This is so good. The number of times I've been able to watch it and pick up on something new is impressive. The plot concerns a magician whose signature act is lifted from a former colleague and this results in a real time confrontation between a young, aspiring magician and a well established older one. There are a number of spectacular, memorable, unique and baffling elements at play, but the more you've seen the trick, the more it seems superbly clever yet logical.
Inside no 9 - among other shows like black mirror - often run with concepts that are self referential and illustrate a well known concept in overly literal and often ironic terms (an EC comic famously depicted a baseball team exacting revenge and then using body organs as equipment for example). The concept of misdirection is "an Inside No 9 style episode in which the misdirection is misdirection." And it works out exceptionally well. It's probably a bit helpful to be a little familiar with Derren Brown who is peripherally and at one point overtly referenced. A few complaints in other reviews are, sorry to say, objectively wrong. For instance, saying that the conversation between Neville and his wife is a plot hole because he ignores a huge warning is simply wrong. It may not sit well with people but the lack of attention to his partner is an integral part of the story. As for the suggestion that the ending should have been more shocking, I think this came from people who did not understood the trick properly. And I don't blame them for that, the show doesn't patronize its audience at all. Even the fantastic Mountweazle story was so confusing to me on first watch I had to rewind three times.
From there, it's a matter of taste, as the story is so exhaustively detailed, showcased, and brought to life with an amazing set and on-brand suspenseful score I'm not certain how much could have been changed without a whole rewrite. An easy top 5 episode for me and one of two or three that I would suggest to anybody watching for the first time.
