Still Being Human

[haenels]

[mylifewithaplan]

This scene and the one right before seem really weird to me.  Hal  is in a robe and the scene before this has Lady Mary and Alex in the bathroom.  I really feel like there was a scene missing that explained why Hal wasn’t dressed.  

[stillbeinghuman]

Good Dad or Greatest Dad?

Today is my Dad’s birthday so I am going to celebrate with an ode to the best dad in Being Human.  Anthony Michael McNair.

Did he lie to his son?  Yes.  But when I was little my parents told me that if there was a fire in a house, cats would always find a way to get out. I didn’t realize that they were big fat liars until I was a teenager, babysitting during a tornado watch and I when I told the kids that if I came to get them during the night they had to come to the basement right away.  One of the children was concerned about his fish (who were in a giant tank). I told him that since it was raining the fish would be fine, because .... water.  My point?  Kids don’t get complexity.  McNair couldn’t tell Tom that he killed his parents and then chose to raise him because no one else could.  He knew Tom was a werewolf so he couldn’t just drop baby Tom at the firehouse.  He did the right thing by taking Tom.  

The writers could have made McNAir a harsh, authoritarian but in S3E1 it is clear that he is kind and affectionate with Tom.  He is going to see a movie he doesn’t want to see because he saw that it would make his son happy.  He loves his son.  He is also very concerned with not only providing Tom with the skills he needs to survive but also strong morals and values.  Even if sometimes they are a little muddled.  

We see at the end of series 3 that he really does want Tom to be happy and safe.  He openly says that being a father saved him from himself.  He loved his son above everything.  He is so, so  supportive of his child.

I would love to have seen a flash back to McNair raising a little Tom.  Hell, I would love to read the fanfic if anybody has written it.  It would be adorable.  

[death2normalcy]

Ten Being Human Characters: [7/10] Dominic Rook

“Close your eyes, don’t look at the monsters.“

[stillbeinghuman]

As previously established, I love Rook.

[stillbeinghuman]

Spoilers, Everyone Dies*: What it means to be “Saved” in Being Human

*Not EVERYONE dies **

**Some people were dead already.

Let’s talk about the act of saving someone or the being saved.  Saving, at least in most TV shows usually means saving someones life and it usually happens that a powerful person saves a less powerful from something.  That thing is usually a person, being or people who is more powerful than the person being save.  

Saving doesn’t often happen in being human. Here is an unnecessarily long but not at all conclusive list: 

Annie’s Boyfriend kills her. Mitchell takes Lauren out and murders her . Mitchell takes Becca out and Lauren kills her. Mitchell chooses not to turn her into a vampire. Bernie is hit by a car and Mitchell turns him in to a Vampire so if this was him saving Bernie then he definitely didn’t save Becca, but is being a vampire really is a horrible fate then he didn’t really save Bernie.  Lauren begs Mitchell to stake her. George and Nina date. George turns Nina into a Werewolf. Eventually Nina is murdered. Carl kills Dan. Saul is killed. Ivan is killed (eventually so is Daisy, by McNair and Tom). Mitchell begs to be killed.  George dies saving Eve (who must die at the hands of Annie to stop the Old Ones). Alex goes out with Hal and is killed by Cutler. Michaela is saved by Regus but becomes a vampire (see Becca above) and so on and so on and so on.

People’s lives are not saved in Being Human because in Being Human mortality is not such a big deal (except when it is for some reason).  Hell, at least half the regular cast for any given season is technically dead already.  If you die it’s even odds you will pop up in the next episode with something snarky to say.  

So what does it mean when a person is saved or isn’t saved? In the most straightforward meaning to be saved is to be able to or go on and to try to be good.  Annie was saved because she continued to be after death.  She continued to try.  Mitchell and Hal are horrible people but they try to be good.  

It isn’t at all clear whether Vampire has an afterlife although I think it is implied that they do.  Even though Hal says that their souls belong to the Devil, Lia tells Mitchell that the hallway is HIS Purgatory. And if we are too judge by Annie’s face and Eve’s cryptic words, Mitchell has made it to her happy afterlife.  

Hal says that “to want it, is to have it.”  I think you can take that to mean being human but in a broader sense humanity was always a stand-in for goodness in this show.  To want to be good is to be good.  Everyone fails, horribly sometimes, but to try it the virtue.  

So really, Mitchell saved George and then George Saved Annie.  Annie saved everybody. 

