Humans: Season 3, Episode 3

“Mrs Hawkins, are you asking me to commit treason on a first date?"

A lot of character development in the latest excellent episode, as well as a nice change of focus on slightly different characters to ensure each character within this large ensemble cast has something to do. The performances and the ideas continue, of course, to be spot on.

We begin with the embattled Max turning down a request for asylum from the Russian synths met by Mia last episode, having no choice in the matter, in an obvious nod to the refugee crisis of a couple of years ago; it's an agonising decision for him, and one that hardly helps his tenuous position as leader. Safe from that potentially toxic environment are Mattie and the newly fully human Leo, who are now spending a few days chez the Hawkins family. Interestingly, there are real sparks between Mattie and the strangely innocent Leo, which leads to one of those TV kisses that clearly signal off-screen sex.

Even more interesting is Mia's plan to lie openly among humans in what seems to be highly dangerous experiment in bridge building, where she encounters terrible racism- is she trying to martyr herself in the hope of making things eventually better for others? Niska, meanwhile, gets relatively little screen time but is busy with detective work. We learn more of Anatole's past, before consciousness, as a courtesan; is there budding romance between him and Max? We also learn more of his religious faith in, naturally, David Elster.

Stanley, Laura's new orange-eyed synth, is as sinister as ever, and his denial of being a spy for some murky authority pretty much confirms that he is exactly that. He has much to spy on; Laura has an interesting date with Neil, culminating in a kiss(!), in which he reveals himself to be an interesting and layered individual of ambiguous loyalties who, clearly, has a big role to play in the plot. So it feels like a betrayal when he takes a hardline position on restricting synth movements at the next committee meeting, leaving Laura in a minority of one. Her place on the committee is clearly pointless, unless she comes up with a big idea. So she comes up with one; the committee should go and spend some time with the synths at the Railyard.

This is superb telly. Unfortunately at the moment it's slightly eclipsed by A Very English Scandal, but at most other times it would easily e the best thing on.