Singer Angie Hansley (Sydna Scotia) is kidnapped by survivalist Ben Kinderson (Jim Parrack) after he kills a cop and a pair of bikers. When Colter is hired by Ava (Deborah Strang), Ben’s grandma he finds himself on the trail of a man very like himself. A man who seems to be innocent…

After last week’s weirdly truncated resolution this is a massive return to form and one with a stacked cast of both characters and actors. Colter’s clashes with local Sheriff Walcott (Jacqueline Obradors) give the story some welcome moral complexity and pay off with Colter not being the only hero in town for once. The clashes with local bikers give us great performances from Nick Gomez and X-Men/12 Monkey alum Aaron Stanford. We also get a new hacker in the form of Chris Lee’s Randy who is apparently a temporary stand in but no less fun for that. Every character feels like a character, especially Strang’s determinedly compassionate grandma and John Posey’s good neighbour and that makes the darker elements of the plot hit all the harder.

The one issue here is Ben Kinderson himself. It’s not that he’s a bad character, he’s not, and Lone Star 9-11 veteran Jim Parrack excels as a man whose calm demeanour is a choice, and one he works at constantly. His scenes with Justin Hartley as Colter have a similar feel to how Colter and Keaton interact but as equals rather than siblings. It’s great fun and there isn’t quite enough of it and that’s really the only problem. It also solves itself if we see Ben again, as I suspect we’re going to but for now it leaves the episode on a slightly unsatisfying note.

Verdict: Despite that this is a major return to form for the show. If last week annoyed you, this week will win you back. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart