Never a show to ease you in, or let you watch comfortably, this week's Fortitude opens with a half-glimpsed moment of brutal but ambiguous violence. It's a move that puts you instantly on guard, and you've got to respect Fortitude's commitment to never making it easy on the audience.
The majority of the episode that follows is more contemplative than that aggressive opening, even if it does feature its fair share of distressing imagery. This is still Fortitude, after all.
Liam has recovered to the extent that he's allowed out of his plastic sarcophagus, and returns home. According to the nurse, Liam's recovery has been remarkable. Given the circumstances, it's difficult not to wonder if it might be a tad too remarkable…
Jules and Frank return home to find someone has daubed the word 'Monster' on the side of their house, and between that and Frank's overreaction at the creepy Tupilak doll, it's far from a harmonious reunion in the Sutter household. Liam seems entirely unresponsive until Henry hands him the protective totem, which raises an intensely creepy smile from the young boy. At this point, it's difficult to know how much of Liam is really in there any more.
This week also gives local biologists Vincent and Natalie (Luke Treadaway and Sienna Guillory) the most they've had to do in a while, as they begin to get to the heart of what's going on in Fortitude. These two provide most of the rare instances of humour – albeit usually of the gallows variety – and their position as scientists puts them increasingly in the thick of the awful goings-on.
Local legend suggests that the hermaphroditism in the local reindeer is due to a demon among the herd, but Vincent is looking for a more scientific answer. And if you thought the nightmare image of a dissected polar bear was grizzly enough, it had nothing on what followed.
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The ghastly image of poor Shirley's scalp folded back and resting over her face, inside out, was stupendously gruesome. Even for Fortitude, that really was a horrific visual. Props to the prosthetics department with that one.
It may have been worth it, though, as Vincent discovers an anomaly in the brain of the polar bear – one that went mad and killed and ate a fellow bear – and finds the same anomaly in Shirley's brain. Coincidence? Could be. The only way to be sure is to check if Liam has the same condition.
As if he hasn't been through enough, the poor lad is now to be subjected to a painful lumbar puncture injection to tap some spinal fluid for analysis. If Vincent can cement his theory, then it could spell the end of Fortitude and the island as a viable habitat for animals entirely. High stakes, then, but we can't imagine Jules will be particularly willing to subject her son to any more agony…
Elsewhere, there's a lovely scene between Dan and Henry, as the ailing old man seems to have finally had enough of it all, and resolves to wonder out onto the mountains, with no plans to return.
"Love. I never knew that," Henry laments to his long-time friend Sheriff Anderson. Don't believe a word of it, though – there's unquestionably love in their parting embrace, and in Henry's long look back into the camera that he knows Anderson is watching on screen.
Fantastic work by both Richard Dormer and Michael Gambon, the latter of whom also gets that wonderful moment on the mountaintop, yelling into the great white expanse like a giddy child. It's also worth noting the impressive score by the aptly-named Ben Frost, which sees violins soaring majestically in a change of pace from the usual horror themes.
There's also great work from Sofie Gråbøl, as she confronts Eric about the dissolution of their relationship. Hildur very matter-of-factly shuts Eric down, but the moment he's gone, her composure shatters and she breaks completely. Great work from Gråbøl as she portrays the strict-but-delicate balance between Governer Odegard and Hildy.
And while all of this strong character work is taking place, Markus is trussed up like an animal, just waiting for the increasingly unstable Frank to come back and question him. Only Frank does a lot more than just that.
The show has been very clever in the way this plot plays out, because at this point we all – hopefully – detest Markus Huseklepp. Whoever daubed 'monster' on the Sutter household missed by one – it should have been written on neighbour Markus' door. So, yes, Markus deserves everything he gets.
Except… he's innocent.
Now, obviously he's not innocent in the grand scheme of things, but for the crimes that Frank has convinced himself that Markus is guilty of he played absolutely no part. His darkness comes from his own demons and his own personal history, not from some outside contaminant. So when Frank goes off the reservation and – in another wince-inducing sequence – begins pulling nails from Markus, we can't help but feel for the guy.
Fortitude has done very well to paint Markus as reprehensible, and then to put him in a position where he's the victim, and the wronged party, presents quite the moral quandary for the audience. That it works so well is a sure sign of quality writing.
What's perhaps not so effective is the moment when Jules stumbles upon the chaos, and talks Frank down in the nick of time. Jules talks to the room, both Frank and Markus, as if they were children, caught misbehaving at playtime.
It's a curious decision, given the gravity of the scene, and, whether it's Jessica Raine (who is usually faultless), or a creative decision by director Hettie Macdonald to play the scene that way, it's definitely jarring. With Fortitude, there's every chance that it's intentional and we'll find out why later, but for now, Jules' inappropriately patronising delivery seems a strange miscalculation.
And then, just when it looks like we might not find out what that burst of muddled violence at the episode's opening was all about, the camera pans to a closed door, moving low and slow, creeping towards it, as the tension builds.
As for what's behind it, well… it's definitely Ronnie, but beyond that, who knows what the hell went on in there? Presumably he was the one being attacked at the start, but by who remains a mystery. And no simple beating could have left him in the horrific state he's in here. His eyes are whited over horribly, and his mouth gapes as if something might leap out from within.
Perhaps he's merely trying to call out, but isn't able. Either way, whatever happened to him, it wasn't good, and it's yet another nightmare image in a series that excels in them.
