The enemy of my enemy is my… loose coalition partner.
Clayton Hickman’s story gets a little deeper in the second part, as Tom challenges Lexi about the feelings she displayed when she was pretending to be Lucy – and she also questions him about some aspects of human behaviour that she finds hypocritical. There’s a nice oblique nod to one of the better gags of the Timothy Dalton Bond era when they talk about being locked up, and some very interesting potential for the future hinted at by the final scene.
Brian Blessed is being reined in, which makes his character work a lot better – his discussion of a potential alliance with the woman who dared to take his daughter hostage goes exactly as you’d expect, but you’re laughing as you watch it, given what we know of the King and his usual behaviour.
If there’s any characters who need some attention, it’s Tom’s immediate family. I don’t feel that we’ve really got to know them that much, bar some broad strokes. Since they’re title sequence-listed, hopefully there are some stories coming up which will delve into the mystery of Tom’s mother, and maybe even show a bit more fire from Annette Badland’s character.
Verdict: A bit of a runaround but some intriguing ideas set up for later episodes. 7/10
Paul Simpson
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