Review: Misfits 4.2

Sadie is held captive by Finn.

Man, I wish Misfits had episode titles. Written 5/11/12

While last week's premier was ok, it didn't really capture a lot of people's imaginations. In that regard, this week was a hell of a lot more confident with its characterisations and dilemma, picking up the cliffhanger from last week and turning it into a funny if crude examination of love and gender roles. I suppose you could say that it was Finn-centric, but the episode managed to juggle all of its characters and give them a decent amount to do - even if, for some reason, Karla Crome's character doesn't seem to be getting a lot of focus.
     As Finn (Nathan McMullen) continues to for some reason hold his girlfriend hostage, gagged and tied up, the new probation worker (Shaun Dooley, whose performance I am absolutely adoring) orders the four to help out at a sculpting class for the blind. There they meet a beautiful blind girl, Ally, who Curtis initially likes until it turns out that, despite being blind, she is incredibly racist. Rudy is kicked out of his accomodation, and barges into Finn's place to stay the night. Soon he becomes suspicious of his locked room, and when the gang confront him he reveals that Sadie, his girlfriend, had a mind-control power that forced him into being the perfect boyfriend. In order to preserve his free-will, he's gagged her so she can't effect him - but he doesn't want to leave her, since she's his first girlfriend and he's still in love. When Frudy releases Sadie, Finn initially goes back to being under her control just to make the relationship work - until Jess has Seth do one last job before he returns to Africa, taking away Sadie's power and ending their relationship. As the episode ends, we find that there's a smoking-hot new trainee-probation worker, Lola (a much more aggressive Lucy Gaskell, Being Human and Casualty) eyeing up the group.
     If I thought Nathan McMullen was a bit shakey this week, he's come into his own here. His character beats are a subtle mix of Nathan and Simon - he's a social pariah, but he's like that with good reason. The dilemma of the episode is actually quite a topical one; was Finn right to go to the lengths he did to retain his personal freedom in the relationship when he'd only ever been good at being a boyfriend while under her control? It's a greater argument about whether personal freedom is better than the overall greater good, and that's a very poweful message to be inserting alongside the nob gags and three, count three, sex scenes.

Lola (Lucy Gaskell) looks like trouble.

     The blind girl subplot was a tad weird, to be honest. As Rudy lampshades, the series seems to be throwing an awful lot at us under the umbrella of, "the storm did it." In this case, a blind woman (who somehow happens to be racist) has been telepathically connected to her guide dog, who rather literally acts as her eyes now. It gave Curtis and Rudy something to focus their efforts on this episode, but it only led to an oddly vulgar sex scene involving clingfilm and a rubber band. New character Alex, who's probably going to provide Jess's main subplots in this series, was strangely cryptic and ultimately unsatisfying.
     However, this week did manage to have a bit more pacing and drive than the premier, as well as providing better characterisation for Nathan McMullen's Finn. It felt like Misfits again - the gang back together, all working towards common goals. I get the wonderful feeling that the loss of Nathan, Simon, Alesha and Kelly really won't harm this series in the way that I was afraid it would - Rudy and Finn now feel really engaging and this episode at least shows that they can carry an episode on their own. That leaves one missing link - Jess, who despite Karla Crome's best efforts seems to be left out. Hopefully this will improve, given time.

Thanks.

Review: Misfits 4.1

Jess (Karla Crome) and Finn (Nathan McMullen) join
the team under stressful circumstances.

When it started, people compared Misfits' urban appeal to that of E4's flagship show, Skins. And we had to hope, really, that that comparison continued when not one but three of the original cast members left last season; two in story and one that may or may not be because of an unfortunate incident where Lauren Socha racially abused a taxi-driver. So we've got two new guys, Jess (the wonderful Karla Crome, who was in Hit And Miss which I reviewed before I gave up on it half-way-through) and Finn (Nathan McMullen). Now with a cast that looks rather different from the original, we have to wonder whether Misfits can survive the change. As far as I can tell, it has. And rather well.
      Jess and Finn arrive, suspicious of their new "probation worker" Rudy. Rudy and Seth are torturing two people in order to find out the combination to a briefcase - including Curtis, whom the two new recruits release from a freezer. Rudy explains that Seth returned from war-torn Uganda (where Kelly has apparently stayed). The three were touched by a gangster carrying the briefcase, whose power made them obsessed with opening it and getting the cash inside. Rudy cut the gangster's hand off in the night. Believing them to be in cahoots with Curtis, Rudy drugs the two new guys and throws them in the freezer. They argue and flirt, with Finn telling an imaginary story about being sexually abused as a child.
     The thief gets dumped in with them, and he explains that ever since he stole the money, everyone around him has been desperate to get it off of him. Finn gets affected by the power just as the theif dies. Seth knocks Rudy out, but Frudy is still around to stand-in. He lets them out, and after explaining that he's not the real Rudy, he tells them that it was he who stole the briefcase. He retrieves it and discovers that Finn and Jess have both been affected by the thief's ability. Finn runs off with the case and there's a confrontation on the roof. The thief takes the case and falls off the roof, opening it and letting the cash fly free. Everyone makes up and they bury yet another body. A new Probation Worker turns up, and he's a badass. Finn goes home, and it's revealed that he keeps a girl locked up.

The new line-up.

     Karla Crome stands out immediately - Jess is confident, witty and wise and she's an absolute joy to have on screen. Nathan McMullen's Finn took a bit longer to convince me, but his optimistic yet jittery persona gave a replacement to the original Simon that wasn't as creepy as fuck. In short, yeah, I really liked these new characters. It seems like both have places they could go, and I thought that their introductions were handled a lot better than Rudy's last year, which seemed to consist of, "Here's the new Nathan, deal with it." This episode felt much more balanced between a genuinely intriguing plot and the new character beats. The comedy came hard and fast, and worked well with the rest of the story to provide a good all-rounder.
     So yeah, I was really impressed by this week. It managed to get everything right in a really intriguing way, with both a fascinating scenario to work in and a set of new characters with impressive opening resumes. Heck, at this point Curtis feels like a bit of a weight, and I'd really like it if his veteran position on the team could be exploited more this series. Other than that, then, this premier was just what I'd wanted - interesting, well-aced and just very, very funny. Good job, Misfits. Keep it up.

Thanks.

Review: Merlin 4.3: The Death Song of Uther Pendragon

Uther's back, and he's... he's covered in white makeup!

