Genre: Sci-Fi | Horror | Drama

Air Date/Time: January 21 at 9/8c

Network: Syfy

Creators: Toby Whithouse (format created by), Jeremy Carver (developer), Anna Fricke (developer)

Director: Adam Kane

Writers: Nancy Won

Summary:

Being human — nobody ever said it was easy. For vampire Aidan, ghost Sally and werewolf Josh, it might just be impossible. Syfy’s hit drama starring Sam Witwer as Aidan, Meaghan Rath as Sally and Sam Huntington as Josh, has returned for its long-awaited third season. Kristen Hager – now a series regular — also stars as Nora, Josh’s werewolf girlfriend.

The new season of Being Human picks up 15 months after the events of last season’s riveting finale which ended with Aidan being buried alive as punishment from vampire leader Mother, Sally, lost in a state of limbo, and Josh’s plot to kill Ray, his werewolf “maker” — which instead endangered Nora.

The third season features a stellar lineup of new and returning guest stars, including: Mark Pellegrino (Lost, NBC’s Revolution) as Aidan’s vampire mentor Bishop; Amy Aquino (Harry’s Law, ER) as Donna, a witch whose supernatural spells are sought out to help find Sally; Xander Berkeley (Nikita, 24) as Liam, father of purebred werewolf twins who is intent on locating his missing children, Bobby Campo (Final Destination) as Max, a young mortician who develops a connection with Sally; and Kyle Schmid (Copper, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) returning as Aidan’s vampire protégé and ”son,” Henry.

This is the episode that clearly sets out the theme and a lot of setup for the season, or at least for the next episode(s). In a “B” level show, which is where most shows I enjoy reside, this episode would be the first of the season. We get a lot of set up. This show, however, is one of my “A” levels, a favorite, and therefore last week’s season premiere was a knock-your-socks-off bit of quietly epic perfection.

In this second episode, there’s a slight dropoff in zippy lines and in the drama. Well come on, you can’t introduce us to a new-to-us kind of supernatural (witches!), dig up bodies, cast blood spells, and bring people back from the dead every week. It would all get so old. It is still, however, a great episode. We are watching our gang make transitions and adjust to their new situations. But there is movement for all of our characters, and enough going on that there are one or two storylines from last week that are apparently being saved for us for later. There is no such thing as a “filler scene” in this series, let alone a “filler episode”.

And here’s a quick head’s up: pay attention to the lines in the first few scenes, kids, because a couple of questions from last week are answered right away, in the lines. In fact, one of the reasons this show is on my “A” list is because there aren’t any throwaway lines. If you half-watch this show, you’ll miss its richness. You’ll also be in danger of thinking that the writing is sloppy because you aren’t seeing every single development. But this show trusts that you are paying attention, and therefore allows you to imagine things, you know, with your mind, based on the words they are speaking, instead of visually showing us every single thing that happens or has ever happened. And yet the writers are skilled enough to keep it from feeling like tedious exposition. It’s a smart show for smart people who don’t always need pictures to tell a story.

The direction this week is excellent; the last moment of the cold open (the part of the show that comes before the opening credits) is particularly gorgeous. Reserved use of handheld cameras keeps the look fresh but doesn’t induce dizziness. Editing is great, sound is great, sets, costumes, lighting all great, and the apparently obligatory whiny songs are not too whiny.

We get top notch seamless work as always from stars Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath, Sam Huntington, and Kristen Hager, and Xander Berkeley is made for the new role he takes on this week.

We are only starting to learn about the consequences of the things Our Gang have done and are doing. I am already starving for the next episode.

I give Being Human Season 3 Episode 2 “Dead Girls Just Want to Have Fun” Four Out of Five Stars.