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Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale

Mark Oakley


The second series of Being Human draws to a close - but did it go off with a whimper or a bang?

Published on Mar 1, 2010

As series closer's go, this was a suitably creepy, edgy and nervy end for a run that has already provided its fair share of high points. It also left no-one in any doubt as to the existence of a third series, with a brief announcement at the end of the episode about information available on the Being Human website – more on that later.

Let's deal with how series two was wrapped up first, though, and it was a dark, brooding affair for all concerned. Hats off to the writers for taking the show in this direction, the religious element of the villainous Kemp coming to the fore in quite a disgusting manner while all the time ensuring that the show's scariest character of them all, Mitchell, was at his menacing best.

Keeping all the characters within the compound was a masterstroke, upping the claustrophobia for the viewer while the flickering lights and dark corridors helped to add to the palpable tension. This had quality direction, quality production values and a script to die for.

Literally in the case of Kemp's minions who were being offed one by one by Mitchell, now having firmly embraced the bad-ass vampire within. Head down, eyes up for the bulk of the episode, plus a liberal dabbing of blood around his chops, this is an image that will remain with me from this season as for the first time we've really been privy to his berserker mode. Who knows whether we'll get to see it again.

While he was offing bible bashers, George and Annie were contemplating taking Kemp up on his offer to rid them of their demons – George openly, Annie secretly. George was only really doing this for Nina, however, and to make himself feel less guilty about turning her into a very different breed of canine.

As for Annie, she'd finally had enough of the endless existence facing her, plus the thought of one of the only two people left who could see her not being able to any more when he turned human – George, of course – proving too much to bear.

Excellent acting all round in this episode but I must doff my cap to Lenora Critchlow who played the anguished soul superbly. I've bemoaned the treatment of her character for the last couple of episodes and wondered what else the writers had to do with her and last night I was proved right, to some extent, when they decided to get rid of her in genuinely heartbreaking fashion.

The look in Annie's eyes as a door not meant for her sucked her through was deeply upsetting, and while I may not have responded to her character much in this series, Critchlow's acting has never come into question.

Worse still was the disturbing image of the afterlife that Annie told of from beyond the television, having saved Mitchell, George and Nina from a fate worse than Kemp. Queuing up for a number and waiting to be ushered into a room, then to be forgotten by all the other souls, this wasn't the happy ending anyone would have wanted for Annie and made it all the worse for the viewer. And what was with Mitchell's link with Annie, him feeling her pain as she got sucked through the door? If anyone knows, please enlighten me.

Before getting to that point, George and Nina had to realise that all was not what it seemed, Nina proving particularly annoying at times in this respect, and were it not for a well-placed piece of writing from fellow werewolf Tully (a nod to series one, there) they would have been none the wiser. Was this a bit tenuous? Of course. Did it really matter? Not really, or at least not in the sense that several plot points throughout this series have been built on coincidence and questionable decisions.

It's fair to say that this slapdash treatment of the show had bothered me at times; a feeling that the writers have been too keen to get to point Z from point A and that they have bypassed several letters of the alphabet along the way in the process. The re-emergence of Kemp at the threesome's newly adopted Wales home a case in point.

Having escaped Bristol – we were told this was three weeks later – and relocated to a rather lovely stone cottage, it felt to me like the writers felt the show needed one more shock to wraps things up. 'Let's have Kemp kill Jaggat,' says one. 'Then let's have Kemp try to kill the others,' says another. 'But how to do so?'. Well, how about having Nina check up on Lucy so that she follows her paper trail, while Kemp can then track down Lucy?

This all felt forced and contrived to me – you may not have felt the same – although it was a cracking showdown nonetheless. Annie's reappearance and subsequent television confession were strokes of genius.

And then our minds were forced to wander to the impending third series, not only by Mitchell's assertion that they would bring Annie back – how, I wonder – but also by the glorious return of Daisy, Cornish vampire and, of course, the resurrection of Herrick. Hoozah and hoorah, Herrick will return for series three. Made sense I suppose, our three heroes having little to fight against now that Kemp's plans have come to a sticky end. It will also hark back to the show's first series, pitting the vampire uprising against Mitchell and his friends. Can't wait.

