Being Human (UK)

So the third series of the original "Being Human" has hit its midpoint, and it finally feels like the story is going somewhere. All the vampire/werewolf animosity from earlier in the series comes to a head, and it puts our familiar oddball supernatural family firmly in the middle of the action. It almost makes the annoying aspects of "Adam's Family" worth the time and effort.



McNair and his creepy son make things distinctly uncomfortable for everyone, and it makes for a thrilling episode. Mitchell's world is falling apart, as he tries to forget about the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head and fails miserably. That werewolf-shaped bullet is still out there somewhere, and Mitchell definitely recognizes that fact when he finds himself surrounded by several of them.



Yet it pales next to the implications for George and Nina. They have every reason to be concerned about the potential ramifications of werewolf pregnancy. Not only is the little bugger going to suffer tremendously if he is born with the affliction, something touched on with McNair's son, but it could be a fatal delivery for Nina. After all, one has to wonder: do unborn werewolves turn inside their mothers after a certain stage of development?



All that is balanced against exploration of the Mitchell/Annie romance, which thankfully hits uncomfortable territory in this episode. I've been waiting for them to figure out that there are serious limitations and complications involved, and the writers finally went there. Part of the problem is Annie herself, with her manic side firmly in play. Her idea to explore sex-by-proxy was not particularly well-considered, even if Mitchell really should have known better.



The episode takes its time with the revelations regarding McNair and his son, and the implications it could have for George and Nina. The Werewolf Thunderdome makes a welcome reappearance, if only to make a connection to elements from earlier in the season, and the complications continue to mount. The third series was off to a slow start, but if this tension-packed episode is any indication, they're finally getting the ball rolling.

Annie, while out meets a drunk girl who's dead but has a body. She and Mitchell investigate and it turns out that doctors were experimenting on her and she lived longer than the other subjects did, or at least came back to life. Mitchell must deal with a vampire, Graham, a fangboy admirer who wants to be the new Mitchell and so he copies him and inserts himself into the gang's life and it's up to Mitchell to stop him. George deals with the news of Nina's pregnancy and some issues arise regarding Nina's own mother. Annie tries to help Sacha, who tries to get her life back by going out on the town and finally accepts her death/fate in a rather heartfelt emotional monologue before crossing over to the other side, making Annie promise to live life to the fullest which also inspires Annie to approach Mitchell and begin to explore that romantic possibility.

Being Human has been a great show to watch, i'm not too fond of the strong English accent (French who lived in Ireland!) but i got used to it, thanks to the quality of the show: amazing actors, interesting storylines... I love the way this TV series, although sci-fi oriented, looks so real, sometimes it just feels that any of us could step into these "abnormal" characters' shoes!



This episode is about seizing life, making the most of it and enjoying as much as we can, despite our fears. It's about loving and forgiving. It has great humour (among other things, you just gotta laugh when George says "I just wanted to pee!" when he has to sleep in the "dog house") and action. And, for once, special effects/make up were stunning, the zombie girl looked so yucky! Not sure though if i understood well the reason why she ended up like this (the doors to "purgatory" were closed while Mitchell was saving Annie?) and who was involved in the experiments. For a while i thought it was that stalker vampire who wanted to kill people in a train like Mitchell did. I also expected the "Mitchell/Annie moment" to be more moving in some way but that's just my romantic side talking (or some of "The Vampire Diaries" side effects i suppose! :D) I love sci-fi and have felt pretty disappointed lately with the mediocre quality of some of the ongoing US shows (V, SGU, The Vampire Diaries...), they have great potential but it turns out to be all about blablas, drama, clichés from horror & comedy movies, good-looking characters who get up in the morning with make-up on their face and tidy hair... Being Human is just the opposite, it gets better and better. I assume that the American version won't follow the same path, i don't feel the need to check it out anyway.



Thanks for reading!