Being Human (UK): Making History (S4 E7)

Being Human (UK): Making History
Season 4 Episode 7
Writer: Toby Whithouse
Director: Daniel O’Hara

This review contains SPOILERS!

Shades of the future past.
BEING HUMAN takes a welcome shift back to black this week, and it comes as no surprise that creator and executive producer Toby Whithouse was at the keyboard for this next-to-last episode of Season 4. Those of us who have been longing for BEING HUMAN’s return to the dark side and a look at the evil side of Hal’s nature were rewarded at last with “Making History.”

“Luckily you were there to help me through it. And now I’m going to return the favor.”
Foremost of the several interwoven stories in this episode was the revelation of the cruelty of Cutler’s (Andrew Gower) indoctrination to vampirism by Hal (Damien Molony) 57 years ago. Seeing the exact methods used to force Cutler past the point of no return actually moved me to feel somewhat sorry for the scumbag lawyer, at least until he gave back measure for measure to his vampire sire. Even then I couldn’t get over the feeling that Hal probably deserved exactly what he got, even if his potential gal pal Alex didn’t. After all, he may be a sweet and lovable, if rather uptight, soul these days, but back in 1955 and for hundreds of years before that Hal existed as a heartless murdering fiend. You can’t erase that fact just by shutting your eyes to it, as Annie has chosen to do. As it was with Mitchell, it’s important to remember the vicious appetite always lurking inside of a vampire, and how tormenting it must be for one of them to suppress their natural urges.

“Savior AND nemesis. Talk about your multitasking.”
Speaking of Annie (Lenora Crichlow), she’s been led through the door to the “other side” by the (supposed) ghost of adult Eve (Gina Bramhill) in order to witness the desolate future awaiting humankind at the hands of their vampire overlords. As much as I enjoyed the history lecture and the sightseeing tour through a deserted human/werewolf death camp, I don’t yet really understand adult Eve’s insistence that killing baby Eve would change humanity’s future for the better. If George and Nina’s little girl’s continued existence does not make her the savior as prophesised, then how will she become the savior by dying? Or is this just another tired Christ-like parallel? I can only assume that answers will be forthcoming in next week’s finale because it sure doesn’t make much sense right now. One thing I do suspect is that the answer to the Eve conundrum may end up with Annie resolving her very last unresolved issue here on earth, and that could mean much weeping and bidding a fond farewell to our favorite girl ghostie. To quote Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz, “People come and go so quickly here.”

“I will not let you take their world. We don’t deserve it.”
Tom’s (Michael Socha) plotline this week revolved around Cutler’s secret plan to trick the boy into transforming full moon style in the midst of a packed nightclub, and thereby reveal the existence of werewolves among us. You can’t help but be moved by our Tom’s childish delight at being invited out to a fine restaurant by his new “friend” Cutler. Tom’s unwavering optimism and determined attempts to try to fit in with humankind are so heartbreaking and so endearing. They bring out the mother in me; I find myself wanting to bake him cookies and introduce him to some nice girls that he can date.

Unfortunately for Cutler, his machinations go awry yet again (this vamp can’t catch a break, can he?). Although dozens of shocked humans do capture camera phone images of Tom after he’s morphed into his nasty wolf form, Hal and the newly-ghosted Alex arrive at the club just in time to release the trapped crowd and save the day. I doubt that Cutler was very happy about this development, as streaming video of a werewolf attack was supposed to be his “big surprise” for those long-awaited Old Ones.

I was beginning to think that the much-mentioned-but-never-seen Old Ones were going to be forever held up on the tarmac waiting for flight clearance, or wherever the heck they’ve been all season. But surprise! An odd-looking assortment of hungry vamps FINALLY waltzes in during the last seconds of the episode. But unless these folks deliver a slam-bang mythic payoff in the final episode next week, I am going to be sorely disappointed by the preceding seven episodes’ worth of setup.

Luckily, Whithouse is the author of next week’s finale, so I suspect that most of the loose plot threads will be neatly tied up, with just a enough strings left dangling to transition into a now-confirmed Season 5. Fingers crossed for some cool surprises!

Read my review of the previous episode HERE.