Wartime 1988

On his way to UNIT HQ with a payload of radioactive material, John Benton finds his focus slipping away as a memory pulls him back to his Lancashire childhood.

After stopping to visit the grave of his older brother Chris Benton, a flood of memories surges forward, flashing back to 1944 and the moments that still haunt him. The moment is more than a reminiscence—it’s a test of whether the past can stay buried when the present demands his attention.

With UNIT unreachable by radio, Benton senses that trouble lurks nearby and orders his driver, Private Willis, to repair the Land Rover while he steps into the woods to investigate. The forest feels like a liminal space, where the line between duty and dread blurs, and every rustle of leaves seems to carry a purpose he can’t quite name.

Unseen by Benton and Willis, a stranger moves through the trees, intent on stealing the radioactive source. The woods become a quiet battleground, one that mirrors the battle brewing inside Benton—a struggle between the rigid discipline that has kept him alive and the fragile humanity that memory threatens to undo.

As Benton wanders deeper, his childhood memories sharpen into a painful clarity: his guilt over Christopher’s death, the result of a chase that ended with a fall from a wall. A ghostly entity, taking the form of Father, an army sergeant who died in the Second World War, begins to torment him. The specter taunts him, whispering that he is weak and unworthy of his place in the army, a reproach that bites deeper than any physical wound. The haunting is not just supernatural—it is a test of character, pushing Benton to confront a truth he has long avoided: the death of his brother was an accident, and, in his heart, he was trying to save him.

Gradually, Benton finds the strength to resist the phantom’s grip, guided by a dawning realization: the tragedy was not his fault, and his resolve to protect others remains unwavering. The moment of exorcism—where fear is faced and memory is reconciled—feels like a quiet victory, allowing him to reclaim a sense of purpose and steadiness that war and guilt had chipped away.

With the internal burden lifted, Benton returns to the Land Rover and faces the external threat. He subdues the intruder who was after the radioactive source, and the confrontation is resolved not by force alone but by a renewed calm and focus. The collaboration with Willis, the driver who kept the vehicle in motion, proves essential as they secure the man and press on, leaving the woods behind them.

As they resume their journey, the voice of his father echoes in Benton’s mind, succinct and final: the game is now over. The message feels both ominous and liberating, sealing the day’s ordeal with a sense of closure and a renewed commitment to duty. The episode blends a tense mission with an intimate, painful history, turning a single trip to a base into a journey toward self-acceptance and perseverance in the face of danger.