TV Review: Being Human 5.4, The Greater Good
rating: 4
This review contains spoilers. Theres another new werewolf checking into Honolulu Heights although this time Tom gets the chance to be the mentor. Alex finds herself on an unexpected date with Crumb, Captain Hatch is back and Hals blood cravings are getting worse. Meet Bobby (Ricky Grover), a naive but loveable giant of a man who has been living in the archives of Rooks now dissolved department. Cashing in his favour from Hal, the jobless man in grey temporally rehouses werewolf Bobby with our trinity of heroes whilst he negotiates with overseas backers to reinstate his orginisation. Hals not the only one faced with his responsibilities as Crumb and his new recruit Alan have been on a killing spree, rather than destroying them outright Hal opts to try and rehabilitate his creation and takes them back to the house. Hal is having a crisis of faith and is struggling with routine, aided by Alex and her unshakable faith in him, Hal presents his two vampire guests with two shot glasses of blood, one is human the other is werewolf. After his sorely felt absence last week, Captain Hatch is back and he ensnares Rooks assistance to create an incident that the powers that be cant ignore. The two men scheme to leave Bobby to transform in the Barry Grand and the two just wait for chaos to break out, although their plan doesnt provide the results they desired. The addition of Bobby makes for some of the funniest moments in Being Humans history, Tom enjoys his new friend looking up to him and once he gets passed the annoyance he takes him under his wing. Hal appears to have developed a split personality as his demonic side is portrayed as more of a possession than a part of him, oddly this scene felt uneven and like we had been rushed through several key stages of Hal succumbing to his evil desires. Once again there is the lingering echoes of old story-lines, Mitchell faced his battle to get off the blood and Annie wouldnt give up on him, but these are the cycles that a trinity of supernatural beings face and to shy away from these core elements would betray what this series was all about; redemption. Bobby is an endearing addition to the group, in a quietly moving scene when Tom gives him a present from the ebay of the answering machine hed enquired about. What I took to be a quirk or a throwaway line turned about to be the emotional heart of this character, longing to hear his now departed mothers voice on a tape hed carried with him for over 15 years. As soon as we hear her voice beckon Ello Bobby love the audience just fell a little bit in love with Bobby. This gave Tom the chance to be the mentor and learn from Larrys mistakes , at first he embellishes his achievements and looking down on Bobby but Tom is just too good hearted to be mean. When Crumb was introduced there was lots of potential with where his character could go, the climax of episode 2 suggested he was raising an army of his own which turned out to be just one person. Whilst many fans believe Crumb ran his course and there was nothing else to be done with him, I cant help but feel the character didnt quite live up to the expectation. The brilliant Getting On aside my lasting memory of Rickey Grovers work was the deeply misguided sitcom Orrible! starring Jonny Vaughn, cast against type here, Grover gives a heartfelt performance and its one that leaves an impression long after the credits roll. Filled with the usual mix of humour and horror this episode served as a stark reminder that the impending end is drawing ever closer. Being Human continues Sunday at 10pm on BBC Three