Review: Fades 1.5

Aaaand.... CGI!

Fades this week focussed more on action than characters, shifting the characters into their positions for the finale. That wasn't necessarily a problem, however, as we've had four weeks' worth of character development to keep things interesting. The main problems as I saw it were that this final blending of the past months' threads felt rather underwhelming in comparison with the buildup, and the main character seemed ever more and more impotent as time went on.
     As Paul's family recover from his resurrection, the police have converted the school into a crisis centre for missing persons. Unfortunatley for them, the centre is also used as a base by the Reborns, led by Polus (who we're now calling John) and Natalie. Paul and co. visit the facility to look for Anna's boyfriend Steve, and they soon discover the problem. Held hostage by the reborns include Mark, his bit on the side, two of the Angelics against Neil and the Jay, who is rescued by Paul and a belated Neil when Paul discovers that he has a glowy-beam-thing that allows him to kill them. Deciding that the way of death is wrong, he walks away from Neil as the town is called to evacuate, promising both him and John that there is another way to solve this issue. Neil then takes Mac hostage as Paul's only weakness.
     The classical anti-hero was not a dark protagonist but simply an impotent one, and in many ways that is who Paul is. Despite how much the episode made out how special he was, he really did just feel like the pathetic kid in a cardigan. I kept waiting for Fades trademark style to show me one more of his amazing powers, but it didn't arrive until near the end and even then it was brushed aside despite being the only feasible solution. It also didn't help that the climax felt like it came too early - I was almost waiting for the episode to finish, as if there were strands from the finale that had to be fit on the end of this one.

Sarah returns.

     Sarah's storyline took a turn for the macabre, as she slowly transformed into a reborn. While Neil tried to comfort her, she inevitably succumbed to her urge to kill and visited John at the Reborn base, accelerating her development. After the climax she finally became human again and then went to visit Mark, whose psyche I worry for.
      Episode 5 drove the plot along quite nicely but for me at least it wasn't as captivating because of the absense of those little character moments. I really can't sympathise with the protagonist at this point, which is impeding my enjoyment somewhat, but the series is still full of that weel-written charm and delicious cinematic gore that makes it one of the best shows on TV today.

Thanks.