The Border pilot, written by Janet McLean, has a complicated feel to it. At first I didn’t think I’d be able to break it down. There are so many quick cuts, so many characters, I felt bewildered.

But MacLean is building a bewildering world; a world in which nothing is as it seems and it’s hard to tell the good guys from the villains. And she does so with incredible deftness. I liked the episode when I first saw it, but now that I’ve broken it down, I admire the incredible craft, as well.

The Border lays out in four acts and a tag. In this pilot episode, there are action sequences in the first and third acts. The first and second act curtains are emotional. The third act ends with an action sequence and the discovery of a new clue. The fourth act ends in the humiliation of the show’s true villain. And the show ends with the hero, Mike Kessler seeing justice done as the wrongly jailed man and his wife are reunited.

The opening act which follows the title sequence is beautifully structured. The ICS team arrive at the airport. A suspected embassy bomber is getting off a plane. The squad moves in to capture him. It’s a chaotic, confusing sequence in which MacLean shows off the squad’s wit, technology and their undercover skills. As a viewer, you’re watching hard, trying to figure it out, hoping against hope that you’re smart enough.

Then bam, we’re into a great action sequence as the suspect grabs an officer and her gun. Dozens more guns appear, threats are thrown back and forth, the armed suspect tries to drag his hostage away. She fights back and frees herself. He runs, but gets taken down by another of the team.

Villain in custody.

But then the show takes a sharp turn as a new villain shows up: CSIS, the rival spy agency, is here to take away the prisoner and take credit for his arrest.

While you’re still grappling with that, another suspect is introduced. Karin, the man who was sitting next to the embassy bomber on the plane, is being questioned by the good guys. To the good guys, he looks like he may just be an innocent. Just a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, but CSIS isn’t waiting around to find out. They take Karin too.

Mike Kessler, leader of ICS, watches Karin’s wife and son waiting for Karin to emerge from immigration. Kessler knows he’s not coming out. He feels responsible. His mission is set.

End of Act One on the emotional curtain.

So what have we had so far? A cool, effective team with guns and great technology. An embassy bombing villain. An action sequence. An even more insidious villain. An innocent pulled into the madness and be association his wife and kid. And then the moment in which we discover that the good guys care.

That’s as grabby and crafted a first act as I’ve seen in a pilot in quite a while.

Count me in as a serious fan.