Being Human Review: It’s Back!

Last night Syfy kicked off the second season of their Being Human reimagining. At the end of last season, Aidan (Sam Witwer) had slain vampire boss Bishop (Mark Pellegrino) after his failed insurrection against the Dutch, Nora (Kristen Hager) witnessed her boyfriend Josh (Sam Huntington) transform into his wolf form, and ghost Sally (Meaghan Rath) missed her door to the afterlife. Season two picks up one month later with Sally contemplating her place in the world, Aidan trying to contain the fallout of Bishop’s absence, and Nora hiding a certain scratch from Josh as the full moon approaches.

Things haven’t gotten any easier for the roommates, maybe Aidan least of all, who spends his nights (and some of his days) rounding up Bishop’s lost acolytes and ensuring there’s some semblance of order. With the family that ran Boston all but gone, there’s no cleanup team to make sure bodies get disposed of, crime scenes get covered up, and appetites are kept in check. Reluctant to take total control, Aidan learns Mother, a vampire elder, is coming to give Boston to him. Hegeman, leader of the Dutch, tells Aidan he has to accept when she makes the offer.

Turns out Mother has other plans and decides to place her daughter in charge, with Aidan as her second, promising him a true release from the family if he helps her get things in order. It’s not all happy days though, as Aidan’s forced to slay a group of Bishop’s ravenous children. Shortly thereafter, Mother orders Hegeman to take out “the wolf” in his life, ensuring Aidan’s full focus on the task at hand.

At the house, Sally’s practicing her newfound powers. If she focuses hard enough, she can physically touch things. She works hard on a pencil and tries to open the microwave to heat up Aidan’s blood. Sally also gets to attend her 10 year high school reunion this week, at the urging of her roommates and Nora, who still can’t see her, but tries her hardest to be inclusive. She’s eager to see how fondly she’s remembered and all the flattery her classmates say about her now that she’s gone too soon. At the school, she meets another ghost, a boy she knew who killed himself when they were juniors. She tells him about missing her door, and he tells her that suicidal ghosts don’t get them at all. He also lets her know they can sleep and dream, if they try hard enough.

A third ghosts pops in, a popular girl who died on a humanitarian mission. Sally’s not pleased but, in true high school angst fashion, it turns out the girl actually always envied Sally. Her door appears on stage and she’s off to the afterlife. Later, Sally tries out her new dream skills, finding her door again and a dark, shadowy figure on the other end running for her. She wakes up, levitating several feet above the living room couch.

It looks like Nora’s been spending a lot of time at the apartment with Josh, as they wake up and he starts to put the moves on her, before quickly blaming the wolf when he notices she’s not into it right now. Since they’ve had to wait a few weeks since the miscarriage of their baby to be intimate, she’s been able to hide the scratch his wolf gave her, and has been reading through journals to learn about the transformation in the meantime, all while hoping it doesn’t happen.

Curious, she asks Josh if she can take him to the woods to change. He reluctantly agrees and when she hears him start to shift, she’s thankful nothing is happening to her. Then it starts, and it’s painful. Josh hears her screams and runs after her, thinking she’s in some kind of trouble, when he’s grazed by a bullet from Hegeman. The vampire reloads and we hear one more gunshot ring out through the black screen.

I’m so glad this series is back. The quirky, quippy nature of the trio really drives each episode and I’ve missed them a lot. In this first episode, I was happy to see subtle, yet probably unintentional nods to the original, like Sally’s obsession in the kitchen. One of the funniest moments was her walking cautiously in the background with Josh’s mug, while he and Aidan talked at the table, trying not to drop it through her ghost limbs. Nora’s addition to the family was great, and I assume now that she’s wolfing out for the first time she’ll be able to see Sally, and breakfast won’t be so awkward anymore.

I’ve got a lot of questions about this Mother character. Is she the first vampire? Is she just the leader of this Dutch sect? I need to better understand the hierarchical structure of the show’s vampire society, but with the introduction of her daughter (Dichen Lachman) next week and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her, I’m sure we learn a lot as we go.

There’s a lot to look forward to in this season, now that the world’s been established. From the tense moment in the house last night where Josh and Aidan discussed his new role with the vamps, it looks like bonds are going to be tested sooner rather than later.

Season 2, Episode 1: “Turn This Mother Out” (Original airdate January 16, 2012)

Being Human airs Mondays at 9/8c on Syfy.

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