Being Human episode 4 review

The moral of this week’s instalment? Keep your DVD collection in order. Mixing discs up into random slipcases and boxes has always been a particular bugbear of mine at university, forcing me to deny my former housemates access to my own set of DVDs. Still, at least things never got as bad for me as they did for Mitchell in last night’s offering of the Beeb’s monster mash.

In a simply brilliant twist that was far more effective than last week’s, albeit slightly contrived – would you really let a random boy have a mooch around your bedroom – the housemates’ lives were turned upside down as accusations of being ‘Peedos’ (spelled incorrectly as George was quick to point out) were sprayed all over their house’s exterior. It helps if you don’t own a depraved, vampire porn DVD as well, of course.

Hanging on to the disc was always going to end badly for Mitchell, but who knew it would lead to a poor young lad being inadvertedly ‘saved’ by him? Still, another one to add to Herrick’s hordes of blood-lusting, leather-clad lads and lasses and Bernie’s outfit at the end of the episode did give us all a good laugh anyway. Does being a vampire really mean having to listen to Joy Division, buying a ruffed up leather jacket and adopting a slick-back hairdo complete with kiss curl? The best part of young Bernie’s move to the darkside, though, was his rather chilling exchange with mother Fleur. Never have the words ‘I’m hungry’ put the fear of God into a parent quite so much. I doubt we’ll see Fleur and Bernie again, which is a shame as their acting was excellent and the pair gave Mitchell an opportunity to spend more time with the human world he so clearly wants to inhabit.

Or at least used to want to inhabit. A bit of mob justice changed all that and by the end of this week he’d done an about turn, heading back to Herrick and chums and rejecting humanity. Can’t blame him really as we are a crappy breed at times and I’m with him on his anger with the two little shysters bullying poor Bernie. I’d have ripped their heads off if I was in his shoes but then tolerance for children never was my strong point. Good job he didn’t too, otherwise he really would have found it difficult to fit in. Tough one to explain, that. ‘Erm, he slipped on some dog muck and sliced his throat on some railings. I was merely trying to help him reattach his head, Officer.’

Luckily for Mitchell, police involvement in this particular case came in the form of the deliciously devious Herrick who offered to turn a blind eye. Actor Jason Watkins is quite simply a scene-stealing star of this series and I missed him last week so it was great to hear his wonderful, gothic tones again last night. His screen presence is magnificent, so much so that he manages to batter the brilliant Aidan Turner into submission with every acting face-off. I can’t wait for the final couple of episodes as it’s all clearly poised to kick off.

Less screen time devoted to Lauren this week too, which was another plus. Beyond being very pretty I have literally no idea how she bagged the part and I feel sorry for the poor souls turned down for a chance to star in this series to make way for her. Much better is Sinead Keenan playing George’s new girlfriend Nina. Their relationship and George’s determination to not get her involved in his world was explored in greater detail and it was handled very well proving genuinely touching in several moments, not least with respect to Nina’s own personal revelation. The actors display an on-screen chemistry which is way above the standards I would expect for such a series, so kudos to the pair for bringing their A-game on set.

Annie’s personal journey took some major turns this week as her decision to let go of her former life with Owen – a complete and utter bastard played with just the right tone by the fantastically named Gregg Chillin – led to some poltergeist action and – finally – visibility to the world outside their house. It will be interesting to see where the series goes with that next week as she appears to haunt Owen, taking some cues from Batman along the way (‘I am darkness, vengeance, fury’). She’ll be fighting crime before we know it.

After last week’s rather drab instalment I was delighted that the series got back on track this week. With only six episodes in the series there is precious little space for any slack and, as this week demonstrated, a juicy, fast-paced plot does wonders for the viewing audience. Two episodes left to tie up a few loose ends – will Mitchell really abandon the life he’s worked so hard for; will George ever tell Nina about his time of the month; will Annie beat the living crap out of Owen – and Being Human is still well-placed to be a worthy addition to television’s supernatural universe.

Oh, and I nearly forgot the best bit of all: Russell Tovey kept his arse under wraps. Hoozah!

Check out our review of  episode 3 here.