Episode 3 goes from strength to strength, flaunting the ambitious BBC series' high production values & showcasing its impressive ability to balance character with both grandiose scale & genuine moments of spectacle, now the hard work of introductory establishment & obligatory world building has been (mostly) completed.
Thus, this newfound freedom provides the extraordinarily talented Tom Shankland - (leading a fantastic crew) alongside his phenomenal DoP Stephan Pehrsson - with the much needed opportunity to really flex their collective filmmaking muscles here (an opportunity which they unquestioningly capitalise on), demonstrating what they're able to accomplish on screen whilst working together - when given the rare chance to artistically experiment - & it's truly a joy to watch them push themselves creatively, quite literally soaring to new heights. Consequently, audiences are gifted with beautifully shot & realised set pieces that boast both great direction & cinematography, culminating to form truly epic moments of dramatic television which help make this particular outing especially brilliant.
Not only that, but it's refreshing seeing the juvenility of the male ensemble accepted & addressed, rather rather glamourised or swept under the rug (& resultantly, inadvertently condoned / normalised through negligent representation); the team's comprised of deeply flawed male characters who are each acknowledged to be broken, emotionally stunted, volatile & troublesome in their own ways, possessing what are arguably considered as extremely problematic attributes (usually embodying the idea of "toxic masculinity"); the story therefore takes the time to remind audiences of this as their arcs progress & simply captures how the men just so happen to find themselves in an unfathomably odd situation where these antagonistic imperfections could be used to the UK's advantage & amusingly, actually beneficial for the rest of Western World (which would otherwise be harmed by them, during peace time), so I appreciate the conscientious depiction of their behaviours (portraying them rightly as chaotic anti-heroes, rather than inherently good) as they navigate their way through a surrealistic world that grows ever more incomprehensible with every passing day. Helps to maintain that sense of reality to provide viewers with a grounded perspective to fall back on, should they lose sight of what's important.