BEING HUMAN The End Goal

Article first published as TV Review: 'Being Human' - Series Finale on Blogcritics.

SyFy’s Being Human brought its four-season run to a close last week in “There Goes the Neighborhood: Part 3.” It’s a sweeping wrap-up for all three of the main characters, really concluding the journeys they’ve been on, giving them one last challenge, and then sending them off into an emotional sunset. For the British version, losing the main cast was just a stepping stone. But for Americans, this is how a show is expected to end.

Sally (Meaghen Rath) dies quite early in the hour, which is sure to be a big disappointment to some Being Human fans, since she’s one of the original trio. However, she’s definitely had her share of the story this year, and it feels very right that she should give up herself to save Aidan (Sam Witwer), whom she loves. It’s her way of finally achieving the heroic quality she has sought, and it really propels Aidan into his own conclusion.

Aidan is made human again by Sally’s sacrifice. His years of life quickly catch up on him, meaning he has only about a week to live, but that’s OK. At least he gets the chance to experience life as a human being again. He tastes cheeseburgers and spends times with his surviving best friends, Josh (Sam Huntington) and Nora (Kristen Hager). We do see Aidan go through stages of grief, too, depressed that he’s going to die, and trying to bargain a way out of it. But in the end, this is part of the complete cycle people experience, so it’s fitting, and he does find acceptance.

Aidan follows Sally’s example and takes himself out to save Josh. By going into the house alone to confront Ramona (Helen Colliander), the final big bad who, fittingly, has been involved in the proceedings through the series, secretly living in, or being, the house in which the main characters reside, Aidan gives Josh a chance at happiness. Both Aidan and Sally do something completely selfless, ensuring their friends will survive.

This means, they both get their doors. Neither character expects to be rewarded in the afterlife, believing, with good reason, that they’ve done too much bad to be forgiven. Yet, as all heroes do, they find inner strength, and it redeems them. Perhaps this finale is a little predictable, but it delivers the emotional punch needed, and it’s a fulfillment of what both have been working towards.

What this means is that Josh and Nora are able to be a happily married couple, not bogged down in the supernatural drama that has plagued them any more, raising a couple of kids in peace. It’s a little creepy that they name their son and daughter after the two deceased (and doesn’t it work out too perfectly that they have one of each?), but again, this is where fans wants to see them. They (meaning both the characters and the viewers) have suffered enough and deserve a little contentment.

Being Human plays it safe in crafting the series finale because it gives viewers exactly what they want. This may make the tale predictable, but after four seasons, it also feels earned. Perhaps one could have asked for a little more drama, some twist that pulls away from the sappy, love-letter quality of the hour, but I don’t think anyone who has been watching is upset at the way things are done. It’s the ending most would have written themselves, if given the chance.

Does that mean that Being Human has solved the series finale conundrum that the creators of many popular shows have been struggling with these past few years? I think not. Being Human, while good, is a relatively simple show when compared with the others. Lost and Battlestar Galactica, among other series, had a multitude of directions they could have gone in, and different members of the audience wanted different outcomes. Being Human is more straight forward, so its mold won’t apply to everyone. But for what it is, it did well. I’m glad I tuned in.