"Why are you all insane?"
IN THIS ONE... Barclay and Salt are on the run from all sides as the war escalates.
REVIEW: So the Trojan Horse WASN'T "Severance", just a bomb that kills the Homo Aqua assembly and the diving team (except for Barclay and Salt), triggered by a terminal cancer patient working for the "Institute", an up until now unmentioned conservative think tank (you know the type, they grumble about a Homi Aqua Great Replacement Theory) that had soft times to the corporate lobbyist who was part of the conspiracy, but not the two generals nor the PM. Same for the assassination attempt on Kate, same for the deepfake taking of responsibility by Homo Aqua. But the conspiracy is still going to get rid of said lobbyist lest any investigation lead back to them. Will the Institute pay for what they did? Unlikely, what with all the villains we need to pay off in the time remaining. Speaking of which, the more that American General (Gen. Gunsberg, wow, on the nose) speaks, the less his American accent stands up to even casual scrutiny. Ouch.
More interesting than the human villains are the Homo Aqua on the warpath (though on episode 4, we're still at the ultimatum stage, so there's not a lot of "war" per se, even after humanity struck the first blow). Ambassador Tide is the new face of the culture, male-presenting, so we know it's war, and his demands are even less reasonable than Salt's. A shorter deadline, the return of Salt so she can be punished for helping a human, and a name change for the planet. Well, our side does deserve punishment, the one promised is a weapon that makes everything rust, eroding our civilization if we don't comply. Kate has a good, honest speech when dealing with them, but Ibrahim's death has seemingly broken her and there are many scenes of her crying, spacing out, and going rogue (including a readiness to fire on Gunsberg borrowed British troops). She's really being put through the wringer. Her moment at the memorial for lost UNIT personnel actually helps fix a problem I had with the top of the episode, what with the diving crew being killed practically off-camera after all the work getting to know them in the previous episode. Kate's moment reminds us of the loss, perhaps better than individual death shots could have.
Barclay makes out better, all things considered. Though he and Salt are both considered traitors to all sides, they get it on as predicted (boner jokes and all). Through Salt, we get to know more about the Homo Aqua culture, which I like - their exile of their criminals referencing the "dead souls" of sharks, how they procreate, etc. - but I hope we've seen ALL their powers. Here AGAIN she exhibits a host of new abilities - acting as a combined oxygen tank, barometric chamber and disease filter for a human companion, super speed, a screech that disables all humans except Barclay for some (plot hole) reason... Whatever the story needs, eh? In the end, they make a break for it, but Barclay's family either sells him out (his kid seems guilty) or are rumbled (his ex-wife warns him almost in time), but Salt still escapes (but by placing herself in a position to get caught by her own people). Barclay's best moment remains his Thames river escape, using his ACTUAL job's authority to commandeer the prisoner transport lorry.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - I'm pretty lukewarm about the love story, but the deconstruction of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart is riveting.
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