I don’t even know these new characters—Pearl, Hal and Leo—who have invaded my beloved Being Human. I only met them in last week’s US premiere of season four of the UK series. So, why am I getting all misty-eyed over them? Either A) my cold, cold heart has melted due to repeated exposure to Russell Tovey‘s weeping or 2) I’m projecting my feelings for Annie, Mitchell and George onto the new trio.
To be honest, the Being Human experiment failed for Annie, Mitchell and George. In contrast, Pearl, Hal and Leo succeeded. So, as Leo passes on, and he and Pearl bid farewell to Hal, I couldn’t help imagining that’s the ending Annie, Mitchell and George deserved. Instead, Mitchell and George departed in such violent, tragic ways, and Annie is left to pick up the shattered pieces of the failed experiment.
Exactly how well Annie is coping is up for debate. I’m not such a big fan of goofy, slapstick Annie. I much prefer floating, “Avatar state” Annie, doling out justice and spirit world retribution. But, as Hal points out, Annie’s goofy “everything is fine” attitude is a mask, similar to his “everything is under control” mask. I’m going to put on my “this is not a total reboot of the show” mask and go over a few key plot points from “Being Human 1955.”
Leo’s health is still declining, but a voice on the radio tells him to journey to Barry Island to see the chosen one. Is it the voice of the Ghost of Future Eve, trying to set in motion a series of unfortunate events for her baby self? Has the timeline already changed by sending Leo and gang to meet Eve? Or were they always supposed to meet Eve, and she’s just doing her part? Or is the radio voice not Eve at all? She makes a later appearance on the TV, so I just assumed it’s her on the radio, as well. Either way, this sort of timey-wimey stuff gives me a timey-wimey headache.
Undeterred by such things, Leo, Hal and Pearl push their fabulous vintage car to Annie’s B&B. Annie has been lecturing Tom about following the rules of the house, which includes not hunting and killing vampires…unless provoked. Tom agrees, but instantly goes on the offensive when Hal knocks on the door. After some werewolf/vamp posturing and a few “Oh my god! I’m a ghost, too!” declarations, the group settles in and reveals why they’re there. Leo believes an angel told him to go to Eve for help prolonging his life. Annie makes a silly attempt at a ritual to focus Eve’s powers on Leo, but the only supernatural shenanigans are courtesy of Pearl, who’s having a difficult time letting go of Leo, the unrequited love of her life.
Coincidentally, Leo feels the same way, and sends Tom and Hal off on an important mission to secure a ring for his beloved. If you think the testosterone rage of Tom and the “bitch, please” attitude of Hal will make for an uneventful trip into town, you’re mistaken. Tom is none too pleased that there’s a wolf’s head mounted on the pawn shop wall, and it doesn’t take long for the owner to pull out a shotgun. Hal gives a lovely, haunting speech about the lingering side effects of killing people, and the owner backs down. The boys get the ring, but the wolf’s head stays on the wall.
Luckily, Leo gives Pearl the ring and they reveal their long-repressed love for one another, before Leo slips away and his door appears. Only, it’s not a single door. It’s a double-wide, which means Pearl’s door has finally arrived, too. This is where I started falling apart, as Pearl struggles to make her decision whether to stay with Hal or move on with Leo, while everyone else coaches her on what to do. In addition to projecting Annie, George and Mitchell onto the situation, I also couldn’t help projecting myself. People are always leaving me, to go off and do bigger and better things. Or I leave them, preemptively, to avoid the helplessness of being the one left behind. So, I was totally feeling for Hal, who realizes Leo and Pearl were the only ones standing in the way of his monstrous habits.
Since everyone asks Annie for favors before he or she dies, Leo asks her to take care of Hal going forward. And since Annie can never say no to these requests, she invites Hal to move in and join the cast as a regular. Hal’s not ready, though, and pays a visit to a crying Eve for a not-so-comforting soliloquy. That’s where the Ghost of Eve Future shows up on the telly and starts chanting “Do it! Do it!” as Hal contemplates doing harm to the rugrat. This is mostly silly, and I hope Ghost of Future Eve doesn’t make this a habit. Tom arrives just in time to tell Hal to take a hike, which he does, but not before paying a repeat visit to that trigger-happy shopkeep.
Thankfully, Tom, Annie and the baby show up and dissuade him from falling off the monster wagon. And also, thankfully, Ghost of Future Eve doesn’t show up on any of the electronics littering the store. Tom and Annie take Hal back home for a nice cuppa awkwardness and some biscuits. Thus, a new Being Human trinity is born. But what’s this? The store owner calls in the vamp police, who out Hal as an Old One. Somewhere in the distance, you can hear Hal say, “Old?! Bitch, please.”
I like Hal. I like Tom. I even still like Annie, goofiness and all. How the three gel as a team will determine how invested I get in this new incarnation, of course. Since the US is a few episodes behind, our UK site members can probably give us a better idea of how it’s going. For now, though, I’m still willing to go along for the ride. Which reminds me, does Hal get that fabulous car?
For more FBOTU coverage of Being Human, click here.