The position of Episode Three is forever cursed for me by its two predecessor stories, both of which came after two-parters of decent quality and both of which were absolutely terrible. Both were written by someone that I'm actually quite fond of, Howard Overman, and he's arrived here to try and fix his record and break the everlasting curse of the third episode. Whether he was fully successful I'm not sure, but The Death Song of Uther Pendragon was certainly better than its annular predecessors by many, many degrees and managed to be consistently enjoyable while only rarely resorting to crappy komedy. In fact, I'd even say that it was quite good. Wooo!
     Merlin and Arthur find a random old woman about to be burnt for Witchcraft, which Arthur doesn't think is very nice. He saves her, and in thanks she gives him, as a dying present, a magical Horn which lets him enter the Afterlife and speak to the dead. Since it's conveniently the anniversary of Uther's death, Arthur is sad and wants to have a natter with pop. He passes through the veil, and Uther, in typical Uther-y fashion, is a complete and total dick. Disillusioned, Arthur leaves, but finds afterwards that strange things are happening in the castle. Sir Percival is attacked from nowhere, Gwen is nearly set on fire - it turns out that Arthur has accidentally let Uther's ghost into the real world, and he's being a bigger dick than usual in order to "save" his kingdom. Faced with a choice between his father and his safety, he rightly chooses his safety and he and Merlin go to send Uther back to the afterlife. Arthur gets knocked out and Merlin takes the opportunity to beat Uther's ass with magic, but before it can be revealed to Arthur, he's sent back to the afterlife with a scream.
     Howard Overman, as history has shown, isn't good at comedy - at least in the style appropriate for Merlin (his Misfits stuff, on the other hand, is hilarious.) I got the feeling this episode that he wanted to make sure that we knew that the change he made last season (to kill Uther, which would have been awesome had he done it properly and not played it for comedy) was the right one. He did so by doing something very clever - exploiting the shitty characterisation of his colleagues, he showed us in no uncertain terms just what an unbridled asshole Uther really was. He hasn't really had to do much work at all, and that's the genius of it all - TDSoUP worked because it fit so perfectly with both the shambles that the series used to be and with the more adult version of itself that it is now.

Dr. Uther, or how Arthur Learned To Stop Worrying
And Love The Magic.

     I mean, this could have been another Goblin's Gold, what with the magical presence making things move magically and messing things up for everyone. But Overman took it and sorta mixed it with that other episode, The Wicked Day, and used lots of great characterisation to make it work. Under the surface, it could have been so formulaic, but it worked - for one, very important reason, that I hope Merlin's other writers have caught on to. It worked because effort was put into it. Because it had good character beats, good ideas and a well-laid foundation to work upon. Because this is Series Five, and this is important if your series is gonna be remembered well.
     The Death Song of Uther Pendragon wasn't perfect. But it was so much better than Overman's previous Third Episodes that it might as well be, in the same way that 0.9 recurring equals 1. It had Uther being incredibly consistent with his previous characterisation as a complete whazzock, and it seemed like this was the first time that the show actually acknowledged that fact. Overman's script was refreshingly open, honest and moving, and pushes the series in a direction that I'm liking very, very much.

Thanks.

Review: Misfits 3.8

Sally (Alex Reid) is back for revenge.

The finale of this turbulent series has finally arrived, and we face a finale that extends back to both of the preceeding years. This year was a time for a lot of change, both for better and worse. Now that we know that we have another series, we have to hope that this finale will provide the sense of closure and excitement that we received from previous years. (I consider last year's finale to be the Crimbo special.)
     A medium is operating out of the community centre, and based on his comments it's obvious that he has the power for real. Simon, chilled by his remarks about Sally (Alex Reid), then sees the deceased probation worker. She appears before him in the Lair during a vision, and kisses him. She meets him in the bathroom and tells him that the medium has brought her back, and that she's always had feelings for him. The gang talk to the medium, who discusses his ability to talk to and bring back the dead. He accidentally brings back the Virtue-girl, who Rudy flirts with relentlessly. She has come back because, realising upon death that there is no God, she wants to do things she avoided in life.
     Seth and Kelly's relationship is on the rocks; she's unhappy with him dealing powers without regulation. He tells her that he is quitting power-dealing. While Simon is haunted by Sally and Kelly by Tony, Virtue-girl gets absolutely bladdered and tries to shag Curtis. In a scene that mirrord the pilot, the gang were chased by Tony and Kelly hits him with a fire-extinguisher. Tony is, however, quite civilised and tries to find Sally, who is in a store-room chatting up Simon.

He's dead, Jim.

    Sally and Simon head back to the Lair, where she blackmails him into making love with her - which she films on Simon's phone. She sends the video to Alisha (I've been getting the spelling wrong forever!) who watches it and is shocked to discover what's been going on. She confronts him. Sally tries to throw Alisha off the roof, but Tony explains why he died. The two dead probation workers reunite and pass on. Simon and Alisha kiss and make up. Virtue-girl is unhappy because she has done everything she can think of and she can't pass on. As the two love-birds get their mac on in a storage closet, Virtue-girl gets hold of a stanley-knife and slits Alisha's throat Sweeny-Todd style.
     Simon reveals to the others that he is Superhoodie, and that this is the time he must go back. With the help of Seth and Kelly, they manage to get a one-way time travel power for Simon. The gang bury Alisha and Simon goes back to Series One. He discovers the derelict Lair, and trades Seth the power of Immunity. As he leaves Seth's place, Superhoodie is born. The modern gang is now left with only Kelly, Curtis and Rudy/Frudy.  
    Sally's storyline was a little off-putting. 1.5's key draw was that we knew that Sally was leading Simon down a false road. The question there was whether any of the affection that she showed Simon was real. Here it doesn't just feel like a retread, but it's also jarring because it doesn't make sense; nothing tells me in 1.5 that Sally really felt anything for Simon in a real way. And if she was being deceptive, then surely this more mature Simon wouldn't fall for it a second time. Virtue-girl's plot, while funny, didn't feel that necessary to the story until the very end. In a way it felt silly; Sally's plot was more of an unnecessary scapegoat that developed Simon and Alisha's relationship to the point where her death would be absolutely gut-wrenching.

Superhoodie is born. In a rather convenient orange hood,
which sidesteps a continuity issue about his appearance
in the first series. Nice.

     The episode's main problems really came down to the fact that nothing of any consequence happened until the last ten minutes. The Series One villains were nice to see, but their storylines didn't really have anything that we need from a Misfits finale. They weren't all that potent; they weren;t reflective and most of all they weren't at all epic in scale. Series One's finale saw a group of people hypnotised into zombies; Series Two saw the gang shot to fame and then stalked by a psychopathic killer.
    On the other hand, the last ten minutes of the episode might as well have been completely different from the rest. A simple music track, and the benefit of hindsight, allowed crude Series One comedy scenes to be imbued with a fantastic sense of poignancy. It was a shame that the cause of Simon's timey-wimey path was something as mundane as a slash by stanley-knife, and it's also sad to think that Simon's actions did nothing. In Misfits it appears that time-travel, in Simon's case, leads only to a Whatever Happened, Happened scenario.
     And so it ends. Series Three's finale was just like the rest of the series. It was fun in places and there were a lot of entertaining things, but in the end it didn't quite fall together and any moments of brilliance were confined to small nooks and crannies. Despite this, I am curious as to how the show will continue with only two-fifths of its original cast remaining this time next year. I'll see you there.

