'Survivors' S01E04 - Part Four

Packed full of intrigue and rich characterisation, this episode of Survivors operates on a higher emotional level to recent instalments and is all the better for it.

Splitting the group up at the start allows several personal journeys to take place, most notably with Abby. Her narrative is consistently gripping and full of surprises, including a very well handled meeting with a young chap called Peter - who happens not to be her son. Abby's fling with Jimmy is also unexpected given the recent death of her husband, but is understandable as she must be craving some TLC to compensate for the disintegration of her family. As the cave-dwelling object of her lust, Joseph Millson (familiar to Sarah Jane viewers as Maria's dad) is excellent and the sympathetic backstory of his character unfolds nicely.

In the government complex, Max Beesley shines as sociopath Tom Price, who displays the full extent of his desperation to survive. Like a chameleon, his behaviour changes with his environment, leading him to be sycophantic and charming towards Samantha and cold and callous towards Al. Yet when he is reunited with the latter after driving him out of the complex - literally - he puts on a show of humility to win Al back onto his side.

The only slight gripe with the episode lies in the fact that it doesn't really advance the plot a great deal. Everyone ends up, on a physical level at least, back at where they started the episode. Nonetheless, the emotional journeys experienced by the characters more than compensates for this.

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