Patrick Ness’s fourth episode of the first series of Class was Co-owner of a Lonely Heart, more than a little allusion to the similarly named Yes track. I’ve seen some complaints about pacing and plot but for me this is hugely entertaining and as good as the rest of the series.

Here are my thoughts…

The story

In the realm of the Shadow Kin Corakinus is keen to get sole owner of the heart he shares with April. On Earth April is trying to cope with the re-appearance of her father. There are other plots – Charlie is trying to build his relationship with Matteusz (Jordan Renzo in great form) and Ram is falling for April, trying to deal with April’s father and falling foul of April’s mother. April is becoming infected by her connection to Corakinus and has developed a range of powers, including the ability to summon evil alien runed scimitars. Nice.

Miss Quill’s plot is ticking along at a slower pace and there’s another danger from the crack inside Coal Hill School; luckily the governors have sent a new headmistress, Dorothea (Pooky Quesnel). There’s a dangerous life-form threatening the planet, luckily Dorothea knows all about Quill and offers her a game-changing reward for her help.

April’s life gets more and more complex until a big scene at home where lots of aspects of the series come to the fore and we end in a cliffhanger balancing bravery, frustration and recklessness in equal measure. Roll on next week…

The storytelling

April and Ram became lovers and despite my worries from last week the scene worked and it became the first of many pieces of bad news for April’s mother. I’m liking how characters aren’t keeping secrets from their parents and was surprised we had an insight into the Shadow Kin’s own sexuality. Poor Tanya has little to do but with so much else going on we had plenty to watch.

There was action, romance, drama, mystery and the supernatural. The budget may be holding back the scale of sets for the world of the Shadow Kin and I’m afraid Charlie’s character isn’t working for me (yet). Overall though I’m impressed by this and found the format worked very well.

Thoughts?