Being Human series 5 episode 5: No Care, All Responsibility

This review contains spoilers.

5.5 No Care, All Responsibility

We’ve reached the penultimate adventure for Tom, Hal and Alex, and things are not exactly amicable for our trio. Hal’s descent into full bloodlust last week causes him to completely lose his moral compass, and in turn Alex and Tom aren’t too happy with the behaviour of their vampy housemate. If this were the final episode, then fans would be right in fearing for the resolution they so desperately crave but, by getting the really dark stuff out of the way here, hopefully some optimism can be clawed back for Being Human’s last hour next week.

We start with a flashback to Rook fifteen years ago, as he saves a young girl from a vampire nest. His words, “no care, all responsibility” ring out across the episode, as people do what they feel they have to in order to achieve what they perceive to be the greater good. Rook sends Natasha, all grown up, to manipulate Hal and Tom, but we don’t find out her true allegiances until part-way through the episode. As far as we, and the guys, are concerned, she is just a random girl upon whom Tom takes pity. She’s soon working at the hotel, dating Tom and feeding Hal so as to not let his craving get out of control.

Tom is rightfully cautious at first, but a quick supernatural test from Alex assures him that Natasha is human. The fun of watching him come to terms with liking a girl, and then dating her, is tainted by the apprehension that comes with Being Human’s happy moments and, once we see that she’s servicing Hal as well as charming Tom, that apprehension is proven to be right-on. This show loves to abuse Tom’s innocence and naivety, and it never gets less painful to watch his heart get trampled on week after week.

And vampirism has never been so overtly paralleled to drug addiction, as Hal starts making excuses and assuring everyone that his ‘drink little and often’ policy is actually ensuring that he doesn’t fall off the wagon completely. We’re treated to the story of the last time he went cold turkey, when Leo had to board up the windows for two years, and begin to understand how hard it is for Hal to keep things under control. His friendship with Tom and almost-romance with Alex are keeping a potential killing spree at bay, but when they turn on him, things slide even further out of control.

We’ve known from the beginning of this series that Hatch’s master plan was to drive a wedge between the trinity’s three corners, and it seems that he’s now achieved that end. Tom has retreated back into his former self, secure in his ability to kill vampires, and the apparent betrayal from Hal will only fuel him more. I can’t imagine that our finale would see the three characters separated so drastically, so it’d be nice to see this rectified in some epic showdown next week. Hatch is back to full strength and Tom was last seen whittling stakes, but it's Hal and Alex that we need to be most worried about.

I’m a little disappointed that Hal’s pit stop at the pub was so similar to Mitchell’s box tunnel massacre story arc, but it’ll be the dynamics between him and his friends that changes the outcome. Alex, on the other hand, as taken a trip underground, as her confrontation with Hatch ends with her sharing a coffin with her corpse. This is icky and creepy, and an idea that the US version of Being Human used recently, too. The best thing about this final sequence is how little idea we have of where they can go next week. How will they ever reconcile? Will Rook be punished as much for his actions as Hatch?

As is the norm at this stage in the game, the ‘next week’ teaser doesn’t reveal too much about what we can expect. It feels as if the finale has come around too soon, with too little warning from the BBC but, with the quality of the series, we can at least be secure in the fact that the show is going out on a high note instead of whimpering away. I’ll see you next week for what promises to be a great hour of telly, and we can bid a final farewell together.

Read Caroline's review of the previous episode, The Greater Good, here.

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