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I don’t even know these new characters—Pearl, Hal and Leo—who have invaded my beloved Being Human. I only met them in last week’s US premiere of season four of the UK series. So, why am I getting all misty-eyed over them? Either A) my cold, cold heart has melted due to repeated exposure to Russell Tovey‘s weeping or 2) I’m projecting my feelings for Annie, Mitchell and George onto the new trio.
To be honest, the Being Human experiment failed for Annie, Mitchell and George. In contrast, Pearl, Hal and Leo succeeded. So, as Leo passes on, and he and Pearl bid farewell to Hal, I couldn’t help imagining that’s the ending Annie, Mitchell and George deserved. Instead, Mitchell and George departed in such violent, tragic ways, and Annie is left to pick up the shattered pieces of the failed experiment.
Exactly how well Annie is coping is up for debate. I’m not such a big fan of goofy, slapstick Annie. I much prefer floating, “Avatar state” Annie, doling out justice and spirit world retribution. But, as Hal points out, Annie’s goofy “everything is fine” attitude is a mask, similar to his “everything is under control” mask. I’m going to put on my “this is not a total reboot of the show” mask and go over a few key plot points from “Being Human 1955.”
Leo’s health is still declining, but a voice on the radio tells him to journey to Barry Island to see the chosen one. Is it the voice of the Ghost of Future Eve, trying to set in motion a series of unfortunate events for her baby self? Has the timeline already changed by sending Leo and gang to meet Eve? Or were they always supposed to meet Eve, and she’s just doing her part? Or is the radio voice not Eve at all? She makes a later appearance on the TV, so I just assumed it’s her on the radio, as well. Either way, this sort of timey-wimey stuff gives me a timey-wimey headache.
Undeterred by such things, Leo, Hal and Pearl push their fabulous vintage car to Annie’s B&B. Annie has been lecturing Tom about following the rules of the house, which includes not hunting and killing vampires…unless provoked. Tom agrees, but instantly goes on the offensive when Hal knocks on the door. After some werewolf/vamp posturing and a few “Oh my god! I’m a ghost, too!” declarations, the group settles in and reveals why they’re there. Leo believes an angel told him to go to Eve for help prolonging his life. Annie makes a silly attempt at a ritual to focus Eve’s powers on Leo, but the only supernatural shenanigans are courtesy of Pearl, who’s having a difficult time letting go of Leo, the unrequited love of her life.
Coincidentally, Leo feels the same way, and sends Tom and Hal off on an important mission to secure a ring for his beloved. If you think the testosterone rage of Tom and the “bitch, please” attitude of Hal will make for an uneventful trip into town, you’re mistaken. Tom is none too pleased that there’s a wolf’s head mounted on the pawn shop wall, and it doesn’t take long for the owner to pull out a shotgun. Hal gives a lovely, haunting speech about the lingering side effects of killing people, and the owner backs down. The boys get the ring, but the wolf’s head stays on the wall.
Luckily, Leo gives Pearl the ring and they reveal their long-repressed love for one another, before Leo slips away and his door appears. Only, it’s not a single door. It’s a double-wide, which means Pearl’s door has finally arrived, too. This is where I started falling apart, as Pearl struggles to make her decision whether to stay with Hal or move on with Leo, while everyone else coaches her on what to do. In addition to projecting Annie, George and Mitchell onto the situation, I also couldn’t help projecting myself. People are always leaving me, to go off and do bigger and better things. Or I leave them, preemptively, to avoid the helplessness of being the one left behind. So, I was totally feeling for Hal, who realizes Leo and Pearl were the only ones standing in the way of his monstrous habits.
Since everyone asks Annie for favors before he or she dies, Leo asks her to take care of Hal going forward. And since Annie can never say no to these requests, she invites Hal to move in and join the cast as a regular. Hal’s not ready, though, and pays a visit to a crying Eve for a not-so-comforting soliloquy. That’s where the Ghost of Eve Future shows up on the telly and starts chanting “Do it! Do it!” as Hal contemplates doing harm to the rugrat. This is mostly silly, and I hope Ghost of Future Eve doesn’t make this a habit. Tom arrives just in time to tell Hal to take a hike, which he does, but not before paying a repeat visit to that trigger-happy shopkeep.
Thankfully, Tom, Annie and the baby show up and dissuade him from falling off the monster wagon. And also, thankfully, Ghost of Future Eve doesn’t show up on any of the electronics littering the store. Tom and Annie take Hal back home for a nice cuppa awkwardness and some biscuits. Thus, a new Being Human trinity is born. But what’s this? The store owner calls in the vamp police, who out Hal as an Old One. Somewhere in the distance, you can hear Hal say, “Old?! Bitch, please.”
I like Hal. I like Tom. I even still like Annie, goofiness and all. How the three gel as a team will determine how invested I get in this new incarnation, of course. Since the US is a few episodes behind, our UK site members can probably give us a better idea of how it’s going. For now, though, I’m still willing to go along for the ride. Which reminds me, does Hal get that fabulous car?
For more FBOTU coverage of Being Human, click here.
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