An excellent episode all round. Good character development, some nice main arc advancement, and a decent stand alone story for Annie. (Not before time, too.) This was an episode which seemed to split the fan community. People seemed to either love it or hate it. I thought it gave an effective insight into the crumbling lives of our three main protagonists. It even made me feel for the bad guys.
George's frustration at being perpetually at odds with the world came to a head tonight. The show's called Being Human because that's what they aspire to be, but the house has become their prison. (Quite literally in George's case.) Tonight, George grew tired of feeling safe and moved out of the 'family' home, but young Molly -- now baffling grown-up for her age -- saw right through his façade. She knew George had the potential to hurt them. She even forced him into admitting that he doesn't fully trust Sam -- not enough to share his secret anyway. The truth is George isn't safe to be around. And he's still not over Nina -- which must surely mean the end of his relationship with Sam.
Mitchell, likewise, is trying to outrun his past. He sees Lucy as his only means of salvation, but tonight she tried to kill him -- which must surely spell disaster for that relationship, too. Is Ivan dead? It certainly looked that way -- him and the rest of Abstainers Anonymous. It was almost as if Mitchell's confession of love for Lucy softened him. I loved his “We all deserve a Daisy” comment. For a moment he almost seemed human - then is an uncharacteristic act of selflessness, he died trying to save Mitchell. Why the sudden act of heroism? Why not just save himself? Maybe beneath all that brutality beat the heart of a man truly appalled by his own deeds. Perhaps he saw his shot at redemption and took it.
Whether Mitchell's alive or not we don't know, but if he is, I dread to think what he'll do when he finds out about Lucy's betrayal. And how will Daisy react to Ivan's death? I think it's safe to say that we can expect fireworks. Currently, it's difficult to see Lucy living beyond next week, yet you can't help but feel sorry for her. Empathising with the baddies is the mark of good drama. Lucy's inner torment is what makes us love her -- I just can't see it being enough to save her. She saw falling in love with Mitchell as a failure before God. In the end, she did what she needed to do. The question is: how will her fragile conscience cope? Will she have the mental fortitude to move on?
And, finally, an Annie storyline not played for laughs. That's not to say there weren't a few chuckles along the way, but the emotional meat of Annie's story is was what gave it its inertia. Carmen hanging onto her pain because without it she had nothing left of Annie to hold onto was heartbreaking. Annie's compassionate nature shone through in this episode. She ended up helping just about everyone. She helped psychic, Alan Cortez, get back his mojo; she landed Robin a new job; she even mediated for the motley backstage ghosts who, let's face it, were terrible spooks. More importantly, she helped her own mum find peace -- by the end of the episode she was able to visit Annie's grave, and finally move on.
There was some surprisingly effective back story for Kemp, too. Now we know what drives him, and the hardships he's had to face, I suddenly find myself sympathising with him. He's a conflicted man. He loves God, but, his hatred for vampires has robbed him of all compassion. Which is understandable considering what they did to his wife. No wonder he sees them (or wants to see them) as sub-human. I was intrigued by Lucy's closeness to Kemp. He's almost came across as a father figure, yet he clearly looked uncomfortable when she hugged him. Is that the first time it's ever happened? It's was almost as though he didn't know what to do. Which speaks volumes of Kemp's loneliness.
Kemp's shown a degree of tolerance for werewolves in the past, but his empathy doesn't seem to stretch as far as vampires. Unless, of course, there's no known cure for vampirism, save death. Even if there were, would Kemp want to save any of them? You can't help but feel that Kemp's on a vengeance trip which can only end in either the death of every vampire -- or his own.
Bits and Pieces:
-- Can anyone explain why Carmen could see Annie folding a napkin but not her clothes? And why could nobody see her headset?
-- Who'd have thought the dead would be so petty?
-- Seeing Mitchell walking through the streets of Bristol made me remember why I love this show. It feels familiar. He walks the same streets I walk. Which is one of the problems I had with season four of Torchwood -- I didn't feel that connection any more.
-- Tobogganing? George is utter shit at lying.
-- Ivan's on Twitter? That was a great line. Obviously Ivan's a progressive vampire.
-- Ivan's 237 years old and has arm wrestled Colonel Gadaffi.
Quotes:
Annie: “You two are just so gay for each other.”
Ivan: "I'm just one step away from wiping out an entire branch of Argos.
Mitchell: "Skinny jeans?"
George: "That was a private conversation."
Mitchell: "Skinny jeans, George? Seriously?"
George: "It... it was a moment of madness."
Annie: "Why don't you two just snog each other? Just snog each other."
Annie: "You can say it, George. I'm not gonna cry or anything."
George: "We've found a new house and we're gonna stay there tonight."
Annie: *Annie starts to cry* "Oh, God!"
Mitchell: "Look. You just spread the word, OK. I want everyone there."
Ivan: "Just leave it to me. I've got most of them on my Twitter feed, so..."
Mitchell: "Ivan, I've met someone. I can't be with her and be part of this. I know it's a big ask. I know it's a huge favor, but I can't. She's my way out of this chaos. This could be my last chance and if I get... Oh, forget it! It doesn't matter."
Ivan: "You should have said it was about love. I get it now. We all lead long and appalling lives. But I have my Daisy. Everyone deserves a Daisy."
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