Aidan: "It's not like I borrowed his car without asking. I thwarted his plan of taking over the eastern seaboard."
What a lovely full circle season finale. Josh and Aidan were ready to kill or die for each other.
The story began with Josh and Aidan meeting for the first time when Aidan saved Josh from marauding vamps, moved to Josh sacrificing himself to save Aidan, to Aidan refusing to allow it. To round out the circle, it ended with a flashback to Sally's death, accompanied by Aidan and Josh passing by and talking about getting an apartment together.
That vampire High Noon showdown was surprisingly intimate. Aidan actually held Bishop in arms as he killed him. It reinforced the season's theme that Aidan and Bishop were much the same. They both felt a strong and unvampire-like impulse to be human and to love a human, and clearly, there was once love between the two of them. But even though the season finale could only end with Bishop's final dusting, I sure wish they'd managed to hang on to Mark Pellegrino. He is awesome. Bishop actually gave me the shudders several times during the season, and yet, I sort of felt for him, too.
(Interestingly, the first time I noticed Mark Pellegrino, he was playing Julie Benz's despicable druggie abusive ex-husband on Dexter, and he did it so well that I couldn't stand him.) (And coincidentally, Sam Witwer also had a substantial continuing role in the first season of Dexter, and his character was outright revolting. Too bad they didn't have scenes together.)
It was way past time for Nora to learn the truth – and pretty much too late for her to protect herself from getting scratched. So it's fangs for Nora next season, but is it fangs plus diapers? Did she lose the baby, or did it just change with the full moon (and yech)? They never said. But would Josh have been so relieved and happy at the end of the episode if she had? Actually, I thought this week's Most Obvious Symbolism was Nora and the wolfed-out Josh prone and staring at each other through the crack under the door. Very sweet.
The Aidan/Selene plot worked, too, but it didn't quite come up to Mitchell/Josie – possibly because BH/UK gave it more time. In fact, the plot similarity made me think they were going to repeat everything, but fortunately, no. Good job of mixing the original material with the new; it keeps us BH/UK fans on our toes, because we can still enjoy plot points we liked in the first show, but we're still never quite sure what will happen next.
Even though she's grown on me, I tend to think of Sally as a junior partner in this three-way story, but what she did surprised me. She betrayed Josh's confidence in order to protect him, even though it could quite possibly have caused Aidan's death. That was an interesting choice. It was a bit like Sally and Aidan felt their decisions had more weight, like they were Josh's parents. It'll be interesting to see which way her character goes now that she is semi-corporeal and without an exit door.
So bravo for a terrific first season. And how 'bout that cliffhanger? The return of the Amish vampire and.... what? Was he talking about a vampire queen? I'll definitely be watching season two, and hopefully we'll find someone to review it here at Doux Reviews.
But hey, producers of Being Human SyFy and Being Human BBC? Do you think you guys could talk on the phone and arrange it so that both shows don't air simultaneously? It sort of drove me nuts.
Bits and pieces:
— The horrendous and horrible Marcus was inadvertently responsible for initially bringing Aidan and Josh together.
— Was Sally trying to bend that spoon? Was that a Matrix joke?
— A little Last Supper action with the three of them eating together for what might have been the last time.
— Josh always takes off his Star of David before he turns (or am I confusing Josh with George?) but this time it had more meaning. Josh thought he was deliberately going to kill someone. Like losing his religion in a literal sense.
Quotes:
Aidan: "You don't bat an eye at me being a vampire, but nursing is weird?"
Selene: "I'd rather die for you than for cancer." And yeah, I get that. But it still bothered me that Aidan took her up on it. Vampires are users, I guess. It's their nature.
Aidan: "We should get cable."
Josh: "And paint."
Aidan: "So how was your night?"
Josh: "This is a conversation to be had over kale. (later) So how was your night?"
Aidan: "I think I want to learn krav maga."
I didn't know what krav maga was, but Dan thought it was hilarious.
Four out of four stars of David,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
Thanks for reviewing this episode of Being Human Billie. Great review, as always. I think the writers are going to decide if they can handle the weight of adding a werewolf baby to the mix during the break. If they can, Nora didn't lose the baby. If they can't, she lost it.
ReplyDeleteWish I could help you on the krav maga reference. I know I've heard it somewhere, possibly on a science fiction show, but I can't place it right now.
I thought they provided a good twist on the UK version with Bishop's death.
I look forward to next season. SL
Krav Maga is a hand-to-hand combat system developed in Israel that involves striking techniques, wrestling and grappling, mostly known for its extremely efficient and brutal counter-attacks, and is taught to regular and special forces in Israel..... I watched somethingn on it a while ago and I remember think they were extremely brutal on one another when practicing!!!! It's crazy!!!
ReplyDeleteComing in to the second half of the season (to a show I was sure I wouldn't like), I've come to really love this show! This was a great season ending, and I can't wait to see what happens next season. Thanks for the review!!!
ReplyDeleteP.S. It would be super awesome if someone here would review it permanently. :D