Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Being Human (U.S.) Season Two Review

Warning: Spoilers below!

Season two of Being Human (U.S.) is my least favorite of the four because everything you don't want to happen to our four main characters happens.  Even so, it still has some great moments and intricate story telling.

Aidan is faced with the challenge of cooperating with "Mother", the oldest, most powerful vampire.  She comes to Boston to decide who will take Bishop's place as leader.  Mother has Aidan dig up her daughter, Suren, who was buried alive in the 30's.  They cleverly say she has been "grounded" for eighty years.  Mother wants Suren to lead Boston with Aidan's help and he reluctantly agrees. At first, Suren's character is a little annoying but if he helps her succeed, he can have his freedom.  We are shown flashbacks to the time before she was grounded and we're introduced to Aidan's only "vampire son", Henry.  Henry and Suren were briefly together and Aidan warns Henry about getting involved with a royal.  When Henry betrays Suren, she reveals herself as a vampire in front of an extravagant dinner party which is what lead to her grounding.  Henry shows back up in the present time and in order for him to be forgiven, Suren skins him.  Thankfully, nothing is shown, but this is one of the more gruesome aspects of the show.

Josh and Nora's relationship is rocky in this season.  Nora is now a werewolf and I love the scene the morning after her first turn where she finally meets Sally.  We're also introduced to the twins, Connor and Brynn, who are pure bread werewolves.  They definitely contribute to the growing rift between Josh and Nora.  The ex who gave Nora the burns on her stomach returns and Connor and Brynn encourage her to get revenge during a full moon.  She ends up killing him, leading her down a dark path.  The conversation Josh and Nora have about how they both hate the morning after a turn brilliantly reveals opposite perspectives about their wolves.  Nora enjoys the power while Josh hates himself.  They break up and after Aidan kills Connor, Nora runs off with Brynn.

Sally's story line is the most dull in my opinion because it's all about a mysterious reaper who is "shredding" other ghosts.  It gets better in episode 10, when Sally is trapped in an alternate reality where she's engaged to the reaper, Scott.  The scenes in this world are actually quite beautiful and I especially love the color scheme.  The apartment is redecorated and everything is black, white, and gray, with generous pops of purple.  This is the first time we see Sally with different hair, makeup, and clothes and she looks great.  In the real world, she is taken over by this reaper and the scenes where he talks through her are extremely creepy.  One of the reasons I thought this was one of the weakest plot points is because we find out Sally is actually the reaper and has been the one shredding ghosts all along.

In this same episode, something very significant happens between Josh and Aidan that will come up again in later seasons.  The "reaper" has sealed the house so Josh, Aidan, and Zoe, a ghost whisperer, are stuck there.  Aidan is starving and Josh will be turning soon, putting Zoe in danger.  It's always fun when they tell someone new about their secrets and we get that here with Zoe.  As a last resort, Aidan drinks from Josh and we see how a vampire's body handles werewolf blood.  At first Aidan feels super charged, but soon he's on the floor with blood coming out of his mouth, nose, and eyes.

We are also introduced to Julia in this season when Aidan starts dating her.  There is an incredibly awkward scene when Josh and Nora meet Aidan and Julia in the kitchen and we discover Julia is Josh's ex-fiancee.  It's previously hinted that Josh was supposed to get married and we get a lot more of that story.  After Nora is out of the picture and Aidan breaks up with Julia because of his loyalty to Josh, the sparks between Josh and Julia cannot be avoided.  I was very conflicted about this development because Josh and Nora's relationship always seemed right since he could be honest with her.  As a result of the pain from their past, it was hard to see Josh and Julia as right for each other.

Another aspect that gets better towards the end of the season is the romantic relationship between Aidan and Suren.  They end up falling in love after he breaks up with Julia.  In episode 11, Aidan and Suren have a double date with Julia and Josh in an attempt to resolve tension.  Sally watches the whole thing, making funny comments, and Julia is the only who can't see her.  We also learn more about Suren and Aidan's past and this scene really made me like her character and their relationship much more.

In episode 12, Josh almost turns in public because his transformation is triggered by an eclipse.  Unfortunately, Julia chases him in the street and is killed when she gets hit by a car right after seeing his fangs and claws mid-turn.  Josh doesn't realize he's talking to her ghost until her door appears.  Before she goes through it, she says she loved him enough, he just didn't believe it.  It's so sad, but I believe it had to happen for the sake of the story's progression.  Another result of the eclipse is all the ghosts Sally shredded make a brief reappearance and she learns how bad it is in limbo.

Nora comes back towards the end of the season and tells Josh she learned that if a werewolf kills their maker, they will be cured.  Josh is resistant at first, but they eventually make a plan to murder Ray.  I really hated this part because even though we aren't meant to like his character, it's still sad.

Once Aidan successfully helps Suren clean up Boston, he's cut off from the vampire world.  This is Mother's way of maintaining control because he does get his "freedom" but now he's forbidden to continue his relationship with Suren.  They briefly run away together but she's too weak and decides to go back.  Even though I did like their relationship, this demonstrates that Suren didn't love Aidan enough to stay with him.  Mother's cruelty is showcased when she tries to force Suren into killing Aidan.  This would prove to Mother Suren will be the leader she's always wanted her to be.  In the end she can't do it, and Mother kills her own daughter.  Interestingly, by the end of this season, Josh and Aidan both lose their love interests.

I can't deny the finale is great for this season.  Mother grounds Aidan and Sally shreds herself to try to find a way to help all the ghosts she shredded.  We hear a gun shot and it's unclear if Josh and Nora were successful at killing Ray.

This season is tragic, but if these events didn't happen, we wouldn't have the foundation for the next two seasons, which are my favorite.  These trials make them who we want them to be and their relationships become even stronger as a result.  Check out my Being Human (U.S.) Season Three Review now!

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