As for that series three preview, I couldn't find it at the time of writing this review – i.e., this morning – so if anyone who has seen it can post a comment on how things are looking, that would be grand.

All in all, this has been a strong series that has taken several bold steps towards becoming one of my favourite BBC shows in recent years. Its mixture of geek with kitchen-sink drama has worked a treat and the high quality of the acting, largely strong storylines and fabulous production values have left me very satisfied indeed over the course of the past eight weeks. The odd misstep aside, this was a better series than the first and I just hope that a third series isn't pushing things a little far. I have faith, though.

Check out our review of episode 7 here.

 

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Users Comments

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By cordas2 1 March 1, 2010 10:17:06 AM

Pretty fair summation of the series. I think it has missed more than a few beats, but it is still a fantastic show when it hits its marks, just a shame it hasn't done so reliably. I have no idea why banishing Annie should affect Mitcheleus... none what so ever, also I have no idea why Annie didn't close the door as she has done before (when it was her door and they were looking for her, rather than some random door). Yeah I can guess that Kemp held it open and had an effect, however that jars with his complete ineffectiveness in the last episode, nevermind Annie's already demonstrated powers. Loved the Kafkaesque take on what I assume is purgatory, no idea how Mitchell and co plan to rescue her. As for the actual episode I loved the 1st 40min or so, very atmospheric (even if the Mitchell being invisible on camera is a new part of the cannon). The tension was beautifully ramped up.... and then the bizarre taming of Mitcheleus by banishing Annie and it all went down hill from there. (Damn I want page breaks!)

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By Feefers 1 March 1, 2010 10:41:16 AM

Myself I'd have prefered that Kemp's protection had wayned after killing Jagget, the lord only protects the righteous, not the self-righteous.

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By MadProphet 1 March 1, 2010 11:53:51 AM

The preview is at the end of the three minute video in the latest blog post, with Whithouse talking about bringing back Herrick and the through-line for next year. Loved this episode, it was just a tremendous and electrifying bit of television. Kemp's sudden burst of self-righteousness made sense to me as a reaction to being "spurned" by Lucy. He tells Mitchell he wanted him to feel pain, and that's why he exorcised Annie. The creepy scene early on with the Garfield mug fed into that too. Brilliant finale- is it 2011 yet?

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By moakle 1 March 1, 2010 12:03:10 PM

Oh yeah, forgot the Garfield mug bit. Brilliant

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By cordas2 1 March 1, 2010 12:42:29 PM

Kemp was spurned by Lucy? I know he had some weird lust thing for her, but I can't remember her turning him down. I found the Garfield bit rather disgusting (which I assume was the idea).

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By Vicci 1 March 1, 2010 01:04:17 PM

We have already been made aware that vampires do not appear on film; in the sex tape made by Lauren, in the first series, she cannot be seen. This harps to the tradition of vampires having no reflection, which has also been noted in the paedo episode in series 1.

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By jamesfx 1 March 1, 2010 01:15:33 PM

Herrick coming back could be the series jumping the shark. There are consequences for our actions... and this has always been shown relatively well in Being Human. But the reset switch for Herrick? I did enjoy the 1960s flashback with him... and think they could have continued to use him in this role.

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By cordas2 1 March 1, 2010 01:22:12 PM

@Vicci - Had forgotten about that *DOH*. @Jamesfx - I am worried about that as well.

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By procrastinationathon 1 March 1, 2010 05:18:25 PM

I'll add myself to the list of people worried rather than enthused about Herrick's return. If one of the set ups for series 3 is going to be what will basically amount to a conflict with purgatory (specifically, the most british purgatory ever, eternal bureaucracy!) do we even need Herrick rebooted to pad that out? It makes it seem like a lack of confidence on the writers part. On a side note though, I wonder if we'll see Lucy again, afterall, didn't Annie basically steal her door to pull Kemp through with?

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By Divingirl 1 March 1, 2010 05:25:04 PM

Loved it myself! Very sad that my addiction must wait until season 3. I really liked the Mitchell/Lucy connection, but these characters are never meant to be truly happy - so angst and frustration must feed the fire. Not so sure about Herrick - he is quite funny, though.

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By MadProphet 1 March 1, 2010 06:10:07 PM

@cordas2 He didn't know she had sex with Mitchell until he mentioned it. Kemp was watching, and it's shortly after that's mentioned that he goes to Annie and Hennessy. It's just my own reading of that scene though.

