The Returned 1.06 "Lucy" REVIEW

TV REVIEW If you go down to the woods today...

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

The Returned 1.06 “Lucy” review .

THE ONE WHERE Everyone's at it like knives.

VERDICT Well, now we know what the French do during a power cut…

Even taking into account the fact that a. there’s no telly to watch and b. they’re all, y’know, French , this episode features a surprising amount of shagging. They must be putting something in the water (apart from, er, dead animals).

Much of it seems a little absurd. We know Léna’s been through a lot recently and so may be in dire need of a little physical comfort, but surely she’s still got more sense than to make the two-backed beast with Serge, a man she knows (thanks to Toni’s convenient confession) is a. dead b. “had to be stopped” and c. has a room full of taxidermy and knives that positively screams, “serial killer’s den”?

Then there’s the mysterious Lucy, who appears to be a bona fide psychic. Ever since the opening episode we’ve been left to wonder whether she was meeting Jérôme for sex, or to act as a medium… turns out it was both, simultaneously! It’s a far cry from Doris Stokes. It’s also, frankly, just a little bit risible.

Equally difficult to swallow is the speed with which Camille transforms into a figurehead for Pierre, a beacon of hope. The girl assuring grieving parents that she has communicated with the souls of their dead children seems very different from the wise-cracking, vodka-guzzling kid we’ve seen over the last few episodes.

Even that fantastic double-whammy finale feels just a little fumbled. There are people in the woods! Presumably those 20-odd figures are more of The Returned (which probably explains what those animals found in the lake were fleeing from) but a close-up or two showing that yes, these are the deceased loved ones of people in town might have given the moment a little more impact. By the high standards of this series, this is a slightly below-par instalment.

NITPICKS The local hospital is a bit underpopulated, isn’t it? Somehow Simon manages to smash his way out of a drawer in the morgue, wander around and steal some clothes without ever attracting any attention. Well, except from the patient who’s wandered off on her own, unsupervised. And Laure the cop’s behaviour is getting even more bewildering; now she’s not only happy to let Julie continue to look after Victor, but happy to let him live in her house? Admittedly, in a series like this the usual roles cease to apply, but when it comes to a lost child you still kinda expect the police to follow procedure.

SPECULATION What is that wound on Victor’s arm? It looks more like the one on Léna’s back than something you’d get from being shot. Wild theory: by confronting Pierre, Vincent achieved what he had come back from the dead to do, and now that he’s accomplished that, he’s starting to rot away to nothing?

FEATURED MUSIC “Goofballs” by Danish surf-rockers The Tremolo Beer Gut , and (yet again) “Unclean” by Steeple Remove.

Ian Berriman twitter.com/ianberriman

Read all our The Returned series 1 reviews .

Deputy Editor, SFX

Ian Berriman has been working for SFX – the world's leading sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine – since March 2002. He's also a regular writer for Electronic Sound. Other publications he's contributed to include Total Film, When Saturday Comes, Retro Pop, Horrorville, and What DVD. A life-long Doctor Who fan, he's also a supporter of Hull City, and live-tweets along to BBC Four's Top Of The Pops repeats from his @TOTPFacts account.

Latest in Horror Shows
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says newcomer Kaitlyn Dever was "within The Last of Us DNA" before the show existed
Clicker and Ellie
The Last of Us season 2 trailer brings the heart and the horror back to Joel and Ellie
Rick and Michonne in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
The Walking Dead boss looks to squash hopes of The Ones Who Live season 2 – though that doesn't mean we won't ever see Rick and Michonne again
The Last of Us season 2 first look
The Last of Us season 2 will tell "a different version" of the story, but Neil Druckmann loves the changes they've made: "Its DNA is in there"
The Xenomorph in Alien: Earth
New look at Alien: Earth has fans theorizing over whether they can hear a Predator in the background
Danny Huston in 30 Days of Night
The Hunger Games director to follow up Stephen King adaptation with Netflix series based on "30 Days of Night meets The Last of Us" horror podcast
Latest in Reviews
Lenovo Legion Go S with FlyKnight gameplay on screen featuring player character holding bow and arrow with enemy ant in backdrop.
Lenovo Legion Go S Windows 11 review: “my heart aches for this mixed up handheld”
Talisman 5th Edition game components
Talisman 5th Edition review: "The characterful imperfections of the original game remain clear to see "
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
Three SteelSeries QcK Performance mouse pads on a wooden desk
I didn't expect to prefer a coarser mouse pad, but SteelSeries' new QcK Performance range has changed my mind
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop
Wanderstop review: "Exalting the transformative power of tea"