Monday, January 2, 2012

Being Human U.K. Season Two, Episode Five:

This episode opens with a flashback from 1969. Mitchell is lying on a bed covered in blood.  When he sits up, he finds a dead woman lying next to his bed, also covered in blood. In the hallway, he finds another woman, who is also dead and covered in blood. He hears a toilet flush and hides, only to have Herrick come out of the room.  Mitchell asks where they are, and how they ended up there, and Herrick asks if he cannot remember the party, the four hour drive, and the girls.  Mitchell says that they have to get out of there, but Herrick tells him that they have to clean up, and that he does not have people to take care of this mess, because he killed the mother of the head guy in London. Herrick leaves Mitchell and tells him to do what he can, because he has to find their car.  Mitchell straightens the apartment and washes off as much blood as he can, wrapping the bodies in sheets. He then runs down the stairs to leave the apartment, when he notices cops banging on one of the doors. Mitchell then forces himself  and a woman into another apartment, and asks if there is another way out. The police knock on her door, and ask her if she has seen anything suspicious. When she says no, they tell her to stay in the apartment, because there was a murder upstairs.

In the present time, the police knock on the door of the house and charge up the stairs.  They grab Mitchell, as he asks what he is going on, and speed off with him in their car.  When Annie asks what he has done, George responds, "how far back do you want to go." William shows him a man locked in a room and explains that he is a pedophile and that he wants Mitchell to kill him.  "I have a line of guys in there begging for the opportunity, I figured that you might enjoy this."  Mitchell tells him that he is wrong because he is clean and does not kill anymore. "But you're a vampire, is that even possible?" William asks.  Mitchell tells him that he is sorry that he could not be of more assitance and leaves.

Back at the house, George and Annie are talking about magazines, and George tells her that Sam has a daughter.  Annie tells him that she didn't know that Sam had a kid, and that it is quite the responsibility.  When Mitchell enters, they ask if he is okay, and Annie quickly tells him that Sam has a daughter.  Mitchell simply says, "figures," and George is immediately upset.  Mitchell replies, "I didn't mean anything by that. It's just the way you guys are together. Single mothers dude."  George walks out and Mitchell says that this is textbook rebound, because he is obviously still in love with Nina.  

At Sam's apartment, Molly opens the door and tells George that he has dog breath.  She is not at all impressed with George's gift. When Sam introduces George to her mother, she walks by and refuses to acknowledge George at all.  When George asks if her mother spent the night, Sam says that they share the apartment. George tries to have a seat and Molly tells him that this is where her father sits. When he shifts position, she tells him that this is where the cat sits. 

Back at the house, a woman opens the mail slot and asks if Annie is going to let her in.  Annie is shocked that she can see her but lets her in anyway.  The woman walks in holding a child and Annie stumbles and says, "you're uh a ghost." Molly learns that Sykes told Kathleen all about her, and that she is a celebrity, because she has resisted death four times.  Kathleen tells her that she has been dead for about a year, and that the baby will remain a ghost until they cross over.  She says the slum lord responsible for their death is in court soon, and if he gets sent to prison then they are out of here. Kathleen points out that Annie has her own place and seems very responsible.  She asks Annie to watch the baby, because she has met a dead fireman and does not want to scare him off on a first date. Kathleen says that there is no one else that she can ask, and that she does not have to worry about hurting him, because he is already dead.  Kathleen tells her to keep him clean and to keep him cool because ghost babies prefer it that way.  

At the funeral parlor, Mitchell is looking through paperwork and Campbell walks into the room and says that he has been dreaming about his ex.  Campbell says that he tried to recruit her, but no one would show him how and so she died.  He goes on to say that he had not dreamed of her in 15 years and that little things are starting to come back to him and he is scared.  Mitchell tells him that he has to stick it out, and that it happens, but that eventually it will stop.

In another flashback, Mitchell is back in London.  He ties Josie up after he notices that she wrote the word help on the window.  She asks him what his motive was for killing the girls, and he tells her that he did not have one. When Mitchell looks at the pictures on the mantle, he notices that she is an only child and she asks him if he killed his parents as well.  Josie goes on to ask how many people he has killed, and Mitchell responds, "more than a hundred, less than a thousand."

Lucy meets Mitchell on the street, and they confirm their dinner date for the next day. When Lucy walks away, she meets Kemp around the corner, who tells her that what is going on is an interesting mating ritual.  Lucy tells him that this will not end in mating, and that she signed on to discover the genetics of evil. Lucy asks, "if he is clean as he says he is, what's the urgency?"  Kemp responds that they have a duty to future generations, as well as to those already lost."

