Fellow Manticore escapee Bryn is captured, and Zack enlists Max’s help to retrieve her. However, the only way to get her back will require the help of Lydecker.

It’s good to see that this series doesn’t treat its audience like idiots and follows through on plot points that have been mentioned up to this point. At last Lydecker finally gets what’s been coming to him, and we get several key insights into his life and his view of the world, particularly when he visits the local branch of Alcoholics Anonymous. Zack and Max show how different their approaches are to their mission, with Zack getting a chance to become far more of a rounded character than was the case previously. The sibling bond and rivalry is played off well here, with Zack being forced to bow to Max’s opinion when he can’t think of a better plan.

The torture scene with Lydecker is electric, especially when he plays ‘his’ kids’ techniques back on them, knowing full well what their training will make them do. When he finally sees what Max looks like, you know that we’re about to head off into a major story arc that it appears may lead our angel back to the project that birthed her, due to her seizures being possibly not the only genetic anomaly she’ll have to deal with. When Max and Zack find themselves in the lion’s den, it’s clear that Lydecker has an ulterior motive, but it’s not entirely clear at any point what it is. How much of what he says is the truth?

Max’s plan is astonishing, with a frenetic and well-choreographed escape, with gun battles going off around the escapees. Then there’s a tearful ‘better the Devil you know’ farewell, but the threat that Lydecker is unlikely to let things rest in their current state, which should shift the series to high gear.

*****

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