No Care, All Responsibility

Perhaps because I have become so invested in Hal as a character, and so surrendered to wherever the writers will take me but I was actually not breathing properly and trembling at the end of Being Human last night, it was such an intense episode, heartbreaking and intoxicating in equal measure, it was almost like going into shock!

Not because of where the writers took Hal, more the overwhelmingly powerful experience of the character arcs unfolding and the performances. literally breathtaking.

Just when I think Being Human, and Damien's performance as Hal has reached the pinnacle of awesome and can go no higher, it bloody does.

I felt pretty shakey by the end of last nights ep too.....wasn't sure if it was just sleep deprivation, but I've watched it again and it still had the same effect.

So here are some initial thoughts/ramblings.  I've not seen any spoilers (although I may watch the ritz clip because there's so much about it posted in the 'reactions to ep5' blog on the BH site that I know what happens in it anyway) so I'm aware that you may all know things which I don't!

It's really difficult to single out specific scenes as being particularly powerful because everything just felt soooo big! But I agree, ruby, when Natasha walked in and Hal was in the corner of the kitchen it was heartbreaking, as was the scene with Alex in the bandstand.  I really love Alex....I think she's probably my favourite female BH character of all time, even compared to Daisy (who I just loved) and Kate is brilliant!

I agree that Alex and Tom really should've recognised the signs...particularly that Tom didn't notice anything when they were in the kitchen after he'd bandaged Natasha's hand. Although to be fair Alex obviously trusted him to ask for help if he needed it.

I still feel that this 'addict wanting a fix Hal' is not the same creature that we saw with Crumb....there was no suggestion of a third person lurking in the wings.....and I can't help thinking that repeating the 'he will rise' mantra between the scene of Hal walking into the bar and Hatch standing up hints that it does refer to both Hal and Hatch.  I suspect the two will combine in the next (last...sob) episode. Although I'll probably change my mind before Sunday!

One last thought for now - I wonder if Natasha actually did go through her door.....

No, i don't know anything for sure (I don't think anyone does, except sci fi mag writers who have seen it and the actors and BH Bods themselves). It's just speculation based on pictures, what has been said in the show themselves but mostly guesswork. I do know about a couple of cast listings, have seen a brief trailer for the last episode but that is it.

Thanks Domino!  I've been lurking for a while, but since we're so close to the end, I figured I'd better jump in and start talking before it's too late. 

I've been thinking alot...too much...about why they can't possibly kill Hal at the end of the series the way they did with Mitchell. Not just cause they don't want to do the same thing again, but the real reasons why it wouldn't make sense for the characters as they were written. 

Mitchell and Hal are completely different and deserve completely different ends. Mitchell was basically a good guy, as a human, a leader who sacrificed himself to save his men, but he was weak. Not just blood lust weak, but emotionally weak. He was always allowing himself to be controlled by others because he didn't feel he was good enough and he was totally controlled by his blood lust. The Box Tunnel Twenty was an example of him being emotionally manipulated, he was pushed into a corner, forced to try to control and rule the vampires, something he didn't want, and then they went and changed all the rules on him, so he lost it. His emotions were so out of control, we rarely even saw him have sex without killing or trying to kill the woman he was with and Mitchell was never dry for any appreciable length of time. After the massacre, he tried to hide it, as addicts will do, and you just watch him spiral downward, more and more, to a point where he would never have been able to take control back. He would have been a puppet for the bad guys for the rest of his life.

Hal, on the other hand, was probably a real jerk as a human. Although they don't actually say it, you get the impression that he was human when he was on his horse with his red shield, having people flayed for looking at him funny.  As a vampire he was sadistic and cruel and very, very much in control of himself and his emotions. Over the centuries, he was able to stop himself for long periods of time, and he said himself it wasn't any particular thing that sets it off, but more like just a decision he made to be evil again or be straight. Of course, he was also an addict. Like any addict, you can't just have a little once in a while. Hal also became secretive when he started drinking blood, he knew it was wrong, but he thought he could hide it and fix it himself.  Leo taught Hal how to trust someone enough to ask for help instead of hiding it, and he also  showed him how to become a better person.

When Hal has blood, he becomes cooler, suave and sexy and in command; Mitchell on blood was more of a mess. Mitchell had to die because he didn't want to hurt anyone, but he wouldn't have been able to stop. Hal doesn't need death as redemption because he can control himself, but he needs people around him to accept him and believe he can be good, for him to be able to do that. That's what Leo was and with Leo gone, Hal needs to just find that center again and it's very likely that that person is Alex. 

Ruby - I've been speculating wildly myself....obsessively....if they can come up with an ending that I haven't already thought of I'll be well impressed!  I'd really love to read your speculation, but I need to know if it's speculation with the benefit of spoilers. Do you already know things that I don't?

I almost wish it was all over now.....I really can't bear it!

Thanks ruby, but I've seen the trailer for this weeks ep. on tv now anyway! I don't think I could've stopped myself watching it, but I really didn't expect it to give that much away.  I was in a total state of shock, but I must admit that now I've had a chance to think about it I think I'm glad I've seen it. Although it has scrambled my brain a bit!

BuffyGroupie - I disagree about Hal as a human.  We know that he was born in a brothel, ran away to sea and joined the army.  It sounds as though he had a pretty hard time as a human.....I'm sure that it was as a vampire that he was Lord Hal who rode a horse and had peasants flayed.  We know that Hal was a willing recruit....but we don't know the circumstances - Mitchel was willing, but he wanted to save his men - maybe there was another reason why Hal accepted. 

Spoiler

For ages I've been musing over the effect that the human personality has on the vampire's, the idea that a recruit is given a choice, and the relationship between sire and recruit. I also keep going back to what Hal said to Larry about the mark of a good teacher being how well the student thrives without them.  It has to be said that Hal wasn't very successful with Crumb (although Tom did a great job with Bobby - poor Bobby!) but I have wondered how much he was thinking of himself as the student.......thinking initially that his teacher would be Leo; but Hal's struggle has obviously been going on since long before he met Leo.

I never, in my wildest dreams thought that Being Human would actually go back to Hal's recruitment.  I'm both excited and disappointed!  Maybe some of this will be answered, although I do rather enjoy the speculation, so I almost hope it doesn't (not that I'm indecisive!) I'm fascinated by the fact that this isn't a normal flashback....he has apparently been taken back by the devil. There has to be some significance in this!

I still say that the devil cannot be defeated - if he exists then his demise would bring about nirvana...which surely means the end of the human world - he can only be supressed. I need to think a bit more about everything else.....

I have decided that this series is actually Hal's withdrawal induced hallucination and that series 6 will start with him coming round strapped to the chair with the house in a mess........

Thanks for the spoiler-free zone, domino.  Both the BH blog and twitter are a positive minefield, although having now seen the trailer I'm tempted to just read/watch everything I can lay my hands on!