In another flashback, Josie asks Mitchell if he feels any remorse.  She tells him that she is not scared of him, at least not as scared as she probably should be.  Josie asks Mitchell if he wants to know her name and he screams shut up.  Mitchell says that he had to kill them, and that he didn't have a choice. In frustration he gags her.


Sam and George walk Molly to school.  George says that he has made disastrous first impressions before, and that this has turned out to be the worst.  Sam says that he did fine, because Molly bit the last man she introduced her to. Sam tells George that she lives with her mother, because she cannot afford to rent anywhere else.  George says, "How ever bad a prospect you think you may be, I am far crappier. I couldn't even hold down a job at that shitty language school."  

Back at the house, George walks in to find Annie walking the floor with the baby. When he asks what that is, Annie tells him a baby, one of mine a ghost.  Annie complains that she cannot find the off button and hands him over to George.  The minute George holds the baby, he stops crying. George asks the baby's name and Annie does not know. "I am going to ask you a very serious question," George says,  "Did you steal this baby out of a supermarket trolly?" Annie says that she didn't and that a baby is the last thing that she wants.  George tells her that a baby was on his old to-do list.  When Annie says that he can still have that, George answers, "no other people get to do that. We're not other people anymore."

At Lucy's, she is cooking supper while Kemp watches.  He hands her a stake and asks her to hold onto it for protection.  "Be careful, there is an attraction there and that can make him volatile and unpredictable", Kemp says.  

Back to the flashback where Josie has managed to loosen her bindings unbeknownst to Mitchell.  When she runs into a cop, she bring him up to the room. It turns out that the man in the uniform is Herrick. When Mitchell asks what took so long, Herrick says that he had to get a uniform just to make it through the front door.

In present day at the house, Mitchell is holding the baby and Annie asks if he ever wanted children, and if it bothers him that he has a very long lifetime without kids.  Instead of answering, Mitchell turns the question around on Annie.  George walks into the room to find Annie pretending that she is him to amuse the baby.  Annie says that she is going to take the baby for a walk, and so George asks Mitchell to hang out. Mitchell says that he has plans with Lucy, and that the wait is worth it, because they are finally getting somewhere. George ask why what Mitchell is doing with Lucy is fine, because believes that Mitchell is implying that he going to fast with Sam.  Mitchell tells him that he is indeed going to fast with Sam, and that there will be another Nina someday.  George says that Sam may be his only chance for a family, and that Nina is the opposite for what he needs. Mitchell responds that he needs someone that gets him and accepts him for everything that he is. He goes on to say that he once had someone who knew everything about him, and George points out that this was forty years ago.

We get into yet another flashback, with Mitchell tying the Josie to the bed. She says, "Mitchell can you do me a favour? Can you do it? Can you kill me, cause that is how this ends.  Not him, I prefer you to do it if you can."  When Mitchell walks away, she says, "I know that you're not like him, and that you want this to end."  Mitchell says that "you have to feed the monster, because otherwise this panic creeps in. You start seeing the faces again, and you think that you've forgotten them, but they come back.  The only way to stop them is to kill again.  You see, it's not an addiction, it's cowardice. It's not being able to face the alternative".  She asks him if he ever tried to stop, and he walks out of the room.  In the living room Herrick tells him that he is going to have to take him out in handcuffs, because that is the only way to get passed the cops.  He then goes on to ask about the girl, but Mitchell tells him that Josie is cool.  When Herrick volunteers to do it, if Mitchell does not have the strength, Mitchell stops him and says that he has it under control.

At the school, George rushes to meet Molly and Sam.  He hands Molly the same lunch that he had every day as a kid, and she hands it back to him and walks away. Personally, I don't blame her because pickle and cheese sandwiches sound anything but appetizing. Back at the house, the baby is losing his mind, and Annie cannot get him to calm down. She ends up finally telling him a ghost story, a la Alfred Hitchcock no less,  and he calms down.  George announces that he wants to ask Sam and Molly to move in him. George says that Same will be with him and when he stumbles regarding Molly, Annie offers up her room. Mitchell responds, "no, not in a million fucking years. This woman is wrong for you."  George says that they love each other, but Mitchell counters with, "no, you feel sorry for each other. What, you have known each other for like two weeks. Why is it that rushing in has not leaped into anyways head."  Mitchell asks why Annie isn't going to say anything, and she points out that this is a family home and would make a wonderful atmosphere for her baby.  Yep, now it's her baby because she believes his mother has abandoned him. George points out that Mitchell wants things to stay the same, because he is not going to grow old.  Mitchell says, "I'm sorry, but they're not moving in. Not under my roof, and that goes for casper over there."