Thanks.

Review: Misfits 3.7

I've never liked cats. They go and play tricks like this.

"You kill numerous probation workers but you can't kill one cat?"

Misfits has already done Zombies. Not real zombies, of course, but they took on the genre and parodied it relentlessly in the Series One finale, where the modern interpretation saw people becoming overly-moral Christians. Seeing Misfits actually try a straight version of this storyline feels a little weird, especially this close to Chrismas and far from when it would have been more appopriate in Halloween.
     Following on from last week, Curtis and Seth prepared to bring the latter's dead girlfriend back to the land of the living. Shannon, played by the massively underused actress Charlene McKenna, is incredibly bewildered by her return to life and by what Seth has become. Curtis enjoys his new ability, bringing back to life a dead woman's cat. As cheerleaders visit the centre, Rudy expresses disgust. Curtis visits the old woman again, to find that the cat he ressurected has killed the owner and begun to drink her blood.
     Seth dumps Kelly, and admits what he did. The team then head across to kill the evil cat, Mr. Miggles. As they debate over killing the cat, the old woman gets up as well and tries to eat Rudy. The gang realise that it's the Zombie apocalypse and Kelly goes off to warn Seth about Shannon, who's eaten his pet iguana. Kelly accidentally spills the beans on Seth's cheating heart. Rudy reveals to Simon and Alesha why he hates Cheerleaders so much; he walked in on his parents having sex as a young child where his mother was dressed as one. As Kelly and Curtis plan her demise, Shannon bites a neighbour.

Emotionless stares: the height
of the McKenna repertoire.

      The neighbour escaping, the team arrive to off Shannon and the couple hide in the neighbour's flat. As the neighbour gets the munchies, the team raid the flat to discover it empty. They leave, and Shannon tells Seth everything. Later that night, Seth himself prepares to kill her, but can't bring himself to destroy the one thing he loves. Instead, he askes Curtis to kill her instead. As Simon prepares to kill Mr. Miggles, he discovers that the cat has infected the entire cheerleading team. They make their way through the entire team (including another probation worker) until a final confrontation with Shannon, who is killed by Seth. The bodies are buried in the Woods, and the issue is forgotten.
    I'm just feeling rather empty about a lot of the storylines in this year's Misfits. They aren't as specifically heartrending as Series One, and they aren't as clever as Series Two. Rudy's links with Alesha have never been mentioned again, and Simon's future as Superhoodie was the focus of only one episode. This year has been the year of Seth and Kelly, and that's certainly left me feeling rather cold. This week, which supposedly featured the culmination of Seth's character arc, saw absolutely no poignancy from that side of things at all. I felt like crying out, "Seth! Your dead girlfriend has been brought back to life! Show some emotion!!!" I think that's one of the main problems with this storyline on the whole; neither character is known for their broad scale of emotions. Kelly was better as a defrosting ice woman, trying to spurn Nathan's awkward advances.
     What made the zombie storyline so much worse was that it was predictable. You knew that Zombies would appear, that people would be infected, that the team would have to kill them. When the new probation worker was killed, it felt more tragic to me than overly funny because it was so damn predictable. Nothing about this episode added to the series or to the characters. Seth is the same now as he was before, as far as we can tell. None of the characters has learnt anything of any particular interest, and while fascinating to watch, the episode didn't have any obvious tension or power behind it.

Simon is strangely... bloodthirsty this episode. In any case
he felt more manly, which I assume was a nod towards his
character progression next episode. Touch wood.

     You wouldn't think that Zombies a bland script would make, but that's what happened here. In the grand scale of things, nothing happened, which was a shame because it struck right at the epicentre of the plotline that this series has been reluctantly centred on. I didn't care for the straight-played Zombies and the bland, bland, bland characterisations, and I can only hope that next week's pre-Christmas finale will sort things out.

Thanks.

NEXT WEEK: All of the villains from Series One return. Really. Oh, and Simon becomes Superhoodie. WOOOO!

Review: Misfits 3.6

Rudy has some membership issues.

A much more comedic tone this week, despite a lot happening in all of the subplots. As this series is eight episodes long, this episode wasn't the usual finale, and really it didn't at all feel like one. Regardless, Misfits continued on its rampage of outrage and mischief.
     Rudy gets off with a girl and then admits that it's a one-night stand. She uses her power on him, but he walks away hunky dory. Kelly and Seth have been having a... prolific love life. The team have been chilling, as their probation worker is obviously dead. Curtis' power begins to malfunction. Simon discovers via short-term premonition (and then experience) that Rudy has been given an STD, one that will cause his penis to fall off. Simon and Curtis try to help Rudy remember which of the three girls he had that night gave him the disease, but their search isn't productive.
    They manage to find what they believe is the flat in question, but despite Rudy's offering of flowers the girl turns out to not be the girl; simply the flat in which he did the deed. Finding suspect pictures, they track down "Amy Goodwin". Curtis' power troubles continue. Seth wants to take Kelly to Morocco. Curtis discovers that the reason he keeps switching back to Melissa is that he/she's preggers. Rudy, thinking he's found Ms. Goodwin, accidentally flashes a ten year old. Upon speaking with her, it's still the wrong woman - she's a lesbian. Curtis works out that he's probably the father of his own baby.

At least you're not Govenor of California

     On their way to find the last of the three girls, Rudy is cornered by a Policeman for indecent exposure. Getting the wrong end of the stick, Seth finds the positive pregnancy test and believes that Kelly is preggers, and that's why she doesn't want to go to Morocco. Soon after, Curtis becomes Melissa permanently. In police custody, Frudy berates Rudy for his macho attitude. Seth confronts Kelly and is reassured of her non-pregnancy, and is then told via phone that one of his associates has found the thing he's been looking for. They track the girl towards a nightclub. Seth gets what he wants - an unknown power from an old man.
     Rudy finds the girl and it's AMY MANSON!!!! I'm a fan. He gives a heartfelt apology over the club kareoke and Manson (Leia) eventually forgives him. Seth is mourning his dead girlfriend again. Curtis goes to Seth and asks him to take the power away to try and fix his condition. In return, Seth requests that Curtis use the power he's just collected to revive Seth's dead girlfriend..
    I found myself very apathetic about Kelly and Seth this week, as their storyline climaxed last week and kept butting in on this week's main plot. It was all well and good last forthnight, but this week's more humour-focused ramblings made it stick out a little. The main plot wasn't all that perfect either, and it certainly pales in comparison to this time last year. While 2.6 was a piece of shit on a high scale, it was still exciting and something that we'd been waiting for for a series. Where is the Superhoodie Storyline? Where is anything that we were promised in Series Two? I've certainly enjoyed this series, but the different, mundane powers just make this a lot less interesting.

