Misfits series 4 episode 6 review

This review contains spoilers.

That’s more like it! After five weeks of feeling generally sluggish and out of ideas, Misfits has brought back the old creativity, whacky powers, and mixture of funny/gruesome/scary that made the show so special in the first place. While there’s still an imbalance between soap opera-ish relationship drama and the genre elements that set it apart, we at least get a surprising and compelling underlying threat to complement the characters’ various mishaps. You’ll never look at Alice in Wonderland’s white rabbit the same again.

Along with the previewed bunny, we also have a guy who can project the number of your sexual partners onto your forehead, and a lot of awkward conversations ensue. The dynamic between the four (soon to be five) remaining cast members also works better here, with everything condensed into the couple of hours they spend at “the most insane house party” Finn has ever been to in his “sh*tty little life”. A new misfit also gets her introduction, although brief, and we’ll have to wait and see what Abby brings to the show in series four’s closing two weeks.

The party is obviously Rudy’s idea, as we finally get to meet the oft-mentioned Saunders in the wardrobe of his own shindig. We’re in Misfits land, so know by now that absolutely everyone has a power, and Saunders’ is as weird and interesting as anything they’ve encountered over the last four years. What happens to a hardened druggie when a magical storm hits? Their hallucinations manifest in the real world. This is where the evil, yet dapper, bunny rabbit comes into play, and the panic that follows manages to be both frightening and hilarious in equal measure.

Starting the episode with just three characters, it first struck me how small our group has become, but the cast of central players seems to grow before our eyes this week. Alex might finally be integrated into the group, for example, as his secret is revealed near the end of the episode. With his own mission to find the transgender girl (now guy) who stole his manhood, I can’t wait to see the whole gang enlisted in helping him reclaim what used to be his. Jess’ reaction was sweet, and the episode expertly turned them into a couple we could root for, despite the daring peculiarity of their situation.

The numbers in general were a genius plot device that forced the characters to discuss personal matters that would never have come up otherwise, even in a show as sex-obsessed as Misfits. Rudy wins the numbers game with ninety-nine, and spends the rest of the hour looking for number one hundred; Jess solidifies her vulnerable image with a number two; Alex arouses suspicious with a relatively high forty-eight, and Finn is the only one who manages to add to his resume, going from one to two with a random funeral-attendee at Rudy’s encouragement. In short, it showed off different sides to the characters, with Rudy possibly even finding himself a future girlfriend.

Said girlfriend’s introduction is purely set-up for next week’s adventure, and her mad dash for the door mid-flirt must have something to do with her or someone else’s power. On that note, while it’s nice to see good ideas when it comes to weekly guest star’s abilities, the show really seems to have dropped the idea of our main characters being superheroes of any kind. It may be a reaction to the comic-book infused storyline of Simon and Alisha, and separates the series from the three that went before, but it’s pushing the show further and further outside the sci-fi box it’s always sat on the edge of.

But this episode is vintage Misfits, with a great ‘villain’, brilliant one-liners from all the cast, and some genuine character development to go along with it. I’m not so sure about Abby as of yet, and thought it odd that her appearance was teased in the opening credits, but am definitely appreciative of an increased female presence to help Jess out. Next week looks Rudy-centric, which usually means it’ll be a good ‘un. 

Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, here.

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