[ravcnsclaw]

in this little enclave of the lost, I witnessed the very best of being human.

[stillbeinghuman]

I love this.  It is Beautiful.  Being Human is absolutely cruel to its wonderful characters and that is why it is so great.

[stillbeinghuman]

Being Human Timeline

I often find myself wondering about the timeline in television shows.  Sometime it is very obvious that shows are mean to take place over the time that they air (see Felicity). Some times they are meant to take place outside of time (see The Simpsons).  Some times it is much much weirder than that.  For example, MASH takes place during the Korean war (1950-1953) but the show ran for 11 seasons or 8 years longer than the war it portrays.  To put that in perspective the Korean War took place over 156 weeks and Mash had 256 episode so each episode could not on average, have take place over more  than a few days.  

What really struck me about the timeline in Being Human was when, in series 3, Nina was asked how long she and George had been together they both said it had been about a year.  At the time I was watching Being Human in real time as episodes aired. When I heard that I thought “Hasn’t it been longer than that?”  because in my mind they had been together since 2009  I am fairly certain that the series took place over just 2-3 years (not 5). 

Okay so let’s get it straight. If you have any evidence that contradicts anything here or that adds any insight please share it!  There are a few places where it isn’t 100% clear how much time has pasts so some of this is best estimate. 

Keep reading

[hollyqueue]

Ooh, the mysterious timeline! It’s impossible to reconcile. Alex’s headstone reads 2012 – putting her death in the actual real-world time of series 4. It’s true that, narratively, the events happened over less than 2 years. But the episodes pretty much always took place in the present (series 3 took place slightly in the past (it begins about 3 weeks after the end of 2), but skipped to present time in 4 – about 2 years ahead at that point – without more than a couple of months passage of time in the narrative). 

[stillbeinghuman]

Yes, I hadn’t thought about  Alex’s headstone.  Annie definitely says that she dies in 2007 and somewhere (I can’t recall) she says she dies two years ago.  

[stillbeinghuman]

George Cheated on Nina and we all know it.

When I first found Being Human (circa 2010ish before series 3) George was my favorite character in many ways he still is.  Russell Tovey is an excellent actor and George is written so, so well.  

However, Series 2 Episode 1 George is the worst.  He is mean, he is mad, he tries to physically intimidate Nina and he super-duper, 100% cheats on her.  [I did not Gif that because my mother raised me right.]

We don’t see a George this fucked up until Series 4 Episode 1.  George is written as such a sympathetic character that It so very easy for me to separate these toxic bits as “Real” George. George is good, George is kind and loving.  George wants to protect Nina* and his friends. George is reasonable.  George is gentle.

If the werewolf is meant to be a stand-in for emotional and psychological disorders or  bipolar disorder then it makes sense that George another side to him.  Georges other side a very dangerous and dark side that is capable of doing very bad things even to people he loves. 

In a way he is even more dangerous to people around him than Mitchell is.  Mitchell is always dangerous.  Dangerous is Mitchell’s deal.  To a woman Mitchell may look like a mistake that might be worth making but George is a the right choice.  Ask any woman, the worst case scenario is the guy everyone says was so quiet who turns out to be dangerous.  The big bad wolf that women and society rightfully fear the most  the monsters that we couldn’t clock until it was too late. 

I do think that George is all of those wonderful things I said before.  I LOVE him with NINA and love the bits where they are together and happy.  However George has his very real dark side too.  His dark side makes me about a 1000 times more uneasy that Mitchell’s because it is hidden. 

*I think it is interesting to note that George is at his worst after two times that he failed to protect Nina, first by infecting her and then second when she was murdered.

[psmith73]

This is a great meta! I especially agree with this:

The big bad wolf that women and society rightfully fear the most  the monsters that we couldn’t clock until it was too late.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do love George, probably even more than the other three male leads (and I like George/Nina), but one of the main reasons why I like him so much is because of his flaws, that make him so real. And let’s be honest George isn’t a fluffy little muffin as the fandom likes to think of him. And not just because of that 2x01 scene between him and Nina. 

George was always egocentric - the main reason why that 2x01 scene happened in the first place. Like most of us humans, when in pain/grief, he always made it about himself first and foremost, disregarding other people’s feelings almost completely, no matter how close they were to him. 

What did he do when got infected by a werewolf? Left his entire life behind him to start a new one. On one hand, he did this to protect his family and friends from himself, which IS an understandable decision, considering everything… On the other, hand he did it because it was easier for himself that way. 

