Being Human (US) 1.05: Magical Realism
Feb. 19th, 2011 08:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tartysuzStrong episode, except for one thing.
I've really enjoyed the show's characterization of Sally's fiance. He was a much more interesting character than the mustache-twirling villain in the UK series. But suddenly, he's shown as a controlling asshole who knocks Sally around until she falls and dies. His a darker nature could have been developed as he became closer to Sally's friend, Bridget. Instead, they went for instant villainy and missed an opportunity to show us a decent human being who is capable of being a monster, to contrast with the protagonists, who are monsters that are capable of being decent human beings.
However, it's a good thing that they're keeping Bridget as a constant friend, instead of the skank moll of the UK series. They've added a mission to Sally's story, to save Bridget from Danny.
Speaking of Sally, the North American version of Being Human is using magic realism to tell her story. We didn't get much of the ghost's inner life in the UK version. But here, we see that she's been living in a dream world that's quite separate from her status as a ghost. In one of the early episodes, she thought of her death as a dream-like flight down the stairs -- I guess because she didn't have any other explanation.
In this episode, the back-up in the plumbing is caused by an engagement ring. As the plumber says, there's no way something that small could explain the problems. In the UK version, Owen had done the plumbing himself and discovered the pair of panties that were involved in Annie's death (he might have tried to strangle her with them; I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly). While ironic, it was also more practical as a blockading item than the engagement ring. Really, the only explanation for the ring to be able to cause that much blockage is magical. What's really happening is on the metaphorical level: Sally's denial over her relationship is preventing her from being at peace.
Other stuff:
Ah, pragmatic Bishop recruits a crazy priest to stomp all over Aidan's safe haven in an attempt to poke at Aidan's territorial nature. Furthermore, Bishop gets the priest to recruit people for their money. All in a day's work for anyone trying to run a church these days!
Nicely done parallel stories of the erotic, co-dependent relationship between father-figure/mentors and their dub-con/non-con mentees. Is anyone writing slash about this show, because WHAT IS THAT after Bishop beats up Aidan, then licks Aidan's blood off his own thumb?
I've really enjoyed the show's characterization of Sally's fiance. He was a much more interesting character than the mustache-twirling villain in the UK series. But suddenly, he's shown as a controlling asshole who knocks Sally around until she falls and dies. His a darker nature could have been developed as he became closer to Sally's friend, Bridget. Instead, they went for instant villainy and missed an opportunity to show us a decent human being who is capable of being a monster, to contrast with the protagonists, who are monsters that are capable of being decent human beings.
However, it's a good thing that they're keeping Bridget as a constant friend, instead of the skank moll of the UK series. They've added a mission to Sally's story, to save Bridget from Danny.
Speaking of Sally, the North American version of Being Human is using magic realism to tell her story. We didn't get much of the ghost's inner life in the UK version. But here, we see that she's been living in a dream world that's quite separate from her status as a ghost. In one of the early episodes, she thought of her death as a dream-like flight down the stairs -- I guess because she didn't have any other explanation.
In this episode, the back-up in the plumbing is caused by an engagement ring. As the plumber says, there's no way something that small could explain the problems. In the UK version, Owen had done the plumbing himself and discovered the pair of panties that were involved in Annie's death (he might have tried to strangle her with them; I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly). While ironic, it was also more practical as a blockading item than the engagement ring. Really, the only explanation for the ring to be able to cause that much blockage is magical. What's really happening is on the metaphorical level: Sally's denial over her relationship is preventing her from being at peace.
Other stuff:
Ah, pragmatic Bishop recruits a crazy priest to stomp all over Aidan's safe haven in an attempt to poke at Aidan's territorial nature. Furthermore, Bishop gets the priest to recruit people for their money. All in a day's work for anyone trying to run a church these days!
Nicely done parallel stories of the erotic, co-dependent relationship between father-figure/mentors and their dub-con/non-con mentees. Is anyone writing slash about this show, because WHAT IS THAT after Bishop beats up Aidan, then licks Aidan's blood off his own thumb?
