Aidan, played by Sam Witwer, is a charismatic vampire struggling with his unquenchable thirst for human blood and the bond he's constantly trying to sever between himself and the secret world of vampires. Josh, played by Sam Huntington, is a self loathing werewolf who ran away from his human life in an attempt to shield his loved ones from the monster he believes he's become. The two become friends and the basis of the show is formed when they move in together in an attempt at "being human". That's when Sally, played by Meghan Rath, comes in. She's an outgoing, quick-witted ghost who died in the house Aidan and Josh have rented. They are able to see and speak to her because they're all supernatural beings. Kristen Hagar plays Nora, Josh's gorgeous love interest, and the four of them make up the main cast.
Season one is my third favorite of the series. It lays the groundwork for the four characters to develop as individuals, and in their relationships with each other. Not only are we introduced to dark themes such as addiction, self hatred, revenge, and loss, there are many comedic moments that let us know this isn't all about heartbreak and death. Specifically, in the pilot episode, Josh delivers several hilariously awkward lines I always look forward to when revisiting the series.
Each character is faced with separate obstacles they must overcome. Sally has been dead for six months when we meet her energetic spirit. She doesn't remember how she died and is unable to leave the house. The show cleverly and gradually reveals it's ghost mythology as Sally learns to navigate her afterlife. She can appear and disappear, make objects move, possess other humans, and speak to people who are open to it. All ghosts are waiting for their door, which is unique to each ghost and leads to a mysterious white light. The problem is, she can't move on until she resolves all her earthly issues. This aspect reminded me of the show Ghost Whisperer. At first, she wants to talk to her fiance, Danny, and let him know it's okay to move on. She even blesses his relationship with her best friend, Bridget. But as the details of her death are slowly revealed, we learn that Danny has a temper and he was the one who killed her. The clogged plumbing in the house represented the repressed memories of Sally's death and once the engagement ring she dropped down the drain is found, it all comes back to her as the pipes unclog. Once Danny's true abusive nature is discovered, Sally is able to get through to Bridget, saving her from a similar fate of untimely death. We see justice for Sally when Josh and Aidan help her force Danny to turn himself in for killing her.
In interviews about playing Aidan, Sam Witwer has often said what his character struggles with is a metaphor for being a drug addict. Aidan's life as a vampire is, as one would expect, extremely bloody. He tries to survive on the bagged blood he sneaks out of the hospital where he works as a nurse. His career choice may seem strange for someone constantly fighting the urge to drink human blood, but he explains this is a way for him to help people and make up for the gruesome things he's done in the past (which we get awful glimpses of throughout the series). The bagged blood only satiates him for so long until he slips up and drains a girl he's dating in the first episode. The fact that he slips up sometimes really makes the show seem more realistic. His maker/vampire father, Bishop, played by Mark Pellegrino, is eager to clean up the mess because it's a way for him to suck Aidan back into the underground world of "running" Boston. I will say I didn't care for the Rebecca story line and the scenes with Bernie were heartbreaking.
Josh also works at the hospital as an orderly. Since becoming a werewolf, he has given up on his aspiration of becoming a doctor and just focuses on getting through each full moon. The werewolf mythology is pretty standard. The transformation is extremely painful and happens every full moon. At one point Sally tells Josh she would trade places with him if she could. She'd rather be a werewolf once a month and have a life than be stuck as a ghost indefinitely. Later, she sees him transform and apologizes for not realizing how bad he really has it. Ray is another werewolf that comes onto the scene claiming to want to help Josh. He seems okay at first and even teaches Josh tips about their shared condition. Eventually, Josh is sickened to learn Ray is the one who turned him.
The romance between Josh and Nora begins with awkward, yet charming, pick up lines he learned from Ray. They do end up dating and as the chemistry between them heats up, Josh finds it hard to let himself get intimate with her. We learn about her past when she reveals burn scars on her stomach from an abusive ex, which is expanded upon further in future seasons.
In episode 7, there is a hilarious scene where Josh is visiting his parents. Aidan shows up and for appearances he eats dinner, which happens to have garlic in it. In this world, garlic effects vampires by revealing their natural form, so Aidan has to hide his fangs and black eyes by hiding out in the bathroom. I always laugh when Josh walks in and is surprised to find Aidan in the bathtub with herbs trying to get the garlic to wear off.
At the end of the season Aidan kills Bishop and the theme of "the son always kills the father" is introduced. In a previous episode we learned Bishop chose power over love so it's a little surprising when he's almost proud of Aidan for succeeding in killing him. Sally misses her door to help Aidan and it is unclear what this will mean for her future. Nora finally discovers the truth about Josh and we're left with a cliffhanger when it's revealed Josh accidentally scratched her just before he turned.
I would recommend this series to anyone who likes the supernatural genre. Currently, you can marathon them on Netflix. This show goes deep into the struggles of being something other than a human and it's done in such a way that makes you fall in love with all the characters. Check out my Being Human (U.S) Season Two Review next!
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