Now, I know that not many have seen the original Pilot (2008), and even less consider it canon to the events that happened in the main series but, imo, out of all main characters from that pilot, George has stayed the same in the series, both when it comes to the actor and to the general character development. In a way, the arc with Julia (ex-girlfriend) reflects later development of George and Nina’s relationship. When Julia sees him for the first time, since he disappeared, she asks him why did he leave her, on which George answers:

George: We wouldn’t… If it hadn’t been this, it would have been something. Julia: What do you mean? G: People like you… don’t stay with people like me. I was just the fill-in guy. I’m the guy you look back on and say, “Oh, he was sweet.” If it hadn’t been this, it would have been something. J: But I adored you!

So, here we see that George makes assumptions on her behalf, without asking her opinion and disregarding her feelings. Same happened in 2x01 when he was going through a rough period after killing Herrick and all the attacks from the local vamps - he makes assumptions about Nina’s behavior. And just like in Julia’s case, those assumptions very conveniently make him look like the wronged party.

Also, let’s not forget that he disappeared without saying a single word to his parents. There’s a great (sadly) deleted scene from 3x06 between him and his mother, when Ruth says:

Once I was at Huston station, and I thought I saw you - train went past an I thought I caught a glimpse of you sitting by the window… That train - it was going to Liverpool, so I went there too… I stayed there for a fortnight. Every day I sat in this cafe outside of the station just… watching… waiting… You never came.

So, yeah, his almost-stepfather might have been a jerk, but the guy wasn’t completely wrong when he called George “selfish”. 

And again in 4x01 we see that side of George when he makes Nina’s death all about himself and practically ignores baby Eve for the first half of the episode - because of that we never even see him holding his own child.

Like I said, I love George and he is my favorite, but the guy was far from being perfect… Then again humans are never perfect. :)

But yeah, that 2x01 scene really is scary and creepy - one of the most disturbing scenes from the entire series for me, particularly because it’s so real.

[stillbeinghuman]

Wonderful points! 

[stillbeinghuman]

George Cheated on Nina and we all know it.

When I first found Being Human (circa 2010ish before series 3) George was my favorite character in many ways he still is.  Russell Tovey is an excellent actor and George is written so, so well.  

However, Series 2 Episode 1 George is the worst.  He is mean, he is mad, he tries to physically intimidate Nina and he super-duper, 100% cheats on her.  [I did not Gif that because my mother raised me right.]

We don’t see a George this fucked up until Series 4 Episode 1.  George is written as such a sympathetic character that It so very easy for me to separate these toxic bits as “Real” George. George is good, George is kind and loving.  George wants to protect Nina* and his friends. George is reasonable.  George is gentle.

If the werewolf is meant to be a stand-in for emotional and psychological disorders or  bipolar disorder then it makes sense that George another side to him.  Georges other side a very dangerous and dark side that is capable of doing very bad things even to people he loves. 

In a way he is even more dangerous to people around him than Mitchell is.  Mitchell is always dangerous.  Dangerous is Mitchell’s deal.  To a woman Mitchell may look like a mistake that might be worth making but George is a the right choice.  Ask any woman, the worst case scenario is the guy everyone says was so quiet who turns out to be dangerous.  The big bad wolf that women and society rightfully fear the most  the monsters that we couldn’t clock until it was too late. 

I do think that George is all of those wonderful things I said before.  I LOVE him with NINA and love the bits where they are together and happy.  However George has his very real dark side too.  His dark side makes me about a 1000 times more uneasy that Mitchell’s because it is hidden. 

*I think it is interesting to note that George is at his worst after two times that he failed to protect Nina, first by infecting her and then second when she was murdered.

[stillbeinghuman]

Being Human Timeline

I often find myself wondering about the timeline in television shows.  Sometime it is very obvious that shows are mean to take place over the time that they air (see Felicity). Some times they are meant to take place outside of time (see The Simpsons).  Some times it is much much weirder than that.  For example, MASH takes place during the Korean war (1950-1953) but the show ran for 11 seasons or 8 years longer than the war it portrays.  To put that in perspective the Korean War took place over 156 weeks and Mash had 256 episode so each episode could not on average, have take place over more  than a few days.  

What really struck me about the timeline in Being Human was when, in series 3, Nina was asked how long she and George had been together they both said it had been about a year.  At the time I was watching Being Human in real time as episodes aired. When I heard that I thought “Hasn’t it been longer than that?”  because in my mind they had been together since 2009  I am fairly certain that the series took place over just 2-3 years (not 5). 