Upstairs, George is packing.  When Annie asks him what he is doing, George says that, "I want Sam to be a part of my life, and if that means losing a friend, that's what I have to do."  Downstairs, Annie is sitting in the living room, and Kathleen pops in and asks for her baby back.  Annie refuses to give him back, because she believes that Kathleen abandoned him, but Kathleen simply pops the baby out of Annie's arms.  When they finally leave, Annie is clearly heartbroken with the emptiness of the house. What I did not like about this part of the story was the gender essentialism.  George made a point of suggesting that all  women want a baby but Annie denied this.  How is it that after a simple day and a half of babysitting that Annie so radically changed her mind?  Umm year, back to the whole womb means baby routine cause that's what women are meant to do don't you know.

When George shows up at Sam's place, he recommends that they move in together today.  Sam tells him that they don't know enough about each other, but George says that he is tired of moving slowly through life, and that he wants to be a family with Molly.  Sam tells George that she has to think about it and speak to Molly about her feelings.  What woman in her right mind wold not be running scared if a man makes that sort of suggestion after they have only been dating two weeks.  His suggestions should be ringing all kinds of alarm bells. I suppose we should be thankful that she said that she would consider it.

At vampire headquarters, William is waiting for Mitchell.  He tells Mitchell that he is going to give him another chance to go after the pedophile, and says that it is time that Mitchell understands the nature of their relationship. William threatens to have all of the vampires rounded up and burned.

In yet another flashback, Herrick says, "We've gone through the looking glass Mitchell.  All of those commendable qualities like mercy when you're human is an indulgence now. I am going to tell you a secret, but I think you already know it. Becoming a vampire does not change your personality. That's just a little lie we tell newcomers to help them through their first kills.  It does not change the personality, it liberates it. A vampire is the only truly free man. All of his darkness, all of his excesses, they can run amok. He wants a girl, take 20. He wants a boy, go ahead -- just give the place a bit of a hose down after.  The world is his, the only limit is his imagination."  Herrick goes on to tell Mitchell, that he agreed to take him, and leave all of his men behind when he was turned, because he could see that Mitchell would be a great man, an orphan maker. He then tells Mitchell to go and kill that girl.

In the apartment of the pedophile, the man turns around and asks Mitchell if he is someone's dad.  He says that every time he thinks he has beaten it, that it comes back.  He claims that he is going to get help.  Mitchell says, "there was a time when I would have killed someone like you, but I have to lead by example now. Tomorrow you are going to go to the police station and tell them everything. You need to go to prison, because you will be safer in there with 500 murders than with me."  Mitchell returns to Vampire headquarters to find William getting a blow job.  He tells William that the deal is off, but William suggests that Mitchell is just going to a rough patch, and that the is looking like a dog that has been switched to a diet of dry food. "You see there is a natural order to all things, and you are upsetting it. This absence this sudden morality, that's not who you are. Now go back and put that animal to sleep." Mitchell slides a lock through the door.

In yet another flashback, Mitchell enters the room with Josie and his eyes have completely dilated.  She screams loudly, and the scene shifts to William dead on the floor, covered in blood. It is clear that Mitchell fed on him, because he is covered in blood.  Mitchell goes running into the street and has another flashback of him and Herrick leaving the building in the past.  When Mitchel looks up, Josie can be seen banging on the window.  

Mitchell arrives at Lucy's house covered in blood.  He starts to tell her that he was attacked, and she tells him not to lie to her.  Mitchell then says that he is a vampire, and is surprised when he discovers that she is not scared.  Lucy says, "I thought that you were abstaining, I thought that you were safe."  Mitchell tells her that he is, and that there are people out there who don't believe that they can change, and that they want to make vampires savage again. "I can't allow that to happen, I have to protect all of us, all of you."  Lucy says that this is just all lies, and Mitchell says that he has gone clean before, and that if the conditions are right, then he knows that he can move forward.  "One more chance is all I need, I can do this but I cannot do this alone. Please, I'm begging you, save me", he says to Lucy

In yet another flashback, Mitchell returns to the apartment and asks Josie for help because he cannot help himself.  She tells him that her name is Josie. and holds his hand.  In the present day, Lucy and Mitchell begin to kiss. The scene flashes back and forth between Mitchell and Josie making love, and Mitchell and Lucy making love. When Mitchell is asleep, Lucy crawls on top of him holding the stake, but finds that she cannot kill him. Lucy lays down next to him instead.