While Episode 7 is a perfectly good piece of drama, filled with the kind of twisty-turny tension that The Tunnel has done well from day one, by now that’s all getting a bit familiar. Terror by numbers. The Truth Terrorist does something horrible but entertaining, Karl and Elise react but remain three steps behind. Rinse and repeat. It’s not really any different this week. Fortunately it’s densely plotted and well-executed enough to make it feel like a much more satisfying episode.

A Playbus-worth of kiddiefolk and their kindly pie-loving driver are kidnapped by the Truth Terrorist and shackled up in a barn. Ee-I-Ee-I-Oh. And on that farm has a webcam broadcasting video of them to the world. Ee-I-Ee-I-Oh. ‘TT’ then enacts his Fifth and final lesson: getting people to throw Molotov cocktails at trainer outlets and letting a child free every time he sees enough destruction. Destroy enough shoe shops, a kid goes free. It’s practically Pavlov’s Clogs. And all to highlight child labour conditions. He even introduces the horror of a Twitter vote to choose between the lives of two kids, and the sobering reflection of the modern fallacy that something as important as a life can be affected by something as meaningless as a hashtag. #Sobering. #Kony2012.

Across The Channel, and with ex-police officers now potential suspects, the French back-up cops who usually act as scenery to Elise and Karl undertake a thoroughly dull mission looking for a man named L’Ouvreur (‘The Opener’, cheers Google Translate), who may be connected to the Truth Terrorist, or may be the Truth Terrorist himself. Turns out they needn’t have gone to so much trouble looking when they could have just popped down the police gym, where their suspect is working on his quads and delts, bro.

Dickish reporter Danny (who looks distractingly like Toast of London‘s Ray Purchase, sans moustache) signs a big book deal all about ol’ TT, only to then be blown up in his car in a gorgeous slow motion explosion – the very fate he avoided in Episode 1 – thus seemingly completing everything the TT set out to achieve. End of story then? Hoho, you don’t get off that easily! There’s still three episodes left.

And is this the final part of the Truth Terrorist’s plan coming up in the rear view mirror? Wronged wife Laura Roebuck meets and promptly commences flirting protocols with a man who’s just charming enough and just entering late in the game enough to probably be the actual Truth Terrorist. Look his suit and tell us that doesn’t scream ‘Evil genius’. He also drives a Saab, the commuting villain’s car of choice: excellent mileage, unobtrusive, and plenty of room in the boot for corpses.

If he isn’t at least part of the villain’s plot we’ll eat our hastag: #WeBetItsHim

Aired at 9pm on Wednesday 27 November 2013 on Sky Atlantic.

> Order The Tunnel on DVD on Amazon.

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