Misfits episode 3 review

This episode wasn’t quite as farcical and nutty as the previous two, but that’s all to its credit. Alisha (Antonia Thomas) was very much at the centre of the action and, with her superpower being the ability to make any man crave sex with her the instant she touches them, an ability she absolutely hates and which puts her in constant danger, Howard Overman’s script trod very carefully and didn’t let Nathan (Robert Sheehan) with the endless inappropriate jokes anywhere near Alisha’s more sensitive scenes.

Having successfully drawn both Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) and the new probation assistant into fumbles they couldn’t then remember, Alisha was feeling used and crushed, worrying that her supposed ‘power’ had taken away any chance of her ever having a healthy sex life again.

That is until lovely Curtis lets her know that he doesn’t just want her because of some superpower, but because he actually likes her: “You don’t need to use your power on me. I’m already there.” So, there’s a sweet little relationship starting up between these two now, and it’s over to them to work out how to connect without actually touching each other. Alisha suggested “phone sex … but without the phone”. We wish them all the best in their endeavours.

Alongside Alisha’s story ran the ongoing panic over the “stiffs”, as Nathan repeatedly called them, buried under the flyover in the exact spot that is about to be dug up for building work. However, the gang’s hot plan to remove the evidence ended up with the bodies being driven off in the car belonging to probation worker Sally. “The probation worker is driving around with the stiffs in her car. Just thought you’d want to know,” said Nathan in a voicemail to Alisha. It wasn’t a useful comment, but it was funny.

More useful was Curtis, who came to the rescue – the first proper superhero moment! – and turned back time to stop Sally opening the boot of her car and finding the stiffs. Curtis has really come into his own now. Actually, he was rather the hero of this episode generally, what with saving everyone from going to prison for murder and also sweeping Alisha off her feet and treating her like a true princess when other guys might have just taken advantage of her.

There was no saving Kelly (Lauren Socha), though, unfortunately, whose nemesis turned out to be a girl who had, through the storm, gained the power to make people bald. Jodie, brought in to work with Kelly on “some restorative justice bollocks” after a fight they had, gained this ability because she wanted to make people feel as bad as she did herself as a sufferer of the hair loss condition alopecia.

This was a fantastic concept that confirmed the powers as very personally tailored, tapping into something a person needs to be able to do or reflecting their state of mind. Nathan, of course, deems the power to make people go bald a “rubbish” one, but he’s just feeling bitter because he still – still! – doesn’t have one.

Simon (Iwan Rheon), we know, can become invisible, which is really just an exaggeration of the figurative invisibility he feels every day being an awkward outsider. We’ve learnt now that his online chat buddy is, in fact, Sally using the secret shygirl18 identity, and we know she is on a quest to find out who killed Tony, very much suspecting our gang of their involvement. Poor Simon thinks he’s onto a winner with his internet romance. How wrong he is.

Read our review of episode 2 here.

Misfits airs in the UK on Thursdays at 10pm on E4 and 11pm on E4+1, with repeat showings the following Wednesday at 11 and 12pm.