TV REVIEW: New Insights in Being Human’s “Gallows Humor”

By Erin Resnick

Sometimes TV shows get so crazy that the slower paced, chiller episodes become a welcomed entity.  It gives us a moment to breathe, recoup, and move us forward into the next insane series of events.  Now, I’m not saying that Monday’s Being Human, entitled “Gallows Humor,” was slow and boring– quite the contrary.  This episode gave us new insight into a villain, a surprising confession, and a glimpse into the world of witchcraft. It was, however, a tiny break from the roller coaster this season has been keeping us on.  I don’t know about you guys, but I was happy to stop, catch my breath, and decide if I wanted to spend $45 bucks on the hidden camera photo that they take right at the descent.

Robbie the Shazaming Ghost: This week’s episode picked up right where last week left off, with Robbie standing over his own dead body.  Now, joined by Sally, Josh, and Nora (the “we’re werewolves who live with a vampire” introduction was short and sweet), the gang was in a state of confusion as to how in the world Robbie could have “accidentally” been electrocuted.  Sally, on a mission to save her baby brother before his door came, knew that the only way she could become powerful enough to save Robbie would be to summon Donna again.  Sally employed Josh and Nora to look after Robbie while she was gone, which was okay seeing as how Robbie was too busy figuring out how to “shazam” himself around the house.

Donna’s back, back again: In order to summon Donna, Sally had to march right back to where she banished her to last, her death spot at the Wal ShopMart.  Unwilling to help her out, Donna once again warned Sally that all the magic inside her would eventually lead to great consequences.  She even warned Sally that too much magic and too many time jumps may snap the tether; she could be lost in time if she played around too much. There wasn’t much time to discuss possible time warps as the two were transported back to the 1600s where Donna was being executed for her crimes as a witch.  Funny thing was, Donna had never practiced witchcraft before.  No, Donna’s magic came from a creepy gang of witch-bitches who used the soul of an innocent ghost (remember how Donna stayed young and powerful in season three?) to resurrect Donna and force her into their coven.

(Photo by: Philippe Bosse/Syfy)

Vampire Rehab:  Aidan’s accidental murder of another red head had sent him into a blood fueled withdrawal.  So much live human blood all of a sudden was sending our brooding vampire into unfamiliar territory.  After refusing Kenny’s help, Aidan sought out Suzanna for a quick fix.  Except Suzanna knew exactly what Aidan was up to.  She tricked him, giving him bad blood, and chained him to the sink of her one-star hotel room.  The two would go back-and-forth exchanging quips with each other until Aidan decided to give Suzanna what she was digging for: a glimpse into his true nature.  He rattled off a long list of names of every person he had ever killed, including a disturbing story about killing a woman while he made love to her.  The lack of remorse and humanity in his voice was enough to chill your bones.

Suzanna couldn’t sit by anymore. Listening to her ex-husband’s sordid past had made her weak.  Aidan begged for her forgiveness, but it was time for Aidan to forgive Suzanna.  She came clean, confessing that the first name on her list was that of their son Isaac.  Unable to deal with the startling revelation, Aidan came inches from killing Suzanna.  He couldn’t go through it, though, as murdering Suzanna would prove him the biggest hypocrite of all.  All he could do in the moment was forgive her.

The wolf takes over: Josh and Nora, still having marital troubles, continued to try and work through Josh’s unfaithfulness.  Their very human conversations took a turn as Josh tried to get Nora to forgive him, climbing into bed with her in hopes she would reciprocate the affection.  She tried to tell him ‘no,’ but in a moment of trying to find passion, Josh’s wolf took over and forced himself on top of Nora.  Nora nonchalantly pulled a knife out from under her as she threw Josh off the bed.  Josh quickly snapped back, realizing what he had done.  This was it, though.  Nora couldn’t take it anymore.  She packed her bags and told Josh to deal with his wolf problems without her help.

Changing the past: After a heart-to-heart with Donna, who voiced how proud she was of Sally even after eating her, the elder witch/ghost came to the decision to help Sally and give up her soul to save Robbie.  There was one problem: Robbie had shazamed himself out of the house, away from Sally.  Donna explained that some people welcome death as a release and Robbie may be one of those people.  In a last effort to do the right thing, Sally helped banish Donna back to her death spot for good this time.  She promised Donna that she would only use limited magic on sensible holidays, like birthdays and Hanukkah.

(Photo by: Philippe Bosse/Syfy)

Sally’s final use of magic to give Donna what she wanted sent her back to 2010.  She mulled over herself, bored out of her mind, wondering if her tether had finally snapped.  Things came to a head as she realized she was back in the night she died.  Things were about to take an interesting turn.

Things we need to discuss:

Could the coven of witches who sprang Donna back be the same ones who were seen sacrificing Lil’ Smokie?

If I wasn’t already upset about the path that Josh was taking this season, this episode cemented my distaste.  Josh doesn’t seem to be working very hard to fight off his wolf, he just apologizes a lot in hopes that he gets better.  This was the last straw; it’s time to face his wolf head-on in hopes of redeeming himself.

For a moment I thought Donna had consumed Robbie’s spirit, manipulating and tricking Sally once more.  I was surprised when she didn’t go that route– she seemed to truly be looking for some kind of out.  It tied in well with the revelation that before the witch-bitch coven resurrected her she was just a normal human being.

Another glimpse into Aidan’s past proved terrifying and enticing.  More flashbacks to these days, please.

I don’t think I can put into words how much I hate the idea of Suzanna’s vampire genocide.  The Vampire Diaries explored a similar plotline and I still haven’t forgiven them for it.  As much as I loved the Aidan/Suzanna sexy time, I wouldn’t have been sad to see her go.  The show was able to pull back on Aidan’s hypocrisy and saving Suzanna was a necessary move in the moment.

I know people out there seem to think Kenny has a secret agenda tucked under his sleeve, but his failed attempts to get Aidan to hang out and spend time with him break my cold heart just a little. Aidan has strived so hard to build a father-son relationship and pushing Kenny away from him will only result in bigger consequences.

Last year I used a present summoning spell on Hanukkah.  I then spent three weeks in 1995 watching my five year old self learn how to read. Sometimes the magic just isn’t worth it.  At least I got a sweet new car out of it, though.  Just kidding, I got coal.

As per the scenes for next week, it seems like we are getting a “what if” episode.  Yes, we will see some old faces, some twists on storylines, and a glimpse into the world of Being Human if Sally had kicked Danny to the curb before he could murder her. This is 100% going to end very well for everyone!