Right then, I think there's some kind of Being Human series 3 finale to be looking at now? "The Wolf-Shaped Bullet" by Toby Whithouse, directed by Daniel O'Hara. ( Spoilers for 'The Wolf-Shaped Bullet' )
"I like the fact that George's essential goodness is what the series hangs upon and while Mitchell has claimed George helped make him more human, we finally see how it's been making George less human, and that's about as bad a thing as you can do in this show's universe. The way it turned out George had figured out the Box Tunnel 20 ages ago and was covering it up was perfect."
This entire section is profoundly accurate. I agree so much. Mitchell's final act of 'being human' is to remove the poison of himself from George's life. It makes so much sense in the whole spirit of the show, but I will honestly and selfishly say that I am gutted that they've gotten rid of Mitchell. =(
I agree with the 'gutted they got rid of Mitchell', but I think it was the only logical way to do it and keep the whole spirit of the show.
It may just be me, but the upset of losing Mitchell is much easier to take than the idea of a season 4 of Mitchell being forced into being Wyndham's 'attack dog', not only would that see him dragged back into the monster he has thought hard against being, but having Geroge/Nina/Annie's wellbeing hanging over his head, would not only be torture for Mitchell, but also for George/Nina and Annie.
I think his character being freed by his best friend and spared the burden was so very touching.
I think it was the only logical way to do it and keep the whole spirit of the show.
This is what I mean about him no longer working as a lead character in the show. As I said elsewhere, the spirit of the show is that, while he may frequently fail at being human, at least Series 1 (and to an extent Series 2) Mitchell was trying. Once he became all about survival and making excuses for what he keeps doing he doesn't work as a lead character. Like you said in another comment, Nina's line "this is what we'll remember" is exactly right, killing him at this stage is the only way to redeem him.
I always thought Lia was being used from the start, TMWSAR pulling the strings and I still think that even with everything in the Lia/Annie scenes. Like you say she had way too much power otherwise and thinking about it if Lia didn't let Annie go they would have had her trapped again at the end too.
As for forgiving Mitchell I very much did but he still HAD to die if only to save him from killing again. Much like he did for Lauren, I do hope however that it was a Mitchell thing like Nina said rather than all vampires are evil. (if we get a series 4)
I'm really hoping for a series 4 for more screen time for Tovey if nothing else.
I always thought Lia was being used from the start, TMWSAR pulling the strings and I still think that even with everything in the Lia/Annie scenes. Like you say she had way too much power otherwise and thinking about it if Lia didn't let Annie go they would have had her trapped again at the end too.
To be honest I'm fairly happy to accept that this is one of the areas where the show is less than perfect and the afterlife mythology hasn't been thought out as much as everything else so it ends up inconsistent. Toby Whithouse admitted at the time that when Annie 1.0 mentioned TMWSAR in the pilot it was a throwaway line and he only looked at it again because the fans focused on it so much.
Couldn't agree more with everything you've said here, although I did feel that Mitchell was redeemed in the end -- but he wouldn't have been if he hadn't died. It's a brave move I think, because they could always have had him as a recurring character even while he was busy filming The Hobbit. But I'm glad they did it, as much as I'll miss him. I also think that the way they've built Nina's character this season is excellent; I really really disliked her at the end of S2 and somehow this season has made me really love her, but without changing the character beyond recognition.
Russell broke my heart. Whenever he gets anything meaty to do I'm reminded of how great he is as a dramatic actor, but never more so than here. It was a really fabulous performance.
Russell was absolutely brilliant in this episode, he can do emotion 'very well!'.
One of the most touching lines at the end from me was from Nina.
"Then, this is what we'll remember."
The relationship between Mitchell and Nina has always been strained, I think those simple words were very powerful, Mitchell finally being redeemed by, perhaps on one of his harshest critics.
Russell broke my heart. Whenever he gets anything meaty to do I'm reminded of how great he is as a dramatic actor, but never more so than here. It was a really fabulous performance.
I take it you saw The History Boys but have you seen him on stage in anything else? 'Cause the one bad thing about how much TV work he's getting lately is that he's not done theatre for a while. He's an even better stage actor than he is on screen so I have an extra reason to dislike Him & Her, which was filming at around the time of year when in the past he'd been doing plays.
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This entire section is profoundly accurate. I agree so much. Mitchell's final act of 'being human' is to remove the poison of himself from George's life. It makes so much sense in the whole spirit of the show, but I will honestly and selfishly say that I am gutted that they've gotten rid of Mitchell. =(
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It may just be me, but the upset of losing Mitchell is much easier to take than the idea of a season 4 of Mitchell being forced into being Wyndham's 'attack dog', not only would that see him dragged back into the monster he has thought hard against being, but having Geroge/Nina/Annie's wellbeing hanging over his head, would not only be torture for Mitchell, but also for George/Nina and Annie.
I think his character being freed by his best friend and spared the burden was so very touching.
Reply
This is what I mean about him no longer working as a lead character in the show. As I said elsewhere, the spirit of the show is that, while he may frequently fail at being human, at least Series 1 (and to an extent Series 2) Mitchell was trying. Once he became all about survival and making excuses for what he keeps doing he doesn't work as a lead character. Like you said in another comment, Nina's line "this is what we'll remember" is exactly right, killing him at this stage is the only way to redeem him.
Reply
As for forgiving Mitchell I very much did but he still HAD to die if only to save him from killing again. Much like he did for Lauren, I do hope however that it was a Mitchell thing like Nina said rather than all vampires are evil. (if we get a series 4)
I'm really hoping for a series 4 for more screen time for Tovey if nothing else.
Reply
To be honest I'm fairly happy to accept that this is one of the areas where the show is less than perfect and the afterlife mythology hasn't been thought out as much as everything else so it ends up inconsistent. Toby Whithouse admitted at the time that when Annie 1.0 mentioned TMWSAR in the pilot it was a throwaway line and he only looked at it again because the fans focused on it so much.
Reply
Russell broke my heart. Whenever he gets anything meaty to do I'm reminded of how great he is as a dramatic actor, but never more so than here. It was a really fabulous performance.
Reply
One of the most touching lines at the end from me was from Nina.
"Then, this is what we'll remember."
The relationship between Mitchell and Nina has always been strained, I think those simple words were very powerful, Mitchell finally being redeemed by, perhaps on one of his harshest critics.
Reply
I take it you saw The History Boys but have you seen him on stage in anything else? 'Cause the one bad thing about how much TV work he's getting lately is that he's not done theatre for a while. He's an even better stage actor than he is on screen so I have an extra reason to dislike Him & Her, which was filming at around the time of year when in the past he'd been doing plays.
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