This is a rehashing of the circus setting of Girl on the Trapeze but as cover for a mafia hitter rather than a gang of spies/kidnappers. It lacks the tension of the previous circus episode; there are some rather tedious sequences including a subplot around the domestic life of a clown which erode the allure of circus life, it just doesn’t seem that exotic in this one.
Like Mr Teddy Bear it’s Steed being hunted while he hopes with Cathy to hunt the hunters. But instead of presenting an intriguing and diabolical trickster, this time there’s an attempt to create drama from a moral dilemma for the would-be assassin.
The friction between Steed and Mrs Gale of the former’s methods is at its most explicit. Then, when she believes Steed has been shot, Cathy cannot entirely hide her grief. The Avengers are not being cool here – no sign of the witty repartee or ironic detachment what with all this emotion flying around.