When a chrononaut comes back from seven years in the future, Frank is called upon to assassinate a religious leader, a task that leads all hell to break loose...

It's amazing what people will take on trust, as Parker points out at the end of this episode. When Michael McGrath turns up from the future ostensibly trying to prevent World War III, the team are more than happy to follow his lead. Considering they've been burnt before in this kind of way, it's surprising that the Backstep crew don't make a more thorough check, although how can you prove what hasn't happened yet?

When the assassination attempt leaves Frank in custody, McGrath in charge of Backstep and Donovan dead, it's up to Parker to set things to rights. It's a fine idea, up to a point. Robert Picardo makes a fine central guest star, although quite why everyone is so keen to trust him when he's the only returnee from Parker and Donovan's mission is unclear. Parker is particularly resourceful as he tries to get back to the base that has disavowed him, and it's good to see the Backstep team pitching in once again to get the job done. For excitement, action and putting Parker out on his own, it scores well.

The problem comes with the final revelation that McGrath is the Devil in disguise, or at the very least a demon. It brings up too many unanswerable questions, such as why the Devil would go to so much trouble to create chaos, how he can be beaten so easily and why his plan seems to be to take over Backstep. Surely botched missions would be noticed after a while under his control? There's too much that doesn't make sense here, which is a shame after the fine opening set-up.

***

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