Disclaimer: for people who haven’t watched any Series 4, this review contains some spoilers. This review only affects the first half of the series.
Watching the first half of Series 4 made me
realise how utterly DARK Series 3 was. As it turns out, it was the swan song
for ¾ of the regular cast, with Aidan Turner’s character getting dusted* in the final episode of Series 3, Sinead
Keenan not returning in Series 4 but her death is referenced a couple of times
as having occurred a mere week after Eve was born, and Russell Tovey’s
departure at the end of the first episode of Series 4. As despondent George,
Tovey was very much secondary to Michael Socha’s Tom McNair becoming more of a
presence in the development of a narrative dynamic. Over a very short period of
time, young Tom has turned into the show’s “action man” ** while George seemed
to be paralysed by grief and in one final act of heroism assists in the rescue
of his daughter which costs him his life, which he has no issue with.
Series 4, Episode 1 Eve of the War offers a
nice twist. Right up until the end of the first episode, viewers had been led
to believe that the flash forwards to a young woman in the year 2037, in
possession of the vampire prophecy involving Eve was in fact Eve, until the
moment she declares her intent of killing the child back in 2012ish. Then doubt
creeps in for the viewer. Is she or is she not?
Damien Molony offers a lot of depth to the
position left vacant by Aidan Turner as resident frenemy vampire. As Hal, an “Old One”, he has
even more of a past than Mitchell did, and he’s been “clean” a much shorter
amount of time relative to his age (not yet revealed). Molony himself is a recent theatre
graduate (2011) and a relative unknown, but he brings a lot of intensity,
tension, and integrity to the part. I actually saw him in the National Theatre’s
production of Travelling Light several months ago and as one of the two leading
males, and in the dual roles of Nate and Motl, he definitely stood out as
someone to watch.
Another twist of a sort was the introduction of
Lee Ingleby as the efficient and brutal über-vamp Edgar Wyndam taking
control of a department of police near the end of the final episode of Series 3.
Great, I thought. I’d like to see what kind of havoc he tries to wreak in the
coming series. Not so. He is referenced in the past tense in the first episodes
as having been killed, so there was a definite void in the vampire enemy category:
enter Andrew Gower as Cutler, who looked very familiar and turns out I
remembered him from his first commercial role as a surgical intern in the ITV
series Monroe (starring the always amazing James Nesbitt, Sarah Parish and Tom Riley). Veering
away from the stereotypical Being Human vampire profession of policeman, Cutler’s
“day job” is that of a lawyer, which is revealed in the fourth episode A
Spectre Calls as he advocates for Tom to be released from jail. This episode
is my favourite of the first 4: it is seriously creepy (Kirby’s machinations),
seriously tugs at the heart strings (Tom’s anticipation of his first birthday
party), and seriously laugh-out-loud funny*** in the scene with the GP when Tom
and Hal pretend to be lovers in order to present themselves as ‘plausible
caregivers’ for Eve - Annie’s ghostiness very
much a disadvantage when dealing with people from social services or, in this case, the medical profession.
So far it’s like a brand-new show. New faces.
New feel. What is paramount is that the “supernatural trinity” of vampire/werewolf/ghost co-habitating stays intact, that much is
clear. Apart from that, it’s probably not a good a idea to get attached. As evidenced
in the transition between Series 3 and 4, everyone is disposable.
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer reference.
** Michael Socha proving to be just as much
a force to be reckoned with as his younger sister Lauren is on Misfits.
*** Mind you, in the episode “The Graveyard
Shift”, there are also a number of really funny moments. Molony and Socha have
very good comedic chemistry.
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