So this is how Misfits' second season ends: with nothing. Well, it's an entertaining bit of nothing, but the presence of a walking, talking reset button like Curtis made it obvious, two-thirds of the way through the episode, how this would end. And while that might be a problem for a show that took itself too seriously, Misfits doesn't really have that issue, despite flirting with a deeper mythology earlier this season.
That flirtation might be better termed “heavy petting,” and for an interesting stretch through the middle of this episode, I think we got to third base: Powers were public, Alisha came clean with Simon about their future romance and time travel, and Simon started working toward being a badass. These all make sense for a season finale. But once the bodies started piling up, it was clear we'd go back. But how far back? I liked a lot of the character and universe development in this episode, and even though I've taken some shots at the time travel storyline, it was still pretty awesome to see Simon whip that hoodie up.
But, in the end, that reset button got hit. And I might complain about it, but really, this was a ridiculously entertaining episode, even if it was a bit of a bait-and-switch. I'm not sure that Misfits has had a better scene than the PR lady asking for the misfits' secrets, and Nathan describing “tripling” to her