After the previous episode’s mind-blowing moments, Episode 9 settles the show back into its plodding groove again and proves to be poorer for it.

Love it or hate it, Episode 8 of this season dared to be different and delivered some of the most ‘out-there’ TV in years. That would, however, appear to have been a blip, as we’re back to business as usual with each of the plot lines dragging themselves along to the next clue or event. If the previous instalment was too weird, then this is just too generic and procedural. The characters go through their motions but you just want to grab hold of the show by the shoulders and say ‘get a move on!’

By the end of the episode we’re officially at the half-way point. If, as we’ve been told, we shouldn’t see the show as a series of episodes but as a single 18-hour narrative film, then hopefully we’ll start moving into the final act and things will start to happen. Albert (the dearly-missed Miguel Ferrer) and David Lynch’s Gordon Cole get the best lines – “Coop’s flown the Coop!” – and it’s always a treat to have Diane (Laura Dern) on-board, spouting her profanities.

Hateful 8 co-stars Tim Roth and Jennifer Jason-Leigh turn up as trademark Lynchian scumbags and there’s a great moment where Jerry Horne has an argument with his foot, but the best sequence reunites Bobby Briggs with his mother as she reveals a prophecy that the now-decapitated Major Briggs once shared with her.

Verdict: Gaining points for having minimal Dougie Cooper, the show is desperately in need of another ‘wow’ moment to kick it back into gear. 6/10

Nick Joy