Okay so let’s get it straight. If you have any evidence that contradicts anything here or that adds any insight please share it!  There are a few places where it isn’t 100% clear how much time has pasts so some of this is best estimate. 

I am neglecting the pilot. 

Series 1 Episode 1 - Year 0 Month 0:  George transforms so that is a good starting place. 

Series 1 Episode 2 - Year 0 Month 1-2:  George transforms at the beginning and the end. 

Series 1 Episode 3 - Year 0 Month 3: George Transforms, he and Nina start dating 

Series 1 Episode 4 - Year 0 Month 3: Seems to be over the course of just a few days to a week.  Owen says he needs them out by the end of next month. 

Series 1 Episode 5 - Year 0 Month 3: Still no transformation (although it could have been off screen) and Owen isn’t kicking them out yet.

Series 1 Episode 6 - Year 0 Month 4:  Episode begins right after S1E5 ends George transforms, Infects Nina, and kills Herrick.  

Series 2 Episode 1 - Year 0 Month 5:  Nina’s first transformation since being infected by George in S1E6

Series 2 Episode 2 - Year 0 Month 5: Nina leaves.  Annie is invisible again. 

Series 2 Episode 3 - Year 0 Month 5: Annie says she “has been struggling with the ghost thing the last few days.” So it hasn’t been that long since she became invisible again. and Hugh is just now looking for her 

Series 2 Episode 4 - Year 0 Month 6: Full Moon, George Transforms in the Cage. Nina is in the Chamber.  

Series 2 Episode 5 - Year 0 Month 6:

Series 2 Episode 6 - Year 0 Month 6: Sam tells George about the Parent teacher conference. Vampires are blown up. 

Series 2 Episode 7 - Year 0 Month 7:Box Tunnel Massacre. George Transforms (nearly not making it to the cage). Nina returns and George says she has been gone for weeks (not so much months). 

Series 2 Episode 8 - Year 0 Month 8: They leave the facility and their has been some time since they get a new house and George has a new job at a cafe

Series 3 Episode 1 - Year 0 Month 9: George and Nina transform and conceive Eve. It isn’t clear how long it has been since they lost Annie but it doesn’t seem long. 

Series 3 Episode 2 - Year 0 Month 9: Richard says “Have you seen a newspaper in the last four weeks?” referring to the Box Tunnel Massacre so it has been only a month or so since the massacre.  

Series 3 Episode 3 - Year 0 Month 9:

Series 3 Episode 4 - Year 0 Month 10: Full Moon, first since Eve was conceived. 

Series 3 Episode 5 - Year 0 Month 10:

Series 3 Episode 6 - Year 0 Month 10:

Series 3 Episode 7 - Year 0 Month 11: Full Moon, first since Eve was conceived.  Nina is 8 weeks pregnant but it was progressing faster than a normal pregnancy. Nina and George say they have been together for about a year. 

Series 3 Episode 8 - Year 0 Month 11: Episode takes place immediately after S3E7 so all of series 3 takes place over 2 months. 

Series 4 Episode 1 - Year 1 Month 4:  It has been less than a month since Nina gave birth because George hasn’t transformed yet.  At the end of Series 3 Nina was 8 weeks pregnant but it was progressing faster than a normal pregnancy.  Her doctor said it was more like she was 16 weeks along.  So assuming she had a normal pregnancy then at most it has been 9 months since the end of series 3 but since her pregnancy was progressing at 2x the rate it could have been a few as 4 months.  Griffin Says that the Old Ones will be here in 2 months. 

Series 4 Episode 2 - Year 1 Month 4: We know that less than a month has past because Leo was said wouldn’t survive another transformation. 

Series 4 Episode 3 - Year 1 Month 4:

Series 4 Episode 4 - Year 1 Month 4: 

Series 4 Episode 5 -Year 1 Month 5:  Full Moon. Tom says. 

Series 4 Episode 6 -Year 1 Month 5: 

Series 4 Episode 7 - Year 1 Month 6: Full Moon.  Tom nearly kills folks at the night club. The Old ones arrive two Months after Griffin says. 

Series 4 Episode 8 -Year 1 Month 6: All of series 4 also takes place over two months.  Poor baby Eve dies at 3 months old. 

Series 5 Episode 1 - Year 1 Month 8: We have no idea how long Hal was in the Chair but Alex is still “traumatized and all that jazz.”  so I think it is about a month or two.  Alex also found that her funeral had been 3 weeks prior. 

