Being Human 2.05
And so we move further into vampire angst, as the writers focus closely on Mitchell and how he turned from killer to part-time abstainer. While I liked the dual timeline of now and 1969 -- presumably, Mitchell's first rejection of the monster within -- I didn't buy Mitchell's motivation here. Have they ever stated so nakedly before that Mitchell needs someone to be clean for? They made a decent case but it did have the tiniest whiff of retcon.
I like the twistiness of the plotting this season but I really miss how funny it used to be. There are still jokes in it, and the author of this episode wrote for Herrick pretty well, but I definitely miss the wit and quotability of last year.
There wasn't much story for George this week, beyond his slightly baffling latching onto the nearest passing kind woman, and trying to impress her daughter in a way which bordered on desperation. It's only two weeks since he declared Nina the love of his life. Now he's wanting to move in with Sam and Molly (and seriously, Sam and Molly? Is that supposed to be a Ghost hat-tip?). I know that George longs for a normal life but I'm not sure he's quite that self-deluding.
And Annie's story barely made it beyond filler status. I miss Nina too. Only Mitchell's strand is really firing on all cylinders this week.
There were two holy shit moments: the first I think we were meant to pass by, the second was a reward for anyone who watched last year.
The first came towards the end of the episode when George, attempting to prove his credentials to Sam and Molly, listed a number of truths about himself, like his password and where he lost his virginity, but also said "my mother's maiden name was Herrick".
!!!! That cannot be a coincidence, particularly in an episode where Herrick actually appeared.
The second was a reward. The sloe-eyed smart girl who talked herself out of death at Mitchell's hands turned out to be Josie, from season one: the person for whom Mitchell went blood-free the first time. It helped that Charlene McKenna had a look of the young Claire Higgins and had obviously tried to sound a bit like her (though she couldn't quite eliminate the Irish accent). I am a sucker for the long life history of vampires, as long as it doesn't come with a vast slathering of woe-is-me. How tremendous was it that he spared her in 1969 and she helped him prove to himself that he could be better - and then she saved him again by giving her life last series? Excellent work on that front, show.
But overall, I wanted to love it and was partly meh, again. If this series follows last year's template, it should be ramping up towards the finale now. Three episodes left. You've mostly got the plotting right there, if you give Annie a bit more to do and move George a little more. Please rediscover the funny.
B -, should do better, it would be C were it not for those two lovely holy shit moments.
and now I am going to watch The September Issue. I couldn't give a damn about Anna Wintour and I think the fashion industry is dull and frequently pernicious, but I will watch anything at all that's to do with publishing.
I still need Being Human icons but I am working every single day, bar a Saturday, from now until February 24. It's for extra money but still -- could've planned it better.