Review: Being Human 5.5: No Care, All Responsibility

Kathryn Precott is the double agent Natasha

The penultimate episode of Being Human, eh? We're hitting the bigtime now, and the plot movements allowed us some fun before the finale. In true Being Human style, the big drama came in this week's story, but for some reason it felt like the least epic of the pre-finales so far. Even though we're threatened with Captain Hatch destroying the world if he ever comes to power, the drama came more from the interactions between the characters than anything else. Impressive, considering how little time we've actually had to experience this lineup.
     We met new girl Natasha (Kathryn Prescott) who came to the Hotel after appearing to be chased by a bad ex. She was immediately fancied by Tom, whom she played along with, and recognised Hal's vampirism, offering him a little nibble now and then. While Alex was trying to investigate Bobby's death after last week, she also faced up to Hal and admitted that they still had the potential to have a relationship. It was revealed that Natasha is working for Rook based on him saving her from Vampires fifteen years prior, and she tells Tom that Hal has attacked her. Fearing that she's having second-thoughts, Hatch whispers to Natasha and makes her kill herself in a way that frames Hal. The trinity now divided, Alex faces Hatch, and is trapped inside her own coffin. Tom is getting ready to steak Hal, and Hal is recruiting en masse.
     Kathryn Prescott, aside from being ridiculously pretty, also provided what is probably Being Human's last Guest-Of-The-Week character, and one that made an instant impression. I did manage to work out that she was working for Rook before the reveal, but the way she wove herself into both Hal and Tom's stories really did work well. It reinforced a general sense that this trinity is not as tightly wound as previous ones, and Alex and Tom's final rejection of Hal felt more like the logical progression of their relationships' degredation.

Alex tries to help Hal, to no avail.

     It was that gentle degradation that gave the episode a lot of its impact, and also what robbed it of a lot of the punch. The cliffhanger we were left with didn't scream, "oh shit" as previous years have - the things that happened were on the cards for a while, and there was very little to surprise. It certainly wasn't a weak episode, but I was expecting something with a little more wallop for what it the penultimate episode of the entire series. Hopefully next week's showdown with Satan will leave us at a satisfying end.

Thanks.