Series 5 Episode 2 - Year 1 Month 8: Reference the very recent suicide at the end of S5E1.

Series 5 Episode 3 - Year 1 Month 9: Full Moon.  Larry woke up in the woods

Series 5 Episode 4 - Year 1 Month 10: Full Moon. Tom saves Hal from Bobby.

Series 5 Episodes 5 & 6 - Year 1 Month 10: From Hal’s behavior it seems like these episode take place immediately after S5E4. 

So the entire series could have taken place over less than 2 years.  I think that even if you assume some jumps in time were longer than a month it still would not have been more than 2 and a half years.  The largest ‘jump’ in time being Nina’s pregnancy between series 3 and 4.  

[stillbeinghuman]

Annie is Superman/Jean Grey/Jesus but also an Abuse Survivor

Go with me on this.  

Hennessey says "Jesus, she’s powerful!”.

Wyndham knows. 

Mr. Snow knows who she is and says that it has been an honor seeing her in action.  

Alan Cortez lost his 6th sense but he can still hear Annie. 

Maybe Annie became more powerful by turning down doors but Lady Mary has turned down way more.  Annie isn’t just any ghost she is super ghost.   

Going back to the original theme of the show, addiction = vampire, mood/emotional disorder = werewolf, depression/anxiety/isolation = ghost,I think it makes sense. Annie was in an abusive relationship.  Inmate partner abuse is dependent on the perpetrator convincing the victim that they have little to no power.  It makes sense that Annie would not always be able to access her full abilities depending on how she was feeling. That is also the reason that it never bothered me that Annie’s abilities were inconsistent.  Sometimes she can be seen, sometimes she can't.  She can read auras but then she can’t tell who is a vampire.  Some times she is being choked by a vampire and some times she is tossing them around like dolls. 

So Annie has more power than she can imagine but she is at her weakest when she is being manipulated by Owen, Saul, Kemp, Mitchell, and Kirby.  She is also her strongest when she realizes that she is strong and has her own agency.  

Annie’s narrative is so strong.  For a show that murders a lot of women they also do their best to humanize, individualize and empower murdered women.  

[stillbeinghuman]

Is Mitchell the main Antagonist in Series 3?

My personal opinion is yes.

First let’s look at the simple definition of a villain or antagonist.  They tend to fall into one or both of these categories. 1) Someone who does evil things and must therefore be stopped by the protagonist and/or 2) Someone who actively opposes or acts as an impediment to the protagonist.  I am framing both categories as they apply to the protagonists.  

We can also look at a more local definition of who is an antagonist on Being Human.  Series long antagonists (or big bads) were Herrick and maybe Lauren for Series 1, Kemp and Jaggat for Series 2, maybe Lia or Herrick for Series 3, Cutler and the Old Ones for Series 4, and Rook and the Devil for Series 5.  These antagonists cause trouble and or try to hurt or destroy the protagonists.  Sometimes these baddies get some form of redemption (especially one if there are two of them) but in every series they die are appear to die in the end.  The protagonists triumph.  

So let’s look at Mitchell.  Certainly, the worst thing he ever did on the show was the Box Tunnel Massacre and that was series 2.  If anything, series 3 is entirely predicated on Mitchell’s actions in series 2.  He lies to his friends to protect himself.  He keeps Herrick alive in order to save himself.   He places George and Nina in harm’s way in an effort to avoid the consequences of his actions when he offers McNair up for the Dog fights.   In the end our protagonists kill him.  

What makes Being Human so awesome is that they didn’t just make an anti-hero.  They took their hero and made him a villain.  You could possibly read the events at the end of series 3 as a redemption arc for Mitchell but usually redemption has to do with actively doing something good.  Mitchell’s end is framed more as justice for what he has do, although his death will prevent more deaths.  Being Human took this wonderful, complicated character and didn’t go soft in the end.  I think it does a disservice to the wonderful writing and acting to say “Mitchell is a bad guy.”  He isn’t, but he certainly isn’t a good guy either.  He has done terrible things for no other reason than he likes doing terrible things but he also feels guilt over them.  He also truly loves his friends.  

There are some many great things about Being Human but Mitchell and his arc are rightly considered one of the best.  

