Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Being Humans, Season Four, Episode Three: Lil' Smokie

The episode begins at a flashback to Sally's death scene.  She fights back and then Donna appears and kills Sally's former lover saying that they make a good team. 

Sally, Aidan and Josh are in the kitchen and Sally is looking for the grimoire trying to find out what she is now and what she can do.  Aidan makes it clear that he thinks she should get rid of it.  Nora walks in and snarks about a decorating spell.  It seems that spells keep appearing and disappearing in the book.  Aidan tells Sally that blood magic comes with a huge price and Sally argues back that she only did blood magic to save Josh.  Sally says that she can learn to control what is inside her and asks everyone to just trust her.

Aidan and Josh are walking together and they are discussing the excuse Aidan made for Josh to be absent from work.  Aidan also tells Josh that his sister is in rehab.  Josh worries that it is because of what happened to him and Aidan says knowing the truth about vampires and werewolves kicked off a binge.  Josh of course blames himself and Aidan reminds him that he was incapacitated. As they approach the hospital, they see a van pulling in for Sapp & Sons.  Aidan explains that the funeral home opened under new management but that he has stayed out of what the new regime is doing.  Aidan announces that it is time to give the vampires a lecture on over dipping and leaves.  The van suddenly pulls up behind Aidan and two vampires jump out and try to kidnap him. Aidan holds his own until one of them puts a gun to his head.  Aidan is grabbed and pushed into the back of the van.

At the funeral home, Kenny pulls the hood off of Aidan's head and apologizes for the way that Aidan was grabbed. Kenny tells the vampires that he wanted Aidan to have an escort and not be kidnapped.  Aidan asks about Kenny's face and Kenny replies saying that time healed his face.  We also learn that vampires can procreate naturally now.  Kenny tells Aidan that it's time for a tour of the operation.

Josh is at work and is having difficulty concentrating because he is overwhelmed by the sounds.  A doctor calls Josh to help him with a patient and Josh struggles at first but is able to help the patient. 

Sally is still reading through her grimoire and she finds a spell to bring back her door.  As soon as she finds the spell it's starts to disappear. Sally quickly begins to say the spell and instead of her door, Donna appears.  Sally is shocked and explains that she was trying to call back her door.  Donna tells Sally that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. Sally realises that Donna put that spell in the book and asks if there is a spell to bring back a door.  Sally yells that maybe Donna didn't get a door but she did get a door.  Donna warns that they are more connected now than ever and the more Sally practices  magic, the closer they get.  Donna tries to bind Sally and take her back but Sally uses her power to set both Donna and the book on fire, causing them both to disappear.

Kenny takes Aidan to what he calls Boston's newest alive blood venue.  Kenny explains that the vampires who came back after the virus don't want to be skulking away.  Aidan asks Kenny how he pulled this off and Kenny says that he stepped into the vacuum using tricks he taught himself.

Nora is back from getting new wallpaper and Sally explains what happened with Donna.  Sally adds that the spells are burnt into her and are a part of her now.  Nora asks how Donna tricked her and Sally explains about trying to call up her door.  Nora is shocked to hear about Sally trying to call up her door and Sally explains that she cannot stay there for eternity.  Sally brings up the fact that Nora and Josh are going to move away soon and no one knows what Aidan is going to do.  Sally questions what happens in 100 years when the house falls down.  Nora tells Sally that she knows Sally will do whatever she wants but warns that there could be serious blow back.  Sally asks if calling up her door is going to tarnish her soul and turn her into a necromancer.  Nora says that no one can be corrupted unless they want to be corrupted. Nora starts hanging wallpaper and Sally looks at the scars on her abdomen. Sally tells Nora that she always admired Nora because she got out and she never did.  Nora assures Sally that she would have if she had more time. Nora suggests that with all of the spells, Sally could turn out to be the strongest of them all.

Josh is still at the hospital and is now talking to the doctor he worked to save the patient with.  Josh is once again having difficulty concentrating because the noise is overpowering. Josh claims to be having an allergy attack to get out of the conversation.  Josh heads outside to get some fresh air and he fixates on a gargoyle on the building.

Aidan is at the club with Kenny and he says that he is waiting for Kenny to ask for something.  Kenny says that he through him in the dumpster and ran.  Aidan points out that he almost killed Nora and Kenny reminds Aidan that he was starving.  Kenny says that he brought Aidan here to prove that he is not a monster.  Aidan acknowledges that what Kenny has accomplished is amazing.  Kenny asks Aidan to help him to run Boston but Aidan turns him down saying that leadership comes down to kill or be killed.  Aidan grabs his bag and leaves.  

Josh's body is covered in sweat and he is running on a trail.  When a man runs in front of him, Josh's predator instinct kicks in and he finds himself chasing the man.  Josh's eyes turn yellow and he barely manages to stop before attacking.


Josh returns to the hospital and the noise is once again overwhelming.  He starts running through the halls knocking things over and a doctor tells him that he needs to go.  Josh returns home to find Nora wallpapering the house.  He tells Nora that he is going for a run because it is the only thing that helps.  Nora asks what is going on but Josh simply says he has to go.  Sally pops into the room and she tells Nora that she is doing all she can for Josh.  Nora says that she was crazy to think that redecorating would make a difference. She wanted the house to make it look like a place where happy newlyweds live.  Nora says that the wolf is in Josh, just under his skin and she can see it in his eyes. Sally says she doesn't know what to do with Josh but that she can heal Nora.

