Contributor: John Keegan
The first season of the American version of “Being Human” played a risky gambit. For much of the season, it took the familiar plot and character beats of the first series of the British original, only to capitalize on those expectations by delivering the conclusion in a different way. While the starting point of the second season is similar to that of the second series of the British version, the details give the writers the opportunity to go in a very different direction.
This is most apparent for Aiden’s storyline. With Bishop gone, he must now face the higher authorities of his kind. While things start out with Aiden trying to take control of the Boston vampire population and wean them onto less lethal blood supplies, it’s soon clear that he will not be spending the second season trying to deal with competition from among his followers. Instead, someone else will be in charge, someone apparently unstable, and it will be his thankless duty to keep her in line.
“Mother” presents a very imposing figure, and her daughter Suran sounds like she’s quite the handful. Aiden has “freedom”, but he is well and truly trapped, and he knows it. This leaves me looking forward to seeing how this situation plays out, especially since “Mother” wants Aiden’s “distractions” out of the way. And the fact that Suran will be played by Dichen Lachman is certainly a plus.
But then again, I was never particularly worried about the viability of the vampire plot threads; those were the strongest elements of the British version, and that carried over to the first season of this incarnation as well. Where the British series has faltered, especially in more recent runs, has been the balance of the show. There’s only so much of Russell Tovey’s whining as George that an audience can be expected to take, and Annie has long been the weakest link. Correcting those errors in this version is vital.
Josh and Nora begin with some of the same domestic issues that plagued George and Nina in the original, but in many ways, this progression was the least avoidable. Thankfully, the writers get right to it. Nora is revealed as probably pregnant in the first scene, and her anxiety over the impending full moon drives her character for the entire episode. And sure enough, she begins to turn, just in time for the assassins sent by “Mother” to gun down Josh as he struggles to get to her side, mid-transformation.
It’s roughly the same ground that was covered early in the second British series, but there’s nary a religious fanatic in sight, so the plot is taking a very different turn. Having Aiden’s situation overlap into the werewolf plight is a good move. There’s no chance that Josh will be killed, but there is plenty of doubt as to how they will fend off the assassins. I would assume Aiden would be instrumental to whatever happens to keep “Mother” and her attack dogs at bay.
As usual, the more human side of the equation belongs to Sally, and this is still the weakest link of the concept. The British writers have never known what to do with Annie and her ghostly nature, and while it has been better in the American version, Sally is stuck with a tedious plot thread involving a high school reunion and her confidence issues. Frankly, the scenes of her trying to move objects around the house were more intriguing.
That said, when her door reappears, and something very creepy comes through, things get a lot more promising on Sally’s end. I can only hope that whatever it is that she’s unleashed, it poses enough of a challenge to force Sally to gain abilities that make her formidable and relevant to the plot threads of the other characters.
All in all, it was a strong start to the second season, introducing elements that should allow it to stretch out into different territory from the British version. Since I maintain that the American version stands up very well against the original, especially in comparison to the diminishing returns of each new British series, I look forward to seeing where the writers of this version take us.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10