This was a really fantastic episode. Intrigue! Humour! Drama! Self-mockery! Characters trapped in a vault! Gene stripping (also, no longer wearing his St Christopher [okay, yeah, it may never have been a St Christopher in the first place]. Also, Mark is obsessed with Gene stripping.) Good cop/Bad cop! Chris being totally endearing! Viv being made of awesome! A Gene/Alex dynamic I can actually believe (and fucking love.)
I just... why can't Mark have written every episode? I mean, sure, some things were very heavy handed, but you expect that in all TV, and especially an 80s pastiche. And there was also a massive plothole (how the hell did Ray, Chris and Shaz get down there when Gene had the pass?), but once again, you expect that in TV. On the whole, it was a well constructed plot with BRILLIANT character interaction, some very good insight into Alex and her mother's relationship once again and, all in all, I laughed, I pouted, I laughed some more. I had a wonderful time watching a wonderful episode of television.
Mark, you Prince among men, you King of Ashes to Ashes.