Alexander Skarsgard and Florence Pugh in The Little Drummer Girl

Often a pitfall of cinematic television is the wide open gaps between the exciting bits. Even when it’s done well – as in the case of The Little Drummer Girl – it’s still uncertain whether the concept benefits from being stretched over so many hours. That question lingers over episode 3 of this new John le Carré adaptation, though (thankfully) its punchy style isn’t sacrificed as a result.

Episode 3 kicks off with Charlie (Florence Pugh) driving a car stuffed with Semtex to a designated location. The Man of Many Names (Alexander Skarsgård) helps her, more than he’s meant to, making sure she’s safe in her mission. And Kurtz (Michael Shannon), after being duped by the terrorist brother Salim (Amir Khoury), tries a more honest approach to get him to talk.

Some of the best parts of the series are when the makers are having fun. Straight from the off, knowing there’s explosives in the car, Charlie sings out loud with the radio – as we’re all wont to do, especially on a long, desolate European road. She doesn’t seem scared at all, in fact she looks thrilled, which becomes an important attribute of her character.

It’s also a delight to watch our Man of Many Names maintaining the fiction around Charlie, providing chewed-on pencils and arranging plates with leftover plates after she’s passed out in a hotel room. The illusion is vital.

It’s most exciting when that illusion fixes and breaks at the same time, seen in the increasing sexual tension between them – providing some of the most excellently directed scenes in the series. This is where stretching the concept works: there’s no rush to get their clothes off.

But despite these attractive aspects of character, which grow a little with every episode, there’s still an expectation of plot and conflict that’s left unfulfilled. The end of episode 2 seemed to promise that Charlie will be in and among the terrorist group, performing for her life, but episode 3 feels mostly like build up for what’s to come.

It might’ve been better for the BBC to release the entirety of The Little Drummer Girl on iPlayer, with the hole created by this largely empty episode quickly filled by another (preferably one that’s eventful). With just this episode for this week, it feels like not much progress has been made. Saying that, we still can’t wait to watch next week’s.