"Outcasts"? No idea what you're on about.

     I think it's also notable that this is Misfits' first eight-part series, and like Being Human the series definitely feels much more lax without the stress of just two fewer hours. Overall, less has happened with any meaning ful scale. Again, in 2.6 the team were vaulted to international fame and power. Here, Rudy hunts around the estate for a girl he shagged and Curtis impregnates himself. Even the latter doesn't last for very long; I was hoping for a storyline that lasted over the remaining week, helping Curtis to grow as a character and complete the arc he began in 3.2. I suppose what I'm saying is that Misfits has lost its grandeur. Its pizazz. And without that to spark up its storyline, what has it got?
     Funny. But fluffy.

Thanks.

P.S. I really, really, really, really, really, really, hope that Amy Manson is a recurring character.
NEXT WEEK: Curtis revives a wonderous irish actress (Charlene McKenna in something else!) , and starts a zombie apocalypse.

Review: Merlin 4.10: A Herald of a New Age

Sir. Elyan cares for the Tormented Spirit.

Ah, Howard. You and I are bedfellows once again. I'm sensing a pattern here. Howard Overman's Third Episodes have generally been ridiculously bad, while his tenth episodes have been brilliant and revolutionary. This week set the pattern down, and Overman used his idiosyncratic skill with characterisation to make the episode worthwhile. While initially cynical, I found myself loving it by the climax for an episode that skirted around the formula and gave us something slightly more coherant than usual.
      After disturbing a Druidic holy site, Gwen's knighted brother Sir. Elyan found himself bashed by this week's Mind Control hammer, possessed by a tormented spirit that manifested itself as a drenched little boy. Like the usual villains on this show, the spirit wasn't after freedom or wealth, but instead wanted to... kill the king! What a surprise. As Gaius and Merlin tried to find out about the Spirit - actually telling Arthur about the spirit for the first time in the entire damn series - Sir. Elyan tried to kill Arthur in the way that every villain this series has been able to do - waltzing up to him and swinging a sword.
      With Agravaine there just to be a dick, Elyan ends up at large, fully posessed by the Spirit. With Gaius' help, Arthur realises that the Spirit is pissed because Arthur led a raid, commanded by his Dad, to kill everyone in the Druid camp. That night, he goes to the shrine and give a beautiful, heartfelt speech promising to respect the Druid's role in Camelot.

Arthur bore all.

     What this episode did that made it feel like something of a relief was to really use its characters. It's a damn shame that Elyan didn't actually get any development, seeing as he's a somewhat semi-major character, but that's the flaw with the posession plotline. While it was fleeting, there were a few references to Gwen which helped to prevent Merlin's trademark obliviousness to continuity. It was this, plus little things like Merlin actually cueing Arthur in on the Magic and Arthur actually believing his trusted servant that made this so much better on a basic level. Oh, and a strange absence of Katie McGrath. I'll just leave that there.
     I was reluctant, but this episode was a tad better than usual. It was by no means perfect, but a recovery effort from Howard Overman meant that on a fundamental level it was a lot more enjoyable. This series has enough problems on its plate already, and for now this semi-formulaic episode circumvented enough irritance to make me love it. Just stay away from that third episode spot, eh Howard?

Thanks.

P.S. No episode gallery. Not impressed. "gets to capping"
NEXT WEEK: The end of this stupid Gwen arc.

Review: Misfits 3.5

Jen is a coma victim with a difference.

If there's one thing that Merlin has done to me, it's made me detest "not in their right mind" plots. I can't stand them. In the space of a few weeks this particular trope has become such a personal pet peeve to me that it stains everything that wants to use it. However. Misfits as ever provided a brilliant subversion of the concept and executed it in a powerful, touching way. It was less of a spotlight episode for Kelly and more for Lauren Socha, whose performance as a completely different character threw me from the off, while the rest of the cast got a fiar share of development too.
     Power lender Seth went to the Community Centre to visit Kelly, and he was immediately set upon by Rudy. Later, Kelly had the misfortune to walk in on a dying coma patient with the power to Bodyswap, and soon she was trapped in the old body while the coma patient walked away. Coma girl goes to her boyfriend Dom's house, and tries to reveal her true identity. In the meantime, Kelly is standing Seth up. Dom (Nick Blood, Trollied) is incredibly freaked out, but Coma girl tries to rectify that by changing into her own clothes and making full benefit of her new, more buxom body.
     Comagirl (Jen) awakens to discover Dom gone, still waiting at the hospital bed. They argue, and Jen decides to switch off the machine. Dom, disgusted, leaves her. However, Alesha and Simon have recognised Kelly's body and take her back to the Community Centre. Jen ends up having to face Seth, who she rebuts. Later, Seth inquires about Kelly and Alesha discovers that she's in the Hospital. They track the source down, and discover the coma patient, working out that they've bodyswapped. Seth, pretending to be the patient's brother, is told that they're going to turn the life support off - and soon. They hijack the body and take it back to the community centre. As Rudy is sent to collect Jen, Frudy talks with her in the pub - and Frudy finds out about Jen's true nature.

Seth is worried for Kelly.

     Frudy guides Jen back to her body at the Community Centre, but the desperate woman stabs Shaun to escape. She grapples with Seth, who argue about relationships. Jen laments about how Dom doesn't love her any more, and Seth asks for her to give he and Kelly a chance. The Misfits reveal their powers to a dying Shaun and Jen finally agrees to return to her body.  Later, Seth gives Dom one last chance to see Jen before he cuts off the life-support. Seth is announced as "part of the gang" when Rudy learns his name and uses his car to dump the body of yet another probation worker.
     Other subplots were also interestng from a character perspective. Rudy revealed to Simon how he was put on community service; his clone battered someone. During an anger management session, Rudy's clone keeps threatening to emerge. While the clone waits outside, it discovers that the therapist is having some problems of her own, and as the more sensitive side can understand. Let's call him Frudy. The next morning, the Therapist gets it on with Rudy, to his apparent delight, at the same time that Curtis was experimenting with female mastrubation. Rudy discovers that Frudy is also having it off with the therapist.He promptly breaks up with her, causing a misguided Frudy to get slapped.
     What was it then, that distinguished this "not in their right mind" episode from all of the others I've watched in the past month? Acting, that's what. Lauren Socha is a clearly different character, and despite retaining her thick accent she still felt like Jen the coma patient over Kelly. Also, it wasn't a transfer done out of malice or of manipulation. It was a move of desperation, a natural human act. Despite this, it did feel quite similar to a lot of stories this series, which I feel is about change. The Misfits have changed their powers; the lead role has changed hands. Each of the characters has changed into something that has advanced their character. Rudy is more sensitive, Curtis more aware of his feminin side, Simon more aware of his superheroics and now Kelly being shown the things she takes for granted in life. I also thought that the double focus on both Kelly and Rudy/Frudy helped a lot to examine both sides of this theme.

Rudy and Frudy got Fruity.

     It could have been terrible, but Misfits delivered yet another moving episode that touched upon this series' key theme of change. Lauren Socha and Joe Gilgum were on top form and I'm really looking forward to next week's quasi finale.

Thanks.

NEXT TIME: Rudy gets an STD, Kelly is Pregnant and Curtis is a girl for keeps.
P.S. This episode's soundtrack was very heavy on the Anna Calvi. I approve.

Review: Misfits 3.4

What respectable time-travelling protagonist hasn't considered killing Hitler? Our lot at Misfits have, and based on a throwaway remark about such from last year's Crimbo special, we get this interestingly Character-oriented piece that throws our kids into a world where Hitler is Irish, Homosexuality is gay and where Godwin's Law does not apply.
      A somber old Jewish man, regretful of not having done something during the War, buys Curtis' old power and goes back in time to try and kill Hitler. He unfortunately fails, but instead gives Hitler advanced knowledge of the future when he drops his mobile phone. He returns to a world where the Nazis succeed and still rule over Britain. Kelly and Gary work under the Nazi-controlled community service, where Simon (conscripted) and Shaun work as Nazi officers. Shaun has dragged in Seth to discover people with powers and to create supersoldiers with them. Rudy is soon discovered by a Nazi raiding party. Curtis and Kelly are working under a resistance movement, and Curtis gives Kelly the mission of killing Seth.

Poor Catrin Stewart is killed by the Nazis.

     Simon is also working against the regime, and steals antibiotics to save the dying time-traveller. Rudy tries to join the resistance. The... Irish head of the regime receives ice powers (courtesy of a returning Catrin Stewart!), and once again kills Gary. Kelly goes to poison Seth, but she finds that he has tried to hang himself in the meantime. Kelly saves his life, to Curtis' anger.
     The Nazi general, Smith, decides that Seth needs to see the benefits of their regime. As they take Seth to a more luxurious prison, they are stopped in the road by armed figures wearing Hitler masks - The resistance. They drive off with him. Smith is pissed and orders the entire estate searched. Simon helps the Jewish man recover as this universe's Kelly and Seth do some more flirting. Smith has, however, discovered their hiding place and the Rebel base is raided. Rudy and Simon appear nonchalant, but there's a tense scene where Shaun discovers Seth and Kelly's hiding place. The resistance, sans Kelly, are all arrested.
     The Jewish guy awakens just as Shaun discovers his letter, and Seth takes the power from him. Smith gets their just in time, and tells Simon to kill the Old Man to threaten Seth into destroying the power. Simon refuses, and so Smith does it anyway. Seth is then forced to put the power back into Curtis, whom he kills.  Alesha comforts Simon. Kelly, dual-wielding shotguns, raids the Community centre. Simon and Alesha help out. They break out Seth, but Smith has soon returned, and the gang are soon cornered by Nazis. Kelly distracts them with a "grenade" (a drinks can) and there's a firefight. Seth reveals he never gave the power away, and gives it to Kelly with a kiss, who returns to the 40s and nuts Hitler to save the world. Upon her return, she's the only one that remembers the Alt.Verse. She goes back to Seth, who takes the power from her and gives her back her rocket scientist power.

Smith and Shaun

     One thing that I found rather jarring was that this was a very, shall we say, British Nazism. None of the characters expressed any right-wing ideologies; it was more of an abuse of power thing. I never expected them to create a realistic study of what life would be like under a Nazi-regime Britain, but I felt like it didn't exploit that aspect as much as it could have. In many ways it felt rather juvenile about the whole thing, keeping the idea of the Nazis very much in the terms of today's modern slang terms. This was true from the first revelation of these events; Kelly standing on a street corner muttering, "Bloody Nazis". It wasn't Nazism - just an authoritarian regime. The Virtue Teens felt more oppressive. And the reason for the change doesn't feel right either. Hitler gets a mobile phone... so what? Even I, an Electronics student, find a lot of microcircuitry indecipherable. How would 21st Century data storage on a micro-circuit inside a rather basic mobile phone be able to let the Nazi's win the war? Also, it's all very... local. Smith comes to this estate, with our central characters. The plot revolves not around a multi-nation empire spanning over the breadth of the civilised world, but on one small section of urban Bristol where for some reason, everyone speaks English.
     As far as characters were concerned, this episode felt very transitionary. Both Seth and Kelly's and Alesha and Simon's relationships felt important, but one seemed to pass over to the other. Unlike the tease between Kelly and Nathan in the first two series, I feel that this relationship is being pushed a lot more, sometimes to the point where it overdid other areas. And, at the end of the day, it was the only character work in this episode that actually had any ramifications. 

Rudy and Rudy help to save Seth.

     The new setting allowed for yet more reinvention of the characters and their interactions, which I felt dragged away from the characters' progress. It was an interesting hour with some brilliant concepts, but a lot of them weren't translated that well. It was another typical episode of Misfits that held my interest throughout and at times made me jump up and down in joy. It just fell apart in the details.

Thanks.
    
NEXT WEEK: A Seth and Kelly episode.

Review: Misfits 3.3

"Can I be your best friend?"

The Superhoodie storyline encompasses Misfits; as it's only arc it gets a great deal of plot attention. While the first two episodes of the series touched upon undeveloped characters, it's only typical that a Simon-centric episode would now have to focus on Superhoodie. In certain ways it had a Kick-Ass vibe - a relatively powerless Superhero-wannabe that gets in way over his head. It also did well something that its weekend comrade Merlin effs up all the time - the mind control plot.
     Superhoodie saves a comic book nerd, Peter, from being attacked. Alesha discovers that Simon has been off galivanting as Superhoodie and is not pleased, worried because she's seen Simon die. The Misfits and a group of thers, including , are forced into a community support conference, after which Simon accidentally reveals his identity to him. Despite being told to forget him, they chat the next day and he discusses his love for Superhero comics. It soon develops that, unknown to Simon, the nerd has the power to make anything he draws come true - including the entire conversation that they have.
     After Rudy manages to sneak his double past Shaun, the mind-controlled Simon becomes bezzie mates with Peter. To this end he learns about the Lair and Peter makes him break up with Alesha. Rudy tries to convince her that Simon's gay. Alesha discovers his drawings and works out Peter's mind control. In his desperation, he draws a new scenario. Kelly and Seth do their weekly flirting, just before the gang corner Peter. This, however, is also scripted; Superhoodie arrives to beat up the team.
     Kelly is spurned by Seth, who reveals that the girl at the cemetary from last episode was his girlfriend, who he feels responsible for the death of. Alesha uses perception to see that Simon is sharing comics with Peter, and so the gang head to his flat and start tearing up the drawings controlling him. He comes to, feeling incredibly guilty and making amends with Alesha. Simon confronts Peter, telling him that Superheroes are a fantasy. Just as all seems normal, it appears that Peter has reinvented himself as another Superhoodie.

Seth is guilty about a past love.

      Peter takes Alesha hostage but Simon arrives just in time; in the scuffle Peter is killed. His body is burnt where he died - the same place where Simon will later dies. Returning to the lair, Simon discovers that the whole event was scripted by Peter.
      The central plot is a beautifully paced tragedy of a man desperate to be loved by an idol, going so far as to die in the same method as he. Simon didn't get a lot of time to shine because of his mind-control, but his Future Persona is certainly starting to show through and I'm sure we'll see the result of that by series' end. It's interesting to compare this to Merlin, not only because I watched that recently but because Misfits uses a lot of its tropes to better effect. The main couple (a white, heroic figure and a mixed race girl) break up for a short period of an episode, both of whom are destined to be together. Where in Merlin it felt like an unwelcome and unrealistic excursion, the dynamic nature of Misfits meant that I still wondered whether they'd be together at the end.
       The pace of the episode did throw me somewhat; the final showdown with Peter felt a tad rushed and not very tense. However, as it was "scripted" by a character like Peter, I think that this structure was even more genius - it was as perfect as he would expect it to be. It's little things like this that make me really love Misfits, and the comedy moments this week - provided by Rudy - were as top notch as ever. I  loved Rudy's suggestion that Superhoodie was Shaun, which was my favourite theory last year. The Seth Plot is an interesting addition, and nothing that Misfits has really done before. It's developing quite nicely, and I think that as this long series goes on it'll develop into something brilliant. Presumebly it'll become more important when we finally hit a Kelly-centric episode.

Peter's demise.

      Misfits 3.3 had me on the edge of my seat with a plot that stroked the arc in terms of both plot and characterisation, delivering a script scultpured by the minds of its characters. It was tragic and funny, brilliant and barmy, poignant and parodic. Iwan Rhuon is a classic talent and we're lucky to have him on boy.

Thanks.

NEXT WEEK: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE!

Review: Misfits 3.2

Curtis uses "Melissa" to get running again.

One of Misfits' great virtues is that it isn't afraid to ridicule its own characters. This week was a centric for Curtis, and opposed to his heroic episode in Series One this week decides to focus very much on the more negative sides of his character that shone through in Series Two. It also confirmed my feeling that Seth, originating in the Christmas Special, is going to become a much more important character. I'm still a little put off by the developmental focus, but that's really because the series is making up for Simon and Alesha's heavy development in Series Two.
     Not content to lead a life without his old passion, Curtis uses his power to enroll in a women-only running team. As "Melissa," he meets Emma, a fellow runner, who then flirts with him in his male form, blissfully ignorant of their encounter. Kelly, using her specific knowledge of rocket science, helped to fix Seth's car. Meanwhile, Alyssa is then being hit on by social worker Shaun. Talking to Emma as Melissa, Curtis accidentally finds out that she thought that he was crap in bed. He asks Alesha for advice and she reveals that even Simon is better in bed. She gives him a big verbal talking-down to, telling him that his ego is ridiculous. (Something that I pointed out last series). 
     Using his female self, he "experiments" with the female body. Kelly watches as Seth visits the grave of his deceased wife. Simon discovers Curtis' secret and Kelly sees it out of context, leading her to think that he;s cheating. Melissa and Emma get very drunk together, and he/she bonks her. Later, Curtis and Simon discuss hwo to clarify his sexual orientation, and then as Curtis he approaches her and apologises.

Emma

     After thoroughly creeping Melissa out, her coach then gives her a date-rape drug. Rudy wanders in and based on her drunken advancements starts acting like a cunning linguist, throwing Emma off in the process. Creepy Coach guy proceeds to try and rape her, but the drug's effect kicks in and his power is reversed, leaving Curtis wandering around in a golden dress while the coach is confused. Emma visits Curtis at his flat and they nearly recompense - but for Emma finding the golden dress and suspecting Curtis of bonking... himself.
    Kelly confronts Melissa about Simon in front of Alesha, and he has a big outburst before having to escape because of his "period". Simon reveals what was going on to the rest, and Curtis heads off to tell Emma about his power. She's been taken in by the Coach, and Curtis finds out, only just managing to save her from rape. He reveals to her the power and they chat. Emme goes away (the running club was temporary, it seems) and Curtis lives happily ever after. 
    It didn't feel like the writers knew what to do with Rudy this episode, and he just seemed to float in and out borrowing Nathan's background jokes. This came in addition to an episode where the characterisation was just excellent, and any problems I had with Curtis beforehand have all been quashed. I wish I knew the name of the actress playing Melissa, but when that's my only complaint then we're getting something right. Oh, and there was a strange focus on cunnilingus. Overman has a weird mind..

Kelly helps Seth with his car.

     For those who thought that Series Two focussed too much on Alesha and Simon... this episode is for you. Curtis' characterisation was fully explored for the first time since the first series, and it made up for the problems with his character that had emerged inbetween. Instead of a freak-of-the-week, we got a brillaitn examination of a person's self-identity and the bias within society, presented in a funny-as-hell context.

Thanks.

Review: Misfits 3.1

Rudy meets Curtis

Misfits returned with its third series, this time with new boy Joe Gilgun as leading man Rudy. The episode didn;t hesitate to return us to the action, providing us with fare that avoided the show's issues with its Freak of the Week formula. Left with the task of introducing our new lead and his entire personality, the episode does so perhaps too well, as the episode's "villain" feels overshadowed. Nonetheless, this Rudy-centric beginning to the series was an excellent comedy hour that set the stage perfectly for this extended series.
     As Simon, Kelly, Curtis and Alesha adapted to their new powers - Short-term premonition, the knowledge of a Rocket Scientist, the ability to change gender and perception respectively - new boy Rudy arrives and begins to woo his two fellow new Community Servicers - a brunette called Charlie and a vicious blonde with the ability to pause time. The blond frames the gang for assaulting Rudy after his multi-man exploits, but they manage to avoid police attention.
     Rudy gets on with the gang until he meets Alesha, who broke his heart back in college - something his clone is aggravated by. After a confrontation, Simon calms Alesha and Rudy effectively disowns his clone. The blond is angry when Rudy tries to frame her in turn, and so she causes Rudy to murder Charlie and then strings he and Alesha up by a rope. While the blond is killed by a kick to the face, Alesha and Rudy are saved by the clone.
     The rest of the gang help to bury the bodies, explaining that they're no strangers to accidental murder, but because they end up travelling in Rudy's stolen car, the entire gang is put back into orange jumpsuits. I hope this isn't because Overman couldn't handle having characters outside the Community Centre, because that feels a tad like a cop-out to me.

The old gang are re-suited.

     Rudy is the perfect replacement for Nathan, imbued with the same manic humour and sense of timing. An aspect of his character that I love is his clone, who exercises the deeper parts of his personality and allows us some excellent character development through his insecurities. His history with Alesha is also sure to stir up some trouble in future episodes, and it perfectly complimented this episode. Really I'm not used to this format of episode, as a lot of the episodes in Series Two were more serialised and this is more similar to the character-centric episodes of Lost or the first series of Misfits. Hell, next week is Curtis centric.
     Overall, 3.1 spent most of its time persuading the audience that the show didn't need Robert Sheehan, and I am fully, fully persuaded. The hour was a brilliant character study of our new character that integrated character development into the normal Freak of the Week plot, and thus I think that the next seven weeks are going to be incredible.

Thanks.

NEXT WEEK: Curtis gets his mac on. He doesn't really stay for long, does he?

Review: Merlin 4.3: The Wicked Day

Oh, go away!

Why, Howard Overman? What was the point of that? The usually brilliant Misfits writer often falls short when it comes to his Merlin contributions, and this episode follows that rule. All the way through Series Three I was looking forward to the death of Uther and the ascension of Arthur, and I even cheered Morgana on druing some occasions. Here it finally happened, and Overman still managed to make it feel like the bland, formulaic crap we have to suffer with from Merlin whenever it decides that plot is too good for us.
       This week saw Random Guest Star No 74 arrive to take a pot-shot at Arthur on his Birthday, drugging him after a crazy stunt and then attempting to assault him in his chamber. Uther was on hand to save the day and managed to beat off the intruder, but not before being stabbed in the heart. People begins to mourn the King's death before he has even died, and Arthur is desperate. I get the feeling that this would have more emotional potential for long term viewers if it hadn't occured every five episodes or so. Arthur, desperate to save his father, calls upon magic to save him. Merlin sees an opportunity.
      Using his ridiculous disguise from Queen of Hearts, Merlin played a sourcerer willing to help save Uther on the condition that all magic kind be able to live in peace. They agree on this promise, and it initially works. But, signposted for about half-an-hour, Morgana has sent Inspector Lynley in with a magic amulet and as a result Uther dies permenantly, Arthur forever positioned against Magic. For me it felt like a spit in the face, it really did. Not only did Uther's death - one of this series' defining dramatic moments - occur bhecause of another damn Morgana plot, it was also delivered in a way which removed any of the benefits of that action. Sure, this could be the stimulus that drives the series - Merlin trying to manipulate Arthur into loving magic. But I know Merlin, and I've been disappointed before.

Merlin's face, in the same position it was in for 90% of the episode.

     Merlin's disguise (which I suppose I should now call "Emris") was yet again a foul mixture of genuinely good acting and ridiculous clowning about. He was instantly recognisable, and the Scooby Doo-esque way that Merlin swapped between characters wasn't treated in a way that I felt I could appreciate. It isn;t simply a case of me being outside the target audience - this is a family show, one which was prepared to make its protagonists both orphans and deal seriously with it.
      If you can't tell from the tone of this review, I wasn't too pleased with The Wicked Day. It was enjoyable on a surface level but the fact is that it took one of the most important moments of the series and gave it the formula that every other episode of Merlin adheres to. I'd hoped that this series could get better, that it could avoid it now that it seems that we're making some progress. The steps have been taken to acheive this, but I wish they hadn't been down this particular path.

Thanks.

NEXT WEEK: Filler. That's it. Something about Dragon eggs.

Opinion: Misfits 3.X: Vegas Baby!

Misfits has always been about the rise of new young talent but it must be said that Irish Robert Sheehin really took the headline over the two years of the program that he inhabited. The franchise's Captain Jack figure, he was a comic protagonist in the first series due to his apparent lack of abilities. There we could emphasise with him while laughing at his ridiculously over the top personality. In Series Two Simon took over the role of protagonist a lot more with the more interesting SuperHoodie storyline, leaving Nathan with only one decent episode dealing with his past. After the second series, Sheehin decided to leave and thus Howard Overman produced this 8-minute short to take him out of the picture and introduce the new kid on the block, Rudy.
      While disappointing, Vegas Baby! is very funny and truly typical of Misfits' style. Featuring a newly-powered Nathan using his ability to make anything happen to win at the Casino in Las Vegas, he gets arrested when he forgets that there are only six sides on a dice and the short ends with him being dragged off after failing to ring Simon.
      This is an "Opinion" piece because there isn't really enough to call it a review in the true sense of the word. What we got would have been interesting as a segment of a longer episode but the main problem here was that the gross jokes Nathan is known for took up far too much time that could have been used more effectively. His storyline didn't end conclusively, and while it does leave it open for Sheehin to return it felt like a bit of a cop out. Finally, this wasn't so much as an "Introduction" to Rudy as a five second cameo appearance.
     However, and this is a big however, it did get me excited for the new series, and the trailer that followed it made me think of the series that Misfits could be if it didn't have to branch into Nathan-style humour every five minutes. So yeah. It wasn't that good as a standalone, but it was an entertaining few minutes that allowed Sheehin some fun before departure as well as making me more ready than ever for the new series in early November.

Thanks.

Review: Misfits 1.6

"If you could just see yourselves! It breaks my heart. You’re wearing cardigans! We had it all. We fucked up bigger and better than any generation that came before us. We were so beautiful! We’re screw-ups. I’m a screw-up, and I plan to be a screw-up until my late 20s, maybe even my early 30s. And I will shag my own mother before I let her… or anyone else take that away from me!” The tailend of Nathan's rooftop speech.

Nathan, in his finale suit, goes it alone.

Having used its five weeks to develop its characters without doing anything with them, there is very little plot left to form a finale. So, in a strange turn,1.6 gives us one of our first independant storylines that manages to be both conclusive and downright epic. A brilliant and appropriate twist on the Zombie genre, Series One's finale celebrates all of the series' attitudes while laying down plenty of leeway for Series Two.
     Given the power to control people through words, the all-sensible Christian Rachel has begun "recruiting" teenagers into a new society, known as Virtue. At first Virtue, with their pale and sensible style, simply bemuse the Misfits, but after Alisha and Curtis are turned, the others decide to do something. They try and rescue to two converts but Kelly is turned, Simon locks himself away with the frozen corpse of Sally and Nathan is cornered by the zombie-like converts. After being saved by the first appearance of SuperHoodie, Nathan apologises (to no avail) to a converted Kelly and then comes up with a plan. Dressing in a grey suit (the same one as in the Series Two finale, funnily enough) he sneaks into the Virtue-controlled community centre and takes Rachel hostage, culminating in an extraordinary speech (seen above). However, Rachel makes to escape, and in the struggle both she and Nathan fall to their deaths. In a shocking cliffhanger (as far as we were concerned at the time) it turns out that Nathan is in fact immortal and alive inside his coffin.
     This episode, while being a little more plot heavy than the rest of the series, still managed to fit in a lot of character development across the board, with the unfortunate exception of Curtis (who, as we'll see, has begun his evolution into walking plot device). Nathan and Kelly shared some touching moments and she was visibily distraught after his death, Simon giving her a compliation of all the videos he had recorded with Nathan on them. Simon, still mentally recovering from his accidental murder last week, became a little more secure and authoriative, gaining some well-deserved respect amongst the group. Alisha's transformation allowed us to take a look at her insecurities, with her "reasons" for having changed feeling a lot more sincere than anyone else's.

Rachel "recruits" using her persuasive power.

    The Virtue organisation itself is a fascinating concept philosophically. Who could complain about a system that makes people into productive members of society? The same system, unfortunately, that robs people of not only their free-will, but their ability to make up their own minds of subjective topics. It was a little disappointing that the plotline of this first series has been dumped so quickly, but the fact that the show instead gave us an intelligent social commentary is an idiosyncratic sign of its brilliance.
     A slightly irrelevant finale, Misfits 1.6 ties up Series One but leaves a lot open for the show's return, tempting us like a fish intently following a small grub on a fishing line. Overman delivers exceptional character development and dialogue in an extremely watchable hour of drama. 1.6 also ties up my Misfits reviews until the show's return in Autumn, so I'll see you then!

Thanks.

Review: Misfits 1.5

Sally "seduces" Simon at his house.

If there's one character for whom we see the effects of character development, it's most certainly the perplexing and complicated Simon, the first character to display his abilities and, until Series Two, to properly control them. As one of the most interesting characters in the show, his episode gives us a similarly intelligent episode that not only deepens and muddy's his character, but also advances the plot.
     Simon, alone and depressed, is chirped up when suspicious Sally makes advances and inquiries into his limited social life. She takes him out to a drink, pretending to be his girlfriend to annoy old school bullies, and then he invites her back to his house, where she steals some of his tapes. Eventually, in the Community Centre at night, Simon finds out about what she's been doing and, angry and protective, he accidentally kills her. Both Simon's psychotic turn and Sally's persuasive fascade are very well acted and come off as quite chilling. Simon undergoes a personality change between Series One and Two, and in Series One he slowly heads towards psychotic madness, elements of which can be seen here.
     As if to relieve the mind of the horrors of the main plot, the two subplots took on a lighter theme. Curtis, having saved girlfriend Sam in last week's temporal tale, tries to break up with her but suffers from a Groundhog Day loop caused by his own guilt. He eventually breaks out of it using one of Nathan's lines from Spiderman. Nathan was busy himself, having become the victim of a child affected by the storm, and given the ability to make any man act like a father to it (not a very good power in the long run, one would think). Ultimately the former was a nifty cleanup operation and the latter was fairly unnecessary, but both added a light touch to an otherwise skin-crawling episode.

Nathan takes a baby hostage.

     Despite having a lot going on, the episode kept a fascinating pace that ran all of the subplots smoothly into one another, climaxing them off one-by-one and ending with the grand finale of Sally's untimely death. In some ways it's a better finale to this series than the one coming up. Join me next week, when I finish off my Misfits reviews with 1.6.

Thanks.

Review: Misfits 1.4

Curtis lands six months in the past.

The best episode of Series One in terms of plot and character drama, 1.4 focuses on Curtis and explores not only his past, but the pasts of all the Misfits. It's a flashback episode, intertwined with some delicious Sci-Fi and the usual character comedy. While somewhat predictable in its sci-fi trapping, the episode's character moments (courtesy of Mr. Howard Overman) tied it all up with a pretty bow.
     Our main plot focus looks at Curtis, who goes to the community one day to find his ex-girlfriend Sam released from prison. Feeling regret about the events six months previous, his power kicks in and he is sent back to the dingy, Skins-esque nightclub where it all took place. Following his instincts, he runs from the police and flushes the drugs he's been given down the toilet, before having to face the angry drug dealer, who kills Sam.

Nathan irritates Beverly.

His Regret-o-matic (that's a cool name; I might use it more often) kicking in again, he follows a more thought-out course of action in which he stashes the drugs under a car-tyre and is able to continue with his athletic career. However, a jump back to the present shows the direct consequence of his actions; in this timeline, his Regret-o-matic wasn't there to save his friends at the community centre. Jumping back again, he gets himself arrested but takes all the blame off of Sam. Not that much of a complicated time-travel plot; simply a double case of Set Right What Once Went Wrong, but it fits quite snugly and it's unlike anything Misfits has thrown at us so far.
     Nathan happened to be committing his particular crime at the same time, harrassing bowling-alley worker Beverly (a name that Nathan mercilessly mocks). This is all played for humour, but there are a good few moments featuring Dexter Fletcher as Nathan's absent father Mike (later to be seen in 2.2.). Fletcher seems the perfect choice, a parallel to Nathan's carefree attitude but in a much more groggy and cynical state. We also saw a drunken Kelly get engaged to by her boyfriend while breaking into the car of probation worker Tony and his girlfriend Sally. We also see Simon get rejected by one of his friends, who texted him an invitation by accident. Unlike other shows, where this would just be fluff, a lot of this character work was useful in previous episodes or will be useful in the future.

Ex-girlfriend Sam is out of jail.

     Despite the series' Character-a-week format (at least in Series One), this episode really benefitted by involving all characters in the nightmare. It often helped soften Curtis' gritty, drug-fuelled fear sprint into something more deep and certainly more interesting to watch. It's a well crafted hour at that, with plenty of parallels throughout. As the series heads towards its end, this episode shows us just how good it can get.

Thanks.