Point Blanc
We begin episode 4 of Alex Rider in Point Blanc as Alex is forced to hand over his phone and belongings. After a brief, ominous warning about the perils of this remote area, Eva introduces Alex to the various members of the academy and it turns out there’s only 6 of them – hand-picked by Dr Greif himself with the message of “Quality not quantity.” Back in London, Martin Wilby rings Yassen and tells him they need to move. Sensing that things are spiraling out of their control, Yassen in turn phones his contact and tells her they have a problem. In Point Blanc, after being shown their rooms by the different students, Alex is tested physically by Eva before sitting and eating dinner with the group. Not long after, Alex decides to make his presence felt there and he starts blaring loud music as one of the boys, James, causes the kitchen to foam up as the rave around the place. Kyra meanwhile, remains distant and refuses the engage with them. Eva inevitably catches them in the act though and after tasking them to clean up, Alex is taken before Dr Grief. When he leaves the Doctor’s office after a stern talking to, an alarm blares as Alex believes someone is watching his every move from afar; someone who isn’t a student there. Meanwhile in London, Jack meets Mrs Jones and requests information on Alex. She refuses to give her any though but Jack does mention the Russian contact Ian was on the phone to before he left that night. Because of this, Jones and Alan Blunt piece together that Martin isn’t being wholly truthful while Martin starts to hack into restricted intel. Eventually Martin makes his move and heads over to see Jack, apologizing about what happened with Ian. Unfortunately, Jack spills the truth to him about what Alex is up to and when Mrs Jones calls to tell her to keep quiet, it’s too late as Martin bolts from the room. Sensing he’s been compromised, Yassen confronts Martin and stabs him before leaving the double-crossing agent in a heap on the floor. Back at the school, Dr Greif briefs the group and discusses removing 99% of the people from the world. However, he’s interrupted by Laura’s constant coughing and she’s told to go down to the infirmary. She’s reluctant to go but does eventually leave. That evening, Laura doesn’t show up for any of the activities and it starts to ring alarm bells for Alex as he wonders what’s going on. Even worse, a bizarre encounter with Sasha leaves him frazzled as she scoffs and tells him he “should have enjoyed it while he had the chance.” That evening, Alex brushes his teeth in his room but realizes he’s been drugged. As he collapses on the ground, he’s rushed down to the infirmary by Dr Greif who decides that he’s “ready”, which is where the episode ends. The academy at Point Blanc is certainly an interesting location and uncovering the truth about what’s happening there is certainly piquing the interest to keep you watching to find out what happens next. Something is clearly not quite right and as the ending appears to hint, we’re in the process of uncovering just what that is. Dr Greif is a decent enough antagonist too, although he’s a little cliched in his thoughts and ideas. Of course, given this book series is designed for young adults that’s not necessarily a bad thing and tonally the series is clearly designed for that age group with darker elements to give the feel of it being more adult-orientated than it is. Having not read the book, I can’t comment on how close it is to the source material but as we cross the halfway point of this series, Alex Rider looks like its gearing up for more exciting action going forward. Published: 04 June 2020 at 12:10 pm on TheReviewGeek.com