[hollyqueue]

I think it was more subversive than that. Mitchell was still a protagonist in S3, but it turned the whole notion of protagonism and antagonism on its head. Lia and Nancy by definition were antagonists, but they fought for justice and humanity – they took the concept of antagonists who believe they’re doing good from s2 and pushed it to the limit, to where, especially in Nancy’s case, your ‘antagonist’ was unequivocally good.

S3 showed the absurdity of vampires as protagonists, and of the modern “sexy vampire” fantasy. It de-glamorized the idea of falling in love with a vampire.

S3 also subverted the “friendly neighborhood vampire” trope we expected from the beginning. IMO, they did not take our hero and make him a villain. Mitchell was never a hero, we just perceived him that way because he was presented as a nice guy. But he left a trail of blood from the very first moment you see him in episode 1. He convinced himself – and we believed – that he only killed for “good” in S1, but he was in no way clean S1, just opportunistic.

The only series in which Mitchell was clean was 3.

The only truly “good” kill he made was in 3 (killing the vampire Graham before he executed a copycat train slaughter)

His most just act was stopping the monster he knew would kill again.

Mitchell was his most human in 3, he wasn’t playing house or holding 12-step meetings to smother his guilt like he was in earlier series. When he experienced grief over the loss of Annie at the end of s2, that altered Mitchell. It wasn’t just his own pain, he suddenly had a real concept of what he’d done to other people. That pretty much cost him his sanity, but for the first time he considered protecting humanity in an unselfish way.

[stillbeinghuman]

This is such a good point “The only series in which Mitchell was clean was 3.”  YES!  I like everything you said here. 

[stillbeinghuman]

Is Mitchell the main Antagonist in Series 3?

My personal opinion is yes.

First let’s look at the simple definition of a villain or antagonist.  They tend to fall into one or both of these categories. 1) Someone who does evil things and must therefore be stopped by the protagonist and/or 2) Someone who actively opposes or acts as an impediment to the protagonist.  I am framing both categories as they apply to the protagonists.  

We can also look at a more local definition of who is an antagonist on Being Human.  Series long antagonists (or big bads) were Herrick and maybe Lauren for Series 1, Kemp and Jaggat for Series 2, maybe Lia or Herrick for Series 3, Cutler and the Old Ones for Series 4, and Rook and the Devil for Series 5.  These antagonists cause trouble and or try to hurt or destroy the protagonists.  Sometimes these baddies get some form of redemption (especially one if there are two of them) but in every series they die are appear to die in the end.  The protagonists triumph.  

So let’s look at Mitchell.  Certainly, the worst thing he ever did on the show was the Box Tunnel Massacre and that was series 2.  If anything, series 3 is entirely predicated on Mitchell’s actions in series 2.  He lies to his friends to protect himself.  He keeps Herrick alive in order to save himself.   He places George and Nina in harm’s way in an effort to avoid the consequences of his actions when he offers McNair up for the Dog fights.   In the end our protagonists kill him.  

What makes Being Human so awesome is that they didn’t just make an anti-hero.  They took their hero and made him a villain.  You could possibly read the events at the end of series 3 as a redemption arc for Mitchell but usually redemption has to do with actively doing something good.  Mitchell’s end is framed more as justice for what he has do, although his death will prevent more deaths.  Being Human took this wonderful, complicated character and didn’t go soft in the end.  I think it does a disservice to the wonderful writing and acting to say “Mitchell is a bad guy.”  He isn’t, but he certainly isn’t a good guy either.  He has done terrible things for no other reason than he likes doing terrible things but he also feels guilt over them.  He also truly loves his friends.  

There are some many great things about Being Human but Mitchell and his arc are rightly considered one of the best.  

[the-trash-fox]

So I was thinking about John Mitchell this morning

Why, you ask? God knows. I was minding my own business drinking tea when BAM, meta ponderings. But that happens a lot so I don’t really question it. One particular scene and line popped into my head, from near the end of series 2 in the confrontation between scary!Mitchell and Kemp. They throw things around about good and evil and their respective justifications etc and then Mitchell kind of shakes his head and is like “Look at us. Covered in other people’s blood and talking about morality.” And this is such a fascinating line to me. It reflects not only his implicit recognition of his own guilt, even at one of his least rational points, but is also a salient element of the show’s narrative attitude toward Mitchell himself.

One of the reasons I absolutely adore Mitchell’s arc is that I have never seen another show that so thoroughly condemns (understands, but condemns) the moral failings of one of its main heroes. And it’s not an armchair condemnation either (look guys, he did bad stuff, that’s wrong): it involves real, honest consequences and because of that it breaks your heart. 

