Monday, March 04, 2013

My Review of Being Human's 5x05: "No Care, All Responsibility"


Written by Sarah Dollard
Directed by Daniel O’Hara

Alex: “What the hell are you?”
Captain Hatch: “I’m only the fucking devil, sweetheart.”

Now as exchanges go, that is definitely the best one that Being Human has ever done. It even managed to surpass George’s “gayest ninjas” lines from the first series and it was more than a good way of emphasising that absolutely everything has gone to hell. Hal might be the one with the worst lock in ever but it’s Captain Hatch who has finally risen and he’s managed to do it in style here.

I know some people have been frustrated that the gang except for Alex haven’t been paying closer attention to Hatch’s antics all series long but here tonight, their lack of attention paid off when Natasha’s death became the very thing that managed to sever Hal, Tom and Alex’s friendships apart in rather devastating way.

I don’t doubt by sometime next week, the gang will be reunited and do battle with Old Nick himself but right now, things are looking pretty dire for the gang as they’ve all managed to get themselves in some dodgy situations.

Alex had been the one who suffered from confronting Hatch by herself when he put her inside her own coffin and while it was a tad reckless of her to go up against the guy without Tom and Hal, it did make sense for Alex to at least try. She promised Natasha that she was going to make Hatch and she’s been a fly in the Devil’s ointment all series anyways whereas both Tom and Hal have played into his hands.

The one thing I will say is that while being a ghost (Alex still is one, right?) shouldn’t keep her in her own coffin, the absolute horror Alex showed when she realised where exactly she ended up was beautifully done. As punishments go, it’s one that a lot of shows like to do but usually the victim doesn’t tend to be dead already. I can’t wait to see how Alex will get herself out of this one.

Then there’s Hal. I’ll give the man his due – he really tried to stay off the blood and not go down his murderous ways. In fact the whole situation with Natasha, whilst a touch sleazy did actually make some practical sense. I didn’t enjoy seeing Hal drinking blood from the girl but it was a better alternative than massacring all of Barry and had things been a whole lot different, it would’ve been the perfect solution in order to keep Hal’s dark side at bay.

Unfortunately for all of the gang, not only did Natasha turn out to be a trap by Mr Rook and Captain Hatch to drive a wedge between Tom and Hal and take Alex out of the equation but as a guest character, she was one of the best the show’s ever done. In fact, I think Natasha’s genuine conflict over destroying the trio and her actual feelings for Tom are what made her sympathetic as well.

Tom genuinely seemed to think he had met another perfect girl, in spite of his initial conflict with his feelings for Allison and inexperience towards sex in general. I know it’s a long shot, but there’s a part of me that’s kind of hoping that Natasha didn’t go through her door but sadly, I think she did. Still her death at Hatch’s hands (and Hal being in the wrong position at the wrong time) really did bring about hell in a big way.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the final episode will actually solve this whole storyline with Hal/Tom/Alex vs. Captain Hatch and perhaps Mr Rook but either way, this tension filled episode definitely implied that the outcome really is that unpredictable. Aside from actually having withdrawals and later attacking that pub, I expected Hal to be the one who killed Natasha. I’m certainly glad that he didn’t and tried to save her, even if he failed.

Also in “No Care, All Responsibility”

We finally got a flashback where Rook rescued Natasha as a child and developed a fatherly type of bond with her. It still didn’t stop him from using her for his own end though. The title of this episode came from a motto of Rook’s too.

Hal: “They’re not showtunes. Gilbert and Sullivan wrote operettas, not musicals.”
Alex: “I’m so embarrassed for you right now.”

This episode did give us some Halex moments with a kiss between the pair and a discussion of Alex’s bra of doom.

Alex (re Natasha): “She made you feel feelings?”
Tom: “Yeah.”
Alex: “What a bitch! You should stake her anyway.”

Hal: “You know what I am?”
Natasha: “I’ve been around your lot before.”

It’s nice that this episode confirmed that Mr Rook was aware of Alex, considering that he didn’t seem to take her being mentioned seriously in the last one.

Alex (re romance): “You really are a bit rubbish at this, aren’t you?”
Hal: “It would seem so.”

Natasha (to Tom): “You’re not stupid, stupid. You just think the best of people. You have no idea how rare that is.”

The lovely Natasha Miles was played by former (and returning) Skins actress, Kathryn Prescott. It’s nice to see her on telly again.

Alex (to Hal): “It’s over because you didn’t even ask us for help. Tom made you swear on our friendship and you didn’t once tell us you were in trouble.”

Mr Rook: “I do my job. It’s what I’ve always done.”
Natasha: “I’m human. It’s your job to protect me.”

Standout music: Hal singing Gilbert and Sullivan’s “I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General” and Filter’s “Hey Man, Nice Shot”.

Hal (re Natasha’s death): “I didn’t do this. I need you to believe that I didn’t do this.”
Alex: “Every time I think I know who you are, it turns out I’m wrong, usually because someone’s dead.”

Natasha: “What about Hatch?”
Alex: “Look, I’m going after Hatch. I’ll make him pay.”

Chronology: I’m assuming it’s still 2012. Alex’s gravestone also mentioned that she was born in 1990, the same year as Kate Bracken.

“No Care, All Responsibility” was impressive. Maybe the benefit of this show having a shorter series has been that Hatch rising hasn’t been that long and therefore became more effective and with Hal, Tom (making stakes and his using his own blood for a weapon) and Alex all in interesting predicaments, I do find myself looking forward to the last ever episode but slightly dreading it at the same time.

Rating: 10 out of 10

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