‘You male fool.’ Though the script is dismissive of men, it’s notable that neither of the female companions even appears in the episode. Again, this skirts with being baffling because the script is full of poetic allusions: ‘Wheel turns, civilisations arise, wheel turns, civilisations fall.’ You could write a book on the thematic depth and imagery (oh, they have). On the flipside, if you’re just interested in following on with the story basically Aris the Kinda has been possessed by an evil force and plans to kill the human settlers, even though the wise woman has already planned to defeat the invaders through a mix of the telepathic box, and reasoning with Todd.

This avoids the usual episode three doldrums by spicing up a fairly slight plot with some exotic scenes of the trickster, a hallucinatory sequence of the cycle of history, and Hindle going increasingly insane, making his own little world where he can exert absolute control when reality proves stubbornly resistant. Sanders, meanwhile, is reduced to tears seeing the world through the Kindas’ eyes. Some of the incidentals, like the Kindas having seven fathers, are fun, suggesting a truly different culture.

I’m enjoying this, and think it’s very lyrical, intelligent science fiction: this season’s Warriors’ Gate. It’s not as good as the earlier story, partly because the direction, though good, is less stylish, partly because the dream imagery in Warriors’ Gate is more powerful, and partly because Warriors’ Gate wasn’t just lyrical, intelligent science fiction but also had killer robots and lion people. I also wonder what kids in 1982 made of this: it’s the third serial in a row without an obvious monster (Monarch sort of, but he doesn’t really act like one), and lots of dialogue heavy scenes.

Next episode: Kinda – Part Four