My Review of Being Human's 4x06: "Puppy Love"

Written by John Jackson
Directed by Daniel O’Hara

Tom (re vampires): “You don’t know what these people are like.”
Allison: “And you don’t know what my debating skills are like.”

Okay, this episode has the most shamelessly cheesy of titles due to a certain song it invokes but in terms of actual cheesiness, there’s not much to be had. I mean, yes, there’s a certain cuteness between Tom and geeky werewolf Allison but it’s a kind of cuteness with a little tinge of darkness mixed in too.

Allison really was the perfect type of a girlfriend for Tom – funny, smart, cute as a button, inquisitiveness and definitely excellent when it came to countering vampire threats. In other words, why did she have to be only a one episode guest star? On the plus side, at least she actually survived the episode, so I can hope that at some point she does return and she and Tom give it a proper go.

Tom’s motives for breaking it off with Allison made a lot of sense when you think about his character. This is a man who is chivalrous to the core and even when Allison attempted to seduce him, he knew it wasn’t the right time to have sex with her. Tom also knew how to get Allison from making a big mistake when she faced off with Golda as well.

For a burgeoning love story, Tom and Allison certainly had their moments. It might have been Tom’s new internet fame that got them talking in the first place but at the end of the episode, I think Tom and Allison learned more about themselves and each other than they thought. That’s a good thing, considering they still managed to be unaware of who actually leaked the footage of Tom and George online.

As for the culprit – we know that it’s Cutler and he did a wonderful job of playing dumb when Tom and Allison tried to enlist his help and it was also through them that Cutler managed to get Golda and her annoying minions dusted off, one by one as well for good measure.

Cutler’s slyness continues to make him an interesting and dangerous character and given that Golda was pretty annoying, I am rather pleased that she didn’t make it out of the episode alive. I really hope though for the hype that they’ve been receiving all season that the Old Ones do genuinely live up to it and that Cutler’s plans towards Tom reach their fruition soon and that he interacts with Hal as well.

Speaking of Hal – the growing friendship with Tom and banter with Allison as well, I’m rather pleased that they’re exploring his love life at last. We got lucky once again because Alex was a rather sparky character and while Hal did make the effort to resist killing her, it does appear from next week’s promo that Hal might start succumbing to his dark side again.

Keeping with the dark sides of this episode – Annie just killed a pensioner, what the hell? Okay, Emrys was a cranky so and so and it did look like he was going to attack Eve but there were times when it did seem like Annie wasn’t taking it seriously enough. It’s all well and good driving people like Owen insane, sending Kemp to hell and dispersing Kirby but Emrys was an innocent man and it does seem like Annie’s got some horrible choices ahead of her.

Emrys cryptically pointed out that Annie might have to do something horrible in order to get her door (Emrys got his through some petty revenge on his ex-wife and piano teacher) and then the older version of Eve showed up to basically reveal what I had already assumed at the start of the series.

If the trailers for next week are anything to go by, it’s looking like both Annie and Hal are potential threats towards the baby but I have a feeling that it’s going to be Annie who will pose the bigger danger, especially if the older Eve gets her way.

Also in “Puppy Love”

No flashbacks in this one but a rather nice compare/contrast scene of Tom and Allison’s morning routines.

Hal (re Allison): “That is the weirdest run.”

Hal’s utter glee at sticking to his routines was never more overt than in this episode but I still want to know what Kia-Ora does to him.

Tom: “Facebook?”
Allison: “Don’t tell me you’re still on MySpace.”
Hal: “We’re more Ceefax people.”

Kane (to Cutler, re Golda): “If you touch her, I’ll have to touch you. No, not like that.”

Golda’s other vampire minion couldn’t speak because she bit his tongue during a game of theirs. Anyone else think that Cutler needs to get a better lair than the docks? No, just me then.

Annie (to Eve): “I am supposed to be your protector, not your teething ring.”

Alex: “Okay, you want the big guns, then pull my finger.”
Hal: “Look, I’m sorry, I think I may have misled you. I was just being friendly.”

This week’s exclusive scene gives us a bit more insight into Allison’s general thoughts on werewolves being outed. She also had a Blue Peter badge (which she let Tom keep) and her last name was Larkin.

Emrys (re Allison): “What’s she then?”
Annie: “Werewolf.”
Emrys: “Explains the growler.”

Alex: “So, is this your thing then – museums?”
Hal: “Yes, romantic and educational.”
Alex: “I suppose it’s cheaper than Rohypnol.”

Standout music: Apart from Hal’s singing yet again, I guess the piano version of “Puppy Love”, considering that Annie/Emrys ruined it.

Allison: “You said I was perfect.”
Tom: “You are and I don’t want to change that.”

Eve: “Annie, I’m the baby.”
Annie: “What?”
Eve: “It’s me, Annie, mum, I’m Eve.”

Chronology: Not long since “Hold The Front Page” I suppose.

Well, that was a fun episode. “Puppy Love” was definitely a nice way of giving both Tom and Hal different types of love interests with similar (ish) possibilities for danger but more importantly, it finally seems like the storylines surrounding Eve and the Old Ones are finally going to get underway. Next week’s episode looks reasonably chaotic.

Rating: 9 out of 10