This show is brave enough to put a fan favorite character into a psychological disintegration due to certain devastating choices he makes. They do not treat him as a fun, root-worthy anti-hero who does shady shit and might feel guilty but is generally able to keep on keeping on with his questionable activities. John Mitchell backs himself into a corner and destroys himself in a terrible, wonderful symphony of DON’T DO THE THING bad decisions. Being Human acknowledges that there are some things you can’t easily bounce back from, and they require one of their most beloved characters to pay the moral debt that he incurs. They don’t sugar-coat it. He done fucked up. 

Which brings me back to that line. The show is both sympathetic toward him (let’s face it, most of us adore that man) and realistically critical of him. We know his good sides, hear his justifications and dilemmas, we understand his “morality” if you will,  but this story makes no bones about the fact that Mitchell is “covered in other people’s blood.” Our beautiful cinnamon roll is a murderous cinnamon roll. And he has to face the consequences of that, and that’s part of what makes his arc so fucking powerful and painful and great. 

I have a lot of feelings now thanks brain

[stillbeinghuman]

This is a wonderful post.  I also have a lot of feelings thoughts about Mitchell.  I will share in the future.

[stillbeinghuman]

Tom and Benevolent Sexism

I lurv Tom McNair.  He is a great character and a great addition to the show.  Even the show itself can’t stop telling us how great he is.

“All right, Calm Down.” indeed!

He is, however, a sexist, a benevolent sexist. Although, it’s probably not his fault.  Benevolent sexism is like “Women can’t do X because they are too good for it.”  In benevolent sexism women are not being put down but they are still be controlled and someone else is still telling women what is best for them as apposed to allowing women to be full human beings who can make their own choices, good, bad or otherwise.    

The two best examples of this are everything with Allison in S4E6 and his conversation with Alex in S5E1. 

When Tom Meets Allison he is very excited.  In the same way Nina met his criteria for Female-I-would-like-to-be-in-a-relationship-with by being female and a werewolf he isn’t really connecting with Allison on an individual level.  Although as the episode progresses that improves.  He likes that she won debating championships and that she wants to be a barrister. 

When Tom says that Allison is perfect and he almost ruined her Allison is quick to point that she is NOT perfect and he CANNOT ruin her.  She also tells him that she knows what she wants which a few scenes earlier was aggressively trying to have sex with a less than willing partner! Tom’s reasons for not being into physical intimacy at that moment was that Allison was behaving in a way that didn’t match the character he created for her in is mind. So basically they are both bad at relationships at this point but Allison needs to learn about active consent.  Tom decides that Allison is better off going home and he isn’t particularly interested in hearing her thoughts on the subject.  I do think he has feelings for Allison [I really like their relationship]. 

Alex basically calls him out on it when Tom flat out says that Alex can’t do something dangerous because she is woman.  He also zeros on on why he thinks this way, his dad.  Although I might argue that is has a lot more to do with not really knowing a lot of women AND the advice he got from McNair.  It is hard to imagine women as complete human beings when you don’t know any and are given very specific instructions on how to treat them.  

Still, by the end of the series Tom does seem to be doing better.  He is willing to be in a relationship with Natasha and doesn’t seem to have any preconceived notions about how she is to behave.  In the Devil’s fantasy world for Tom he even voices his concern that he may not have that much in common with Allison beyond lycanthropy.  

Tom is a great character and part of what makes him great is he has flaws.  

I don’t feel like I am reading too much into this. I honestly believe that this stuff was written in to the series.  That is why I love Being Human.  It is a character show masquerading as supernatural horror comedy.  

[psmith73]

#yes good  #although I do think the situation with Tom and Allison was a lot more complicated than that she didn’t fit into the idea that he had of her #its more that she encouraged her to abandon her principles and fall into a way of life that he was always taught to believe in #but as he watches her do that he realises exactly how bad that life can be for people- what he lost by being brought up into it #so he tries to save Allison from it by ending their relationship and then we see him start to try and save himself from it #but Cutler stuff gets in the way #And I mean yeah making decisions about what’s good for other people is bad- especially when its coming from a sexist place #But it was him who convinced her it was fine to kill vampires to start with- its fair enough to feel responsible for what he’s done to her #and it was ultimately Allison’s decision at least not to kill Golda- if not to leave 

(tags via greatestvoyagehistoryofplastic)

[stillbeinghuman]

This is a great response!  I agree that there is a lot going on and that Allison does not even fore a moment give up her agency in her actions.  I love the Tom and Allison relationship.  I may do a whole post about it (or if I give in to my inner obsessive, 100 posts).  I hope everyone who saw my post sees your’s too! 

