A2a - a chess analogy
It's been implied that in s3, Gene and Keats are playing some sort of metaphorical chess game. In chess, when a player is captured or "taken out of the game", they remain imprisoned until a pawn is able to infiltrate enemy lines and retrieve them by trading themselves in for the captured piece. The captured piece is then put back in the game.
Thordy said Sam Tyler was "taken out of the game". Is Chris Skelton "infiltrating enemy lines" by cozying up to Keats in order to get Sam back? Or, even darker...is the Guv willing to sacrifice Chris because of his previous betrayal in order to get Sam back? I'd rather believe Chris is in on it, but we all know the Guv can be pretty ruthless in manipulating his team to get what he wants.
Thoughts?
EDIT: It's worth noting that the English poet John Keats and his friend Leigh Hunt were apparently both avid chess players.
Q