Reviewed by Mark McCullough.

This week’s episode was a little more unpredictable with where it was going. Obviously it was going to build on some of last week’s revelations. However with several revelations from earlier episodes still left to be picked up, I had no idea what to expect story wise this week.

From the opening sequence it becomes obvious that Stephen’s personal life is the main area of focus for this narrative. It has been a long running theme of the series that Stephen is the only Tomorrow Person who is able (and allowed) to maintain active contact with his family. It has been implied several times that by doing so Stephen has put both his family and friend Astrid at risk. This week’s offering showed us what happened when Stephen lost control, and the boundaries between his lives where taken down.

The story opens with Astrid; she is attending an interview for a musical school. She unknowingly walks straight into an Ultra kill squad waiting for her. As the guns go off and before we see the outcome, the narrative switches back to two days earlier. The storyline of the contest between Stephen and Hillary is resumed as she levels a threat towards Astrid’s safety. This leads to Stephen becoming paranoid and asking the Tomorrow People to keep her safe. Having had a similar experience himself, (and perhaps still feeling he owes Stephen) John volunteers to protect her. True to her threat, Hillary informs Jedikiah of Stephen’s slip up. John reaches out to Astrid telling her that she is in serious danger. She ignores his warning and finds herself in the situation depicted in the episode’s opening. Typical of a show which hasn’t really had a main character’s death yet, Astrid is saved by John, albeit at a cost.

The other story running parallel to this focuses on Stephen’s family. It expands on the story of Peter (Stephen’s Mum’s Boyfriend) and the possibility of him having powers akin to Stephen’s. When Peter proposes a camping trip, Stephen feels obliged to join them. Sceptical as to Peter’s true motives, he believes that it is an Ultra play to get at his family. Stephen’s fears grow when the location for the campsite turns out to be beside the river, blocking his physic powers. To make matters worse Peter produces a gun, although only to take the boys shooting. Stephen tests Peter by knocking his camera from his hand whilst on a wooden bridge. The results could confirm Stephen’s worst fears.

Jedikiah has some wonderful moments yet again. He is ruthless ambitious and will do anything he needs to, to get what he wants. He has some delightfully evil dialogue: “Smile and you’re next”. He manages to represent a significant threat within the narrative without really doing much. Again I get the impression that there is much more to his character. His treatment of John in the flashback scenes is indicative of a victim of circumstances type behaviour. Whether or not he has grown beyond redemption throughout his years in Ultra, still remains to be seen. This is something I would love to see become a larger plot point in the remaining episodes of the series.

Cara takes a huge risk to attempt to save a stranded and surrounded John and Astrid. Due to events earlier, John is unable to use his powers leaving him and Astrid trapped. They share some scenes which offer development for both characters. Astrid has to do something which is far outside her comfort zone to help in order for their escape to be successful. The only certainty is that life for Astrid will never be the same again. After a heartfelt scene between herself and Stephen, it is evident their relationship will be affected by it.

Stephen goes too far in his suspicions of Peter and ends up doing something which he later regrets. His mother does not react well and explains to him that she and Luca need Peter. Stephen, confused about what happened comes to a realisation that he has been missing the obvious. The episode ends on this huge cliff-hanger.

Verdict 9/10

Yet again I am giving an episode of The Tomorrow People a really positive review. The shows consistency is phenomenal, offering a gripping and engaging storyline each week. I’m sure by this stage everyone has their favourite characters; I have yet to decide on a one. The reason is that each week the development of the characters is wonderful and always makes me like the character more, in the episodes which focus on them. This week’s episode felt fresh: the utilisation of forest scenes making for a drastic difference with the urban city. Another top quality episode.