Review: Being Human 2.6

Mitchell, George and Annie discuss moving on.

After five episodes that have left me feeling rather cold, this week provided us with a moving piece of television that looked confidently on to the finale. It's quite a sign of how bloated this series has become because of those two extra hours, and now we're coming to the end there's some hope that such a problem will disappear.
     Despite her character's distinct lack of focus or direction, the best subplot this week went to Annie, who assisted the psychic Alan Cortez (the wonderful, wonderful Simon Day). Alan had lost his way, unable to hear the large collection of ghosts that followed him on tour - apart from Annie, whose confidence allowed her to be heard by him. Together they use Alan's show to help Ghosts to pass over - that is, until Annie's mother Carmen arrives. Through Alan, Annie tells her mother to move on and finally realises that she has to face up to her fears and allow George and Mitchell to move on with their lives should they so wish. This exploration of coping with death and Carmen's reactions at least made this genuinely moving for me, and Simon Day performs it with all of the appropriate sensitivity of a man down on his luck who is changed by a stranger.
     Mitchell's storyline formed the backbone here but the development last week meant that he was relegated to the odd scene. Enamoured by Lucy, Mitchell is convinced by her to pass on the leadership of the Vampires to someone else - in fact a ruse to get all of the Bristol Vampires in one place. After praying and bonding with Kemp, Lucy goes ahead with CenSSA's plan and that night they blow up the Parlour, killing almost everyone inside. Mitchell's fate is left a mystery. We know that he's not dead, but the Next Time trailer tries to hide that fact and at the time we were genuinely wondering whether the writers would go that far.

Kemp and Lucy prepare to exterminate the vampires.

     And then, of course, George. Poor little George. Doubt started to creep in as he moved into a new house with Sam this week. Still no one commenting on how unrealistically fast this is - a single mother moving in with someone she's known for three weeks and getting a house in a few days. To fan the flames, Sam announced that Molly's parents' evening was on the 27th - a full moon - and George was driven to use a ridiculous excuse. Although found out by Molly, they didn't really clash until Molly was woken by dreams of George as a werewolf. I really, really don't get the "wise beyond their years" character type and even if Molly has some way to sense the supernatural, it isn't explored at all.
     Episode 2.6 was the best episode of this series so far, and was genuinely moving in certain areas. It dealt with the theme of having to move on - moving on from death, from the past and from one's mistakes. It was a tad dull in places, but the episode built enough tension to promise an excellent final two weeks.

Thanks.

NEXT WEEK: Foundations are laid for Series Three and Amy Manson makes a last appearance.