Two Werewolves and a Baby: Being Human “Panic Womb” Review

By Erin Resnick

If you would have told me three years ago that my favorite supernatural-themed show on television would be the American version of Being Human, I would have laughed in your face.  Not because I didn’t see the potential in the Syfy remake, but because I was fiercely loyal to the British version.  Any mention of one of my most beloved British shows having an American counterpart made me squeamish.

I’ll be the first to admit it. I was wrong. I was wrong to judge a show before even seeing an episode.  I was wrong because the American version of Being Human is, well, undoubtedly good. The first season proved itself as a great competitor in the growing world of vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc. on television today.  By the second, third, and now fresh into the fourth season, the only thing this show shares with its big brother across the pond is the title.

The third season of SyFy’s Being Human was the final nail, the season that cemented my love for Aidan, Josh, Sally and Nora.  I became attached to these characters and their plights to make it as supernatural creatures in an all too human world.

The fourth season has hit the ground running hard (for Josh, literally).  This week’s episode, “Panic Womb,” kept the wildly entertaining shenanigans going.  We saw Sally trying to decipher her time jumps with help of frenemy Zoe, Aidan holding on to the thin string that is his human relationship with Kat, and Josh and Nora befriend some new wolves and their … werewolf baby!?

Pictured: (l-r) Kristen Hager as Nora, Sam Witwer as Aidan, Sam Huntington as Josh — (Photo by: Syfy).

Aidan comes clean:  After being interrupted from his second wet dream of the season, Aidan knew it was only a matter of time before Josh and Nora found out that his progeny, Kenny, was alive and thriving.  Instead of letting Kenny exit through the window, Aidan sucked up his pride and got the awkward “hey, last time I saw you I tried to kill you” out of the way.  Josh, furious, wanted to know why the heck was Kenny even still alive!?  On the other hand, Nora was understanding and even forgiving.  Aidan and Josh fought over their own mishaps in life.  They’re monsters who make mistakes.  Why punish someone who made one mistake? They’ve all had second, third, fortieth chances, so why can’t Kenny? Aidan tried to stay calm– Josh did after all tell him to go kill his son last season, something Josh knew that Aidan had struggled with for hundreds of years.  Kenny gave Nora and Josh a heartfelt apology, but Josh decided that the best course of action would be to continue his wolf90X routine and jog it out for a small ten miles.

This episode didn’t hold back in the Aidan confessions department.  After having conversations with both Nora and Suzanna about his personal life and his struggle to being human, Aidan decided it was time to confess his true nature to the girl he loves.  Aidan lamented to Kat that she has always known there’s something not right; his stories about childhood never seem to make much sense and his Wikipedia knowledge of early American history is mind-boggling.  That’s when he dropped the v-bomb: he’s a vampire.  Just picture it: your boyfriend/girlfriend/partner casually strolls into your place and straight faced tells you they’re a vampire.  Instead of fainting, screaming, or silence, Kat does the most human thing anyone would do: she laughed hysterically (Kat’s final reaction to be continued next week).

Sally & Zoe Detective Agency: After last week’s time jump to the 1970s and coming across the little girl she watched get sacrificed in episode one, Sally needed help finding out who exactly was the girl she deemed “Lil’ Smokie.”  Nora and Josh were of no use (double shifts and werewolf ADD), and Sally decided to turn to the last person she knew had a knack for the supernatural, Zoe.  Zoe reluctantly agreed. It was easier to agree to help than argue.  They tracked down the original owners of their monster pad and decided it was time to pay a visit.  To Sally’s surprise the little girl at the door was Lil’ Smokie herself!  Another shocker: she was the daughter of the real Lil’ Smokie Sally had seen in her 70s time jump.  The real girl, Beatrice, was an adult, with nothing but fond memories of her childhood.  No child sacrifices included!  Sally knew something had to be up.  Beatrice and her daughter-clone were acting strange (not to mention Lil’ Smokie Jr. glared at Zoe when they left, probably able to see Sally as well).  Zoe was acting strange.

Two werewolves and a baby: During Josh’s brisk ten miles, he came across something, or should I say someone, strange.  With his new sense of wolf smell, Josh deduced that the pregnant woman in front of him was also a werewolf.  She was terrified, what would this baby be?  Her and her husband had spent years trying to conceive and suddenly, as werewolves, they were about to welcome their first child and several months sooner than a human baby.  With some hilarious mishaps with an ultrasound machine, Josh and Nora helped the couple see their rapidly growing were-baby for the first time.  It wasn’t all smiles, though, as the picture on the machine showed the littlest of claws trying to make its way into the world.  A quick tiff between the couples brought out Josh’s wolf eyes, scaring their new friends off.

Later, without anywhere left to go, the were-couple returned.  It was time to push!  After some fights over linen choices and worries about pooping the bed during labor, the were-baby came into the world screaming and crying.  A quick nuzzle on mother’s milk and the wolf looking creature immediately transformed into a healthy, normal baby girl. The couple was elated.

Pictured: (l-r) Susanna Fournier as Zoe Gonzales, Meaghan Rath as Sally — (Photo by: Syfy).

Other tidbits: Zoe’s reluctance to help Sally came with one big secret: Zoe is dating again, this time a girl! Sally was hurt Zoe wouldn’t come clean but in Zoe’s defense Sally usually screws up whatever she touches or as Zoe calls it “Sallying it up.”

Aidan tipped off Kenny and his crew about Suzanna the Vampire Slayer.  This would have showed which side Aidan was aligned with except he immediately ran to Suzanna to tell her to GTFO of Boston, the vampires were coming for her.  Their conversation about trying to hold a normal life may be some foreshadowing for the once married (still married!?) pair to give things another go.  However, Suzanna is a self loathing vampire in the worst way possible.  As Aidan has never sought mass genocide of his people (remember: killing a vampire completely eradicates them from this life, they do NOT become ghosts), Suzanna seems to believe that they’re all monsters who kill, they don’t deserve a chance.

Josh and Nora briefly commented on the pain the new couple would go through raising a purebred but seemed to do so with hope of their own.  After Nora’s season one miscarriage they were finally able to see that they too could have a little family.

Aidan also apparently keeps a box full of fake autobiographies and passports to keep up with the times.  He decided to approach Nora, who has become one of the most sympathetic towards Aidan, to help weave his tale of lies in case Kat came knocking.

Lil’ Smokie (Beatrice) may not be who she says she is.  A glimpse at an old photograph (the original one Sally and Zoe found online) showed it folded over to hide a shadow self of Lil’ Smokie starring out the window, much like earlier in the episode after Zoe and Sally left the house.

Things I’m curious about: How can Aidan take two weeks of vacation from work?  He’s already missed over a year.

With that said, did the hospital ever to do an investigation on Kenny? I would think the disappearance of a high risk patient would have had the police involved.

Once Aidan reveals his true nature to Kat, will she accept him or will Aidan have to put a call into Blake again?

Will Josh and Nora ever decide to raise a puppy of their own?

Is Sally still able to do that fairy trapping spell?  My garden’s been a mess lately.