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By BoTheDog 1 March 1, 2010 10:22:40 PM

I can suspend my disbelief with the best of them, but find it a little hard to take that an old bloke with a sharp stick can get the better of our supernatural heroes. Kemp's strength, surely, would lie more in psychological/guilt-trip torment that fisticuffs. Much more bittersweet too, if Mitchell, during their argument in the cottage, had turned Lucy into a vampire - transforming her into the 'evil' she despises and forcing her to live for eternity with the knowledge she's a murderer. My very last nit pick:- why didn't Annie just teleport or "jaunt" (or whatever she did before to 'pop' away), from the door before she was dragged through? This ability of hers seems absent in every 'celestial door' situation. A bit convenient, eh? Or have I missed something? That all said, in spite of a bit of a disappointing ending, a brilliant series (both of them) - dark, atmospheric and alive with humour. Cracking acting too (hail Russell Tovey!!)Bring on series 3, I can't wait.

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By badfox1 1 March 1, 2010 10:32:58 PM

I think the most disturbing thing about the episode was happened to poor Annie! The prospect of them trying to free her and the chance to see Being Human's version of the afterlife had me more excited than Herrick to be honest!

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By cordas2 1 March 1, 2010 10:48:25 PM

@ Mad - hadn't thought of it that way, and if was to be pedantic its still not spurned ;-) I just want to know why banishing Annie not only hurt Mitcheleus but dragged him away from Lucy. @ BoTheDog - I didn't think we saw Kemp using any real strength or the like. I think they mentioned something about doors tying you to the spot in the Sykes episode (or maybe the 80s Goth in the 1st season).

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By Mangoat 1 March 1, 2010 11:38:24 PM

I think that Mitchell's pain at Annie leaving will be the key in series 3 to getting her back to this world. They obviously have a different connection to the one George feels for her.

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By julesb666 1 March 2, 2010 12:26:01 AM

It definetely went off with a bang!I was honestly blown away by what I thought was the best acting and best writing to date,of both series.They know how to leave us wanting more,talk about leaving the best till last.Episode one was great and so was episode eight but everything in between seemed just a little sloppy writingwise,largely with annie's character,Annie being a barmaid(acting was a bit dodgy),Annie babysitting the ghost baby(cheesefest),being the medium to the medium...humm.But episode eight WOW nail and head spring to mind.Scene before final scene,Mitchell to Lucy,"You have such a reductive veiw of this world,God made man in his own image,what if that included his rage and his spite and his indifference and his cruelty,what if God made us too?were all his children you see but God's a bit of a bastard".freakishly superb piece of writing eventually turned up.

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By bobsuncorp 1 March 2, 2010 09:40:41 AM

I loved the "writing on the wall" bit from Tully. If we accept that he found out in advance that it was a death sentence (possible given that whatsername knew - the one who changed her mind at the last minute) then given the deep, familial bond that he felt with George, it makes sense that he would leave him a warning. Even after being rejected by him I can believe that he would have thought of him at the end.

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By Deborah 1 March 2, 2010 07:26:52 PM

Loved this whole episode. I don't have the quibbles over the characters that most other people seem to. It's always been clear to me that Mitchell is the one forever fighting the darkness within him, George is the one just trying to maintain a semblance of normal life despite the wolf, and Annie is the one trying to find how she fits in in a world that cannot see her. Can't say I'm thrilled with seeing the return of Herrick and the vampire den. I was never really into the vamp hive storyline, although I loved the flashbacks. I would rather see an intense storyline around them getting Annie back than revisiting the vamp den thing. I also hope that the turnabout for Nina will prove interesting next season. It's going to be a loooong wait for Season 3. *sigh* When does Ashes to Ashes start?

Re: Being Human series 2 episode 8 review: series finale
Posted By Joan1 1 September 19, 2010 03:31:17 AM

I agree with whoever said that Mitchell "feeling" Annie will probably be integral to getting her back and then I remembered Mitchell, sitting at the kitchen table "drunk." He told Annie that he can feel her moving about the house and that he imagines her body and kissing her etc. That must have been a clue that there is some other connection between them.
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