Aidan is making his rounds in the hospital and remembers letting Kenny out of the glass room where he lived.  He remembers seeing Kenny play with a dog in the park.

At the club Kenny is with a human who offers up her neck to him.  Suddenly, his face changes back to its wounded state and she screams.  Kenny glamors her into forgetting his broken appearance.

Josh is running and two men start chasing him.  It seems that not only do they know Josh, they were tracking him.  The men show their fangs and it's clear that they are vampires.  Josh fights back and the vamps move away when Josh does a half change.  Aidan shows up and Josh says that he couldn't go home because he didn't want Nora to see him.  Aidan wants to know if Josh knew the vampires and Josh explains that when he fought he turned.  Aidan says that wolves cannot turn at will, not even purebreds.  Josh says that he doesn't know what's happening to him. Aidan gets Josh up to clean him up and Josh makes it clear that he cannot go home.

Nora is busy mixing a spell under Sally's direction.  Sally directs Nora to put the mixture on the scar and wrap herself up in a bandage.  Nora wonders about the side effects and Sally assures Nora that they didn't use blood magic.  Nora says that this shouldn't matter but the scars are a reminder of Will and what he did to her.  Nora exposes her stomach and rubs the paste on her scars, before wrapping a bandage around her middle.  Sally places her hands on Nora's abdomen and says the spell, before disappearing. 

Sally finds herself in the house and this time it looks like she is back in the 70's.  A party is going on and Sally pauses when she sees a young girl who she had previously seen having an exorcism done on her.  Sally frantically calls out to the girl but she does not answer.

Aidan approaches Kenny in the woods and asks about the attack on Josh. Kenny reveals that he sent the vampires to kill Josh.  Kenny  brings up Josh sending Aidan to kill him, when Aidan wanted to turn him  Aidan tosses a stake at Kenny and tells him to kill him for abandoning him and that he is going to leave his friends alone.  Kenny drops the stake saying he doesn't want to kill Aidan.  Aidan tells Kenny that he is done with guilt trips.  Kenny says that he is not afraid of dying because he was going to leave the cell on his eighteenth birthday.  Kenny brings up what Aidan told him about the relationship between a vampire and his maker being special.  Kenny says that he thought if Josh was out of the picture that Aidan would let him in and then promises not to hurt any of Aidan's friends.  Kenny lets his glamor drop and Aidan sees his true face for the first time.  Kenny admits that he can compel vampires and control what they see.  Kenny says that this is tiring and he didn't compel Aidan to forget about the attack on Josh because it wouldn't be real.  Kenny's phone rings and he talks briefly before telling Aidan that they have to go.

Josh is back home and Nora asks him to promise that there will be no more running at night. Josh says that it is not the vampires that he is worried about but the wolf because he can come out any time he wants.  Nora says that the wolf came out because he thought that Josh was going to be hurt. Josh say that he thought the wolf was going to take over completely because he had to fight to force the wolf back down and remain himself. Josh tells Nora that he liked it and felt powerful and strong.  Nora dismisses this as instinct and assures Josh that he is still himself.  Josh asks Nora not to drag Sally into this.  Nora promises that they are going to figure this all out. 

Josh is back at the hospital and approaches the doctor he ran into the day before.  Josh tenders his resignation and the doctor asks if he needs help, but Josh simply apologizes and walks away.

Kenny and Aidan return to the club to find Sarah staked on the ground.  They head outside and Aidan asks about the people Kenny crossed on his way up because he believes that this is a turf war. Kenny wonders if this was a hit on him.  

Nora is crying doubled over when Sally appears. Nora shows Sally that her scars have all disappeared. Sally tells Nora that what happens after and where she is goes is the price of doing magic.  Sally admits that she sees things she doesn't want to see.  Nora tells Sally not to do anymore magic if it's hurting her.  Sally hears a sound and she Nora head to the bedroom to see the wallpaper peeling again.  On the wall the words, "don't leave me" appear in blood.  Sally realises that the girl is sending her a message and that she is supposed to help her.

Aidan and Kenny look at the video footage from the club.  On the tape, clearly one person is doing the killing.  When Kenny moves in for a closer look, Aidan recognizes Suzanna.

This is only episode three of the season and clearly Being Human is off and running.  I particularly loved the interactions between Sally and Nora this episode.  Their shared pain at being victims of abuse was haunting and so real.  I do however wonder if they are going to have Nora realise that the disappearance of the scars doesn't erase what happened to her.

Since the beginning of the season, I have been worried that Sally's problems would be ignored because this has been what has happened in previous seasons to put Aidan and Josh's problems front and center.  By having Nora have intimate knowledge of what happens to Sally when she disappears, I am hopeful about Sally's issues not being pushed aside. 

Having Josh stalking a potential victim when he was running was pure awesome!  It makes me wonder how far Josh's animal side will go.

Finally, Suzanna kicking vampire ass - I totes saw that coming.