My Review of Being Human 2x05: "The Looking Glass"

Written by Tony Basgallop
Directed by Kenny Glenaan

Mitchell: “It’s complicated.”
Josie: “Take your time. I’m tied to a book shelf.”

After last week’s underwhelming episode, this was one that really set a bar in terms of brilliance. Mitchell’s little world is crashing around his feet and truth be told, this time around he’s probably picked the wrong woman to try and save him.

The one thing I have loved about this season was that certain important things weren’t dragged out. For instance, Nina didn’t waste too much time in telling George that she was now a werewolf and we didn’t have to wait exceptionally long to find out that Lucy was Jaggart either.

With this episode we’re blessed with that fortitude as well when Lucy revealed to Mitchell that she knew he was a vampire all along after getting him to confess to what he was in the first place. I also might add that Lucy didn’t exactly pile on the pressure when doing it, even if she knew the right words to get Mitchell to spill the beans.

Lucy seemed to be conflicted in this episode. She started questioning Kemp’s desire to have vampires like Mitchell wiped out and defended the fact that Mitchell was capable of saving. However when she realised that he had killed again, Lucy could also barely contain her disgust with him either. It’s even amazing that they actually slept together.

And then there was the scene where he was sleeping and she contemplated staking him there and then. There might have been no danger in her actually going through with it but with three episodes left and the preview for next week’s episode, it’s safe to assume that this relationship will not be surviving into the third series for sure.

Mitchell’s relationships were certainly the topic of discussion this week. With women, Mitchell’s certain a love them and leave them kind of guy but with Herrick’s influence, he can barely remember killing them. And it didn’t especially help him out this week when he decided to hold a certain woman hostage.

I should’ve guessed from the minute we saw her that the young woman whose flat Mitchell broke into would be Josie. The episode wasn’t glaringly subtle with the pointed and significant conversations that the pair of them had throughout the hour. Even when he couldn’t put up with her talking, Josie had an uncanny knack of getting Mitchell to open more than anyone else did at the time.

Josie probably bought herself a lot of time because if Herrick had gotten to her first, she wouldn’t have made it halfway through the episode alive. Herrick certainly wasn’t as open to Josie’s charms as Mitchell was in this episode. He even laid on a thick speech about humans being restricted in order to get Mitchell to kill her.

Luckily for Josie and viewers alike, she made it out of the episode alive. It helped that for the series, we were already aware of their established connection. She tried to save him last year when he was veering over the edge and here was the episode where we first saw her trying to help Mitchell.

Charlene McKenna was a good casting choice and is probably known more to Irish viewers for her roles in Pure Mule and Raw. Although her Irish accent was noticeable in this episode, she was fine throughout the hour and I could see why Mitchell in spite of his initial resistance would want to spare Josie’s life.

It’s also interesting that while we were getting to see two very different relationships that Mitchell had had and is having with two very different women, it also didn’t stop him from expressing his own opinion on George’s relationship with Sam. Like it or not, George, Mitchell’s got a point here.

Sam’s a nice girl but the truth is, George doesn’t love her and I’m not saying this because I’m a fan of him and Nina, I’m saying it because it’s so blatantly obvious that even Sam would probably guess it if she was aware of Nina’s impact on George. However that didn’t stop from trying miserably to win over Sam’s daughter, Molly and even wanting to move in with the woman.

Sam had the good sense to tell George that they were rushing into everything and declined on his offer but this being TV, you just know that George and Sam will be playing house in the next episode. It also doesn’t help that like Mitchell, George’s quest for order seems destined to blow in his face. I’m beginning to think that Annie’s the only sensible one left.

She’s the only one so far who hasn’t been darkened this season and while she got a little overprotective of baby Rufus at the end with his feckless mum, her emotional state seems a lot healthier compared to Mitchell and George. Plus, while babysitting is not on my list of fun things to do, seeing Annie having a go at it was amusing to no end.

Annie started off the episode struggling to keep Rufus from crying and ended it wondering if she had left it too late to have a child. I found that a little odd, given that Annie herself was so young when she died but I think that might be the non-paternal side of me coming out. I like kids but not for me.

As for the other little problem of the episode – Mitchell killed a copper and granted it was the corrupt one we’ve had to deal with all season but even still, it was a very dumb thing for Mitchell to do. And I don’t doubt that it will help Kemp turn Lucy totally against him as well when he finds out about it.

Also in “The Looking Glass”

It was nice to see Herrick in this episode and it didn’t contradict Toby Whithouse’s claims of Herrick being dead. He only appeared in 1969.

Mitchell: “Are you gonna cause me a problem or not?”
Josie: “Are you gonna hurt me?”

Charlene McKenna who played Josie in this episode used to date (or still does, I’m not sure) Aidan Turner.

Molly (to George): “Free makeup kit. Why don’t you just put me on the game and be done with it?”

Campbell (remembering his girlfriend): “This happened to you too.”
Mitchell: “Yeah in glorious Technicolor.”

The man that Mitchell had been forced to kill was a paedophile but even Mitchell couldn’t do it. I could actually understand where that constable was coming from.

Mitchell: “Do you want me to bring anything?”
Lucy: “A sense of humour.”

Kemp (to Lucy): “You know the few things I like about you is that you don’t call supper tea.”

Kemp gave Lucy a 13th Century stake to use against Mitchell. He also feared that she was going to be seduced by him.

Annie (re having kids): “I’ve left it too late, haven’t I?”
Ghost: “You weren’t to know.”

Herrick (to Mitchell): “A vampire is the only truly free man.”

Standout music: “Somebody To Love” by Jefferson Airplane and Annie singing LaRoux’s “Bulletproof” and I don’t even like LaRoux that much.

Lucy: “What are you?”
Mitchell: “I’m a vampire.”

Chronology: Over a week or so since the previous episode.

This was certainly more like it. A fantastic episode that seemed to have pushed things necessarily forward for the series. With only three episodes left, it’s high time for Kemp and Lucy to make their move already.

Rating: 9 out of 10.