A truly amazing finale. For two seasons now George, Mitchell and Annie have tried to live like humans. Tonight, they were forced to acknowledge that humanity is as flawed as they are. Everyone makes mistakes, but what separates man from monster is knowing when to stop. Despite Mitchell gazing over the precipice, it was George who held out his hand and Mitchell who chose to come back. Everyone has it in them to be a monster -- but anyone can be human, too. Therein lies the truth.
Kemp's vendetta against all supernaturals started after the death of his wife, but did he ever intend to help them, or has it always been about retribution? Teaming up with Lucy seems to have been nothing more than a ruse to expand the efficacy of his vengeance. Kemp didn't like humans any more than he liked supernaturals. He left Daniel to face Mitchell with just a bible for protection, he killed Hennessey to provide a means of trapping Annie -- clearly, his disdain for human life was as complete as his abhorrence of supernaturals.
There was only Lucy he seemed to connect with. Kemp kissing the lipstick from the rim of her Garfield mug was disturbing to say the least. How long has he been doing that? Did their embrace last week awaken something inside, or has he always harboured feelings for her and had to stifle them because of his religious sensibilities? Kemp was a man out for revenge. He wanted to make his enemies hurt because he himself was in pain. He wanted to die. Well, he got his wish.
Where Kemp is now I'm not altogether sure. Can the living be dragged through to the afterlife intact? We know from Annie's Carol Anne impersonation that her punishing Kemp has piqued the ire of those running the afterlife, leaving her trapped in some sort of limbo dog house. Will they be able to break her out? If Kemp can cross over alive, that must surely set a precedent for a future rescue mission.
Annie was tremendous this episode. There've been times this season when I've wondered whether she was finished as a character. The writers have struggled to find her engaging story lines, but tonight she flourished. Her desire to be exorcised made absolute sense in light of George's imminent cure. With Mitchell gone, and Nina and George fully human again, who would there be left to talk to? She'd be invisible again. Alone. Always waiting for something to happen, yet never quite knowing what to expect. Realistically, it should be something wonderful, but whenever that damned door appears, it always seems to be a portal to somewhere ghastly. Kemp may have be unable to cure type threes, but he certainly knew how to conjure up a door. I wonder why his exorcism didn't work back at the house. He clearly had some ghost-busting chops.
It was ironic, too, that Annie's reason for turning to Kemp is what almost caused George to run: fear. With Annie it was fear of being alone. With George it was the discomfiture of being normal again. After years of hoping for a cure, when the day finally dawned, the prospect terrified him. Nina's speech about wanting to be with him is what made him stay, although he did have a minor wobble after hearing of Annie's plan to cross over. I loved them exchanging 'I love yous', followed by 'you shut ups'.
I've been prepared to hate Lucy all season. Unless a main character leaves, a new addition to the cast rarely means anything good. Yet, by the end of the episode, I found myself feeling hopelessly sorry for her. Like Mitchell, despite doing reprehensible things, she was prepared to change. It took guts to track them down and ask for help. She'd seen conspiracies where there were none. She'd seen evil where there'd been nothing more than a desire to belong. Her principles were in error, but she'd been prepared to make amends. If Mitchell had killed Kemp maybe she wouldn't have died. Of course, we may have lost Mitchell instead, so perhaps it all worked out for the best.
Some nice set up, too, for season three. Obviously, rescuing Annie will be the first order of business. Then there's the return of Herrick to look forward to. Seeing Cara and Daisy bleeding out to resurrect him was an unexpected, and undeniably visceral, treat. As were Herrick's hairy underpants. God, I hope they were underpants.
Bits and Pieces:
-- The problem with having a door as a plot device is it's just too easy to defeat. Why didn't Annie just leave the room, or stand behind a desk, or plant both feet either side of the door frame?
-- What kind of evil postman knocks before delivering a letter? One desperate for a punch in the face?
-- I loved Nina's 'I'd like to give her a nip' comment. She's so fabulously violent. She was totally up for killing Lucy. Once she gets used to being a werewolf I think she'll enjoy it. It seems to suit her nature.
-- Did Kemp seriously expect to kill all three of them? When Mitchell spared his life at the facility, he looked almost disappointed. Did he have a death wish? Even if he had managed to kill Nina, I can't imagine him having either the strength or technique to take out both George and Mitchell as well -- not without the element of surprise.
-- It was sad what happened to Tully, but a nice bit of continuity nevertheless.
-- I love it when professed religious types come out with words like fuck and cock. It makes me feel so cocking religious.
Quotes:
Nina: “Ooh, nice arse.”
George: “Yeah, I'm aware of that, thank you.”
Nina: “He's a 116 year old mass murderer, not a fucking gerbil. What can you do?”
Lucy: “I saw Amy McBride this morning.”
Kemp: “Amy McBride is dead.”
Lucy: “She spoke to me. She said, 'It's coming.'”
Kemp: “What is?”
Lucy: “Retribution? My stuff from Amazon? She didn't go into detail.”
Mitchell: "It was Inch High Private Eye that led her here."
Mitchell: “You have such a reductive view on the world. You say God made man in His own image. But what if that included His rage, and His spite, and His indifference, and His cruelty? God created all of us, we are all God's children... but God's a bit of a bastard.”
George: “What happens now, Mitchell? What do we do?"
Mitchell: "We're going to get her back."
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