Genre: Horror | Drama | Comedy

Air Date/Time: March 24 at 9/8c

Network: BBC America

Created by: Toby Whithouse

Director: Philip John

Writer: Tom Grieves

Summary:

In an old B&B in a sleepy seaside town, we join Annie (Lenora Crichlow) and her housemates Tom (Michael Socha) and Hal (Damien Molony). With a newborn baby to look after, it’s never been more difficult to live life under-the-radar as a ghost, a werewolf, and a vampire. There are also other vampires to deal with: lurking in every corner of society, waiting for the Old Ones, powerful older vampires, to arrive and take over the world with brutal force. Worse yet, there’s a malevolent ghost on the loose and someone’s seeking to expose the existence of werewolves – not to mention all the diapers that need changing.

This week’s new episode sees the return of a familiar character; we met vampire Adam (Craig Roberts) last season. He was turned as a teen but that was about 30 years ago. Since vampires stay looking the age they were when they were turned, he’s now a forty-something-year-old who looks about 17. He had been kept in blood by his dad, who passed away in the hospital where Mitchell and George worked, so Our Gang That Was took him in for a while. He returns to Annie and meets Hal and Tom, and brings along a, ahem, new friend, girl’s school head teacher Yvonne (Selina Griffiths) who may not be quite exactly what she seems. Their perceived age-inappropriate relationship has them on the run from the press.

This episode returns to the lighter feel of episode 3, so if you loved that one, you’ll likely love this one as well. In fact, I liked this one even better, thanks to Selina Griffiths and her embodiment of the role of head teacher, which completely steals the show. Her lines are hilarious because they seem so perfectly spot on – “There is a staircase in that hallway and on that staircase there is a naughty step, do I make myself clear?” – and so perfectly inappropriate. Craig Roberts is a close second as the sex-obsessed teen with periodic moments of 47-year-old maturity. Mostly he acts the teen. Both characters and actors are exceptionally fun to watch, so great props to both actors and to writer Tom Grieves. Michael Socha also steps up hilariously as a love triangle hopeful.

The mythology continues along in the B story, as it has done in the previous three episodes. The combination of that with the lighter A story and quirky new characters is slightly concerning. It’s a great formula but it is starting to feel a bit formulaic. This love story feels a bit like the love story from two episodes ago, which also feels a bit like the love story from the episode before that. How many couples will they be waving off from the stoop before Honolulu Heights gets the reputation for being some sort of supernatural Love Connection?

Fortunately, the writing is terrific, the mythology is strong and creepy, and there’s usually at least one corpse per episode, so it continues on as a completely enjoyable supernatural series without TOO much fluff. The production values are all terrific this week, no issues, so well done all.

This is probably my favorite episode since the premiere, thanks to the writing and performances, but I’m reserving full marks for the jaw-dropping episodes I’m hoping will come as the mythology will likely ramp up, now that there are only three episodes left in this season.

I give Being Human: Season 4, Episode 5 “Hold the Front Page” Four Out of Five Stars.