Episode 2 drew on a lot of hackneyed British history tropes, particularly orientalism and making things which are historically Chinese magical and mysterious just by virtue of them being historically Chinese, which is a cheap trick to play on an audience. Acrobats can climb walls; that isn't exactly a thrilling plot device, no matter how many masks, silk pyjamas, drums, or stagey props like fancy daggers and flash powder you mix in. The episode had the potential to be so much more, but got distracted with cyphers that weren't particularly enigmatic. The most interesting detail which came out of it for me was the tea ceremony and the clay pots. That is a factoid I don't mind hanging onto.

Episode 3 is fairly thrilling and (spoiler alert) ends on a cliffhanger, which is a really funny and clever allusion to the original stories. I didn't like the scene where we first meet the villain, flat out. Found it gratuitous and unnecessary, but the rest is chockful of suspense.