival, Hope makes friends with Mason (Will Meyers) a teenager who sees through her, frankly less than great, cover story for snooping around. In addition she also finds out from Lyla that the facility they’re at is a former government research centre based around a mine.

This is all fun stuff, and the TWD franchise has always excelled when it balances human moments with the massive world ending undead hordes. Here that’s best done with Mason, who is clearly trouble in the best way and Lyla. Natalie Gold is great here, balancing Lyla’s genuine desire to get to know, and like, Hope with what we know she’s capable of. Much like Lynn Collins’ excellent work on TWD’s current season you have no idea what her true motives are and that’s very much a good thing.  Especially when we see her latest experimental subject is a former colleague from the previous season…

There’s also a deceptive amount of very real plot development in this strand. In addition to Hope and her dad getting on the same page we find out that the CRM have been trying to develop an ‘Empty cure’ for years and Leo has blown their progress out of the water in two months. His idea is brilliant: accelerate their decomposition via fungi and thus ensure they literally fall apart and are rendered inert. The vast, city killing herds we glimpsed last week, defeated by mushrooms. There’s clearly more to this plot but it’s nice to get a second context on CRM’s plan as well as much needed development for Leo.

At the Perimeter colony, Will, Felix and Iris have to deal with the consequences of Iris murdering a CRM soldier. This means, so far, a stern talking to and hiding from Kublek and her forces. Julia Ormond continues to do fantastic work here and while the ‘the villain is seconds away from discovering our heroes when pure luck calls them away’ trope is so very, very tired it works in context. Just. Plus it’s nice to see the honesty between Hope and Leo mirrored between Iris and Felix. Iris knows what she did was dangerous. Felix and Will know why she did it and largely agree. So they process their feelings on some Empties and get ready to strike at CRM when they get the chance.

But the really interesting stuff this week, both in terms of character and plot, comes from Silas. The big lad is back, has been interrogated and is assigned to a disposal detail along with three other teenagers. We find out from new character (and apparent ex of Huck) Dennis (Maximilian Osinski) that the CRM have six facilities that lure in Empties and dispose of them. Silas is part of the final stage of this, with a really cool and very horrible warped prong trident that basically rips an Empty’s head apart as it’s removed. That’s standard issue post-apocalyptic goo but what’s fascinating is what the facilities are for: the CRM are culling every Empty in the State. They’re planning on making the entire region safe for humanity. Building a foothold to rebuild the world.

This sort of long term thinking is altruistic and terrifying, especially when viewed through the fascistic lens of their military tactics. It also puts a different spin on their horrific choices, or at least makes the questions about them weightier.

Verdict: We’re two episodes in and World Beyond has given us answers, questions and the makings of a plan for the rest of the season. I still have no idea how this is going to play out beyond ‘nastily’ and I’m still very much enjoying the ride. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart