Alex was stuck in a box with a skull; Hal was in a bar locking the customers and staff in with him, and Tom was stocking up on weapons to kill a vampire. Things looked pretty grim heading to the series finale of the original Being Human (BBC America, Tonight, 10/9C) but don’t worry, they get worse!
Over the course of the first five episodes of Being Human’s final season, we’ve watched in dismay as it has been revealed that the series is wrapping up with the Biggest Big Bad of All – Old Scratch himself – The Devil (Phil Davis)!
He has manipulated Hal (Damien Molony), Tom (Michael Socha – soon to be seen in Once Upon A Time: Wonderland) and Alex (Kate Bracken) – once he realised she was there, feeding off the energy provided from the discord between werewolf and vampire.
Things come full circle from the season premiere. Once again we have a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost – the required personnel for performing the ritual to banish The Devil forever (or at least a hundred years). Unfortunately, there have been complications – like Rook (Steven Robertson) making some disastrous decisions (and alliances) in an effort to preserve the shadowy government agency he heads; the one that keeps supernatural creatures at bay.
The series finale, The Last Broadcast – written by series creator Toby Whithouse and directed by Daniel O’Hara – is both action-packed and emotionally nimble. We learn more about our triumvirate of supernatural characters than we have before, and get answers to some very important questions – the most important of which is ‘how can The Devil whisper in the ears of the entire world all at once’.
Speaking in terms of the technical, writing-wise, Whithouse comes up with clever and logical ways to extricate our heroes from their predicaments; delves into the characters’ lives with some poignancy, and figures out a way to reach a conclusion that both makes sense and is emotionally resonant.
O’Hara delivers an hour that moves like (you’ll pardon the expression) a bat out of Hell, while finding ways to meld in the key emotional beats without either slowing down or losing focus on the big picture.
In my review of the season premiere, The Trinity, I noted that the UK Being Human mixed drama, horror and humor with a unique cheekiness. That cheekiness is present in the series finale in some of the ep’s darkest moments – and in some of the brightest… Yes, there are some bright moments!
I have deliberately been vague about specifics in this review because The Last Broadcast pays off so many plot threads from the preceding five episodes that almost anything I could say would constitute some kind of major spoiler. Just about the only thing I can say is to quote Alex, early on, when she says, ‘$#!+’s getting real out there!’ And it is.
I don’t know if this was really the best time to end the series – it seemed to be perking along very well, thank you very much – but it goes out at the top of its game and flying its cheeky freak flag high.
Final Grade: A+
Photo by Huw John/Courtesy BBC America