[stillbeinghuman]

An Ode to Dominic Rook

So Rook is an antagonist but maybe not evil.  I love this character and I think that it isn’t quite so cut and dry.  Rook takes his job very seriously and sometimes make horrible decisions in order keep doing his job.  Examples being having Ian “Crumb” Cram kill his sister and niece, letting Bobby loose on the hotel, and setting up Hal with Natasha.  

Maybe I just have a soft spot for bureaucrats but I think that Rook really does believe in the work he is doing.  I also think that he fundamentally values not only human lives but those of the vampires and werewolves too.  He isn’t Kemp or Jaggat.  When it is suggested to he just dispose of the the vampires and werwolves (werewolf) being housed at the archives he is taken aback.  He doesn’t want to kill Bobby and he doesn’t kill Hetty either.  

In the end he is the one who, without hesitation, tells Hal to kill him when the Devil reposes his body.  So yay for Rook who is just a civil servant trying to do his job on a government salary!

[stillbeinghuman]

Tom and Benevolent Sexism

I lurv Tom McNair.  He is a great character and a great addition to the show.  Even the show itself can’t stop telling us how great he is.

“All right, Calm Down.” indeed!

He is, however, sexist, a benevolent sexist. Although, it's probably not his fault.  Benevolent sexism is like “Women can’t do X because they are too good for it.”  In benevolent sexism women are not being put down but they are still be controlled and someone else is still telling women what is best for them as apposed to allowing women to be full human beings who can make their own choices, good, bad or otherwise.    

The two best examples of this are everything with Allison in S4E6 and his conversation with Alex in S5E1. 

When Tom Meets Allison he is very excited.  In the same way Nina met his criteria for Female-I-would-like-to-be-in-a-relationship-with by being female and a werewolf he isn’t really connecting with Allison on an individual level.  Although as the episode progresses that improves.  He likes that she won debating championships and that she wants to be a barrister. 

When Tom says that Allison is perfect and he almost ruined her Allison is quick to point that she is NOT perfect and he CANNOT ruin her.  She also tells him that she knows what she wants which a few scenes earlier was aggressively trying to have sex with a less than willing partner! Tom’s reasons for not being into physical intimacy at that moment was that Allison was behaving in a way that didn’t match the character he created for her in is mind. So basically they are both bad at relationships at this point but Allison needs to learn about active consent.  Tom decides that Allison is better off going home and he isn’t particularly interested in hearing her thoughts on the subject.  I do think he has feelings for Allison [I really like their relationship]. 

Alex basically calls him out on it when Tom flat out says that Alex can’t do something dangerous because she is woman.  He also zeros on on why he thinks this way, his dad.  Although I might argue that is has a lot more to do with not really knowing a lot of women AND the advice he got from McNair.  It is hard to imagine women as complete human beings when you don’t know any and are given very specific instructions on how to treat them.  

Still, by the end of the series Tom does seem to be doing better.  He is willing to be in a relationship with Natasha and doesn’t seem to have any preconceived notions about how she is to behave.  In the Devil’s fantasy world for Tom he even voices his concern that he may not have that much in common with Allison beyond lycanthropy.  

Tom is a great character and part of what makes him great is he has flaws.  

I don’t feel like I am reading too much into this. I honestly believe that this stuff was written in to the series.  That is why I love Being Human.  It is a character show masquerading as supernatural horror comedy.  

[stillbeinghuman]

Nina, You are Worth a million of [all of us].

I love Nina!  I am not even going to waste time responding to some of the criticism of her. “She shouldn’t have turned Mitchell in!”  yeah well if you are blaming someone in Being Human for something and it isn’t mass murder *cough Mitchell *cough Hal *cough McNair and Tom then you are in some deep level of rationalization.  Everyone on Being Human has done super awful stuff.  

Let me tell you why Nina is awesome:

She is an active character.  She does things and doesn’t just have things happen to her.  This is a problem with a lot of women characters.  

She is friends with Annie, really friends not just adjacent while female.

(Source beinghumangraphics)

She has a career.

She loves her partner! 

She keeps her cool when the shit is hitting the fan. 

She always does what she thinks is right.  

*Thanks to Naboorus for the GIF!