Episode Six

Ashes To Ashes continues to veer from class to crud, with this episode one of the better instalments.

A well-realised excursion into nightmarish surrealism kicks off the story, depicting Alex Drake's fraught mental state. The special effects are suitably crisp during her visions, for she fears that her body temperature is dropping as she nears death in the real world. However, our hearts have yet to warm to her, meaning that the dramatic impact of her precarious predicament is lessened as a result. This lies in the continued smugness of her character, which was fortunately just about kept under control in this story. It's a shame, because Keeley Hawes does excel during the scenes of emotional turmoil - particularly when trying to tell her mother the truth.

The self-contained central plot functions as a sweet little mystery, with a few twists thrown in along the way. There's also some tantalising moments between Alex and Gene along the way. A snog looked very possible after he saved her life, especially after his hilarious habit of drawing saucy pictures of her was revealed. The episode was also significant for showing that Alex has finally come round to trusting Gene's instincts, as in the case of Chaz Cale, instead of rebuffing his ideas and patronising the hell out of him. Hopefully she will pick up some more humility along the way too.