BEING HUMAN 5.2 ‘STICKS AND ROPE’ REVIEW

There’s a familiar feel to ‘Sticks & Ropes’. An outsider from the spirit world attacking the housemates from within Honolulu. This time it’s Oliver. WARNING!: This episode contains a child actor. Yes. A child actor. For a big part of the episode. To be far, after the initial coughing and falling over nonsense he’s not.. totally.. annoying. Just quite a bit. It’s a strange decision to call this episode ‘Sticks And Rope’ especially as Oliver mentions them early on, giving away exactly where it’s heading so the elements of surprise are few..

There are lots of great lines here between Hal and Tom  (“I’m disinfecting the keyboard with pure alcohol and a cotton bud” and “a git with a big weird face”) but for some reason not all the comedy connects as it normally does. Thankfully the hotel scenes are not falling into a Faulty Towers shaped hole. “What did you expect to see at a Barry Island hotel? Vampires? Ghosts? A herd of Werewolves sweeping majestically..”

IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR:

It’s the Alex flashback we’ve all been wanting and all been expecting. The pre-date one. DA DA DAAAA! Amongst the bustle of a noisy fairground comes the soft moment of the hand bump with little brother Deccy and the “Cross my heart and hope to die” GULP. Alex completely owns this episode. Using those very same motherly instincts with Oliver in helping resolve his own brotherly issues. Not to mention keeping Hal and Tom in line. The scene when she returns to her home in Scotland is heartbreaking and it’s the moment Alex seems to accept what she is.

CUT ‘EM  ENOUGH ROPE. AND STICKS.

We finally got to see them. They had sticks and ropes. Honest they did. And some mirror things which made them look like dentists. Perhaps made less threatening when we saw that the head guy was Spider from Coronation Street. THAT’S what he’s been doing all this time. Should the MWSAR (catchy, huh?) have been left to our imagination? Probably. But at least they’re seeing through a theme which has been standing throughout Bring Human history.

HATCHING A PLAN. OUT LOUD.

Hatch’s speech at the conclusion was impressively nasty but the nature of it makes it a worry that for the next few episodes he’ll broadcast his plans in the same way.  As Alex said last series “I didn’t think anyone actually did that”. It seems they do. A lot. At the moment it’s going to take a lot more convincing that he’s the devil and not just Victor Meldrew in a wheelchair. But we can forgive Hatch for now as he killed Patsy. Good work fella. Thank God she’s gone.

CRUMB OF A CHARACTER?

Hopefully there will be more of a purpose to Crumb other than just being the start of Hal’s descent towards the dark side. It’s not looking likely though. It’s also a shame that Rooks scenes are primarily with him. Speaking of Rook (which I was just then, pay attention will you?), we have learnt a bit more about him. Not only is he content with killing office managers but Crumbs’ Sister and neice as well. Still, hasn’t he got lovely blue eyes though? That makes up for all the murdering and conniving.

IF WE WERE BEING PICKY:

–   Why the trio didn’t question Oliver more on his claims of being a permanent tenant at HH is quite a mystery.

– The men with sticks and ropes looked nothing like evil morris dancers. Shame.

– Rook has alluded to 37 deaths in 37 years at the hotel and yet the impression is given that a vampire and werewolf having an argument and a food fight gave him the power to kill Patsy. He killed Sophie last week… but then he told her to commit suicide. This time Hatch did the killing himself. One has answered his own question in this paragraph. Sorry. Carry on. As you were..

SOME QUESTIONS:

– Frith didn’t know that Vampires can’t be seen on camera? Really?

– Would Tom ever be sad again if the house was always covered in decorations?

– Why has Hal STILL not sorted out that bathroom yet?

–  Will Hatch and Rook meet? What will there relationship be? Will the pen be mighter than mind control?

– What exactly is the word for a collective of werewolves?

– What in the name of little baby cheeses?

VERDICT: A slow moving episode which was pretty easy to predict early on. Another strong performance from Kate Bracken and it looks like we’re getting a much needed Tom themed show next week 6/10