At last! Sorry again for the delay. If it's any consolation dear reader I'm writing this as I fight not to get a cold and continue to plan dozens of things and find spare time in a bizarrely hectic schedule. To make matters worse my digital t.v box has completely died so this may be the last Being Human piece for a while. As for Survivors and other bits and pieces I will continue to try but I'm losing the fight against the tide so please be patient and I'm sorry if the reviews get briefer.
Right. Where were we? Oh yes,of course. To make things simpler for me, and a bit more interesting for you I decided in a brain wave today at my actual work to split the review into three sections, each dealing with a main character's storyline in the episode. To that end let's begin.
George and Nina:
Mercifully briefer than last week. Not a lot to say except I'm glad George isn't being allowed to forget his tryst last week. Still hoping for consequences proper though. Nina has sadly crossed the line of melodrama she was teetering on and become completely whiny and annoying. Her holier-than-thou attitude really grated and it's telling that when there was a very real possibilty of danger, as she was captured, I found myself not just not caring but actually hoping she gets killed off. And character and actress both deserve better. Sadly I have a horrible feeling they'll actually somehow cure her instead, thoigh I hope not as that sends out the message that you never have to adjust to anything you don't like, just whinge about it and be moody and distant to those around you and you'll get what you want.
Mitchell:
So cool to see the return of the cold opening flashback sequences. These always worked best last year with Mitchell, giving us glimpses of the centuries old history, as only his vampire nature can provide. Though here it was just as effective showing us simply the turn of the last century. It's deeply intriguing to see the vampire world adapting to Herrick's death, and cool that the writers resisted the urge to throw in a new big vampire villain, instead bravely showing the repercussions, far and wide, of "the death of a king". Every touch was great, loved the sub plot about the vampire who also tried to reform, and his culture clash with Nina as he dealt with his guilt. It was also good to see returning characters playing into the storylines, giving the real sense of an underworld falling into chaos and brewing trouble and anarchy. The interaction was good too, both sides displaying that they have a history and working together despite being on very opposite moral ground and sides of a potential coming conflict. Although even that could be detrimental to everyone, interesting questions raised. And nice to see even small touches of how the supernatural operates in this world, such as the morgue attendant who was previously paid off to hide vampire victims and his worrying attack of conscience now. One of many events pushing our "hero" and forcing a greater role.
Annie:
Wow! I never thought last year that I'd ever think Annie's plot would be head and shoulders above anything else in an episode. But it all comes down to the awesome imagery and spectacle as hell itself literally showed up and tried to take her. Genuinely scary, creepy, effective and perfectly toned stuff, really made you tense and feel for that character somehow using just a door, lights, wind and the best speech and dialogue imaginable. Raised the entire episode up and on its own earned the star rating given, excellent use of the genre in telling this story. On a related note I loved the quirky insanity of the touch as Terry Wogan (actually appearing here playing himself!) and various t.v and newspapers began speaking to Saul, though it may have been a bit too much for some. But it's all about how well this built up the new mythology, showing that the afterlife has terrors, can communicate and control, and wants Annie. Though it sucks a bit that in the course of this the writers have now literally taken away her power. Whatever happpened to feminism eh? Finally the simple and stirring humanity at the heart of her realisation of which of her admirers cared more about her and how it was shown was a poignant and emotive touch.
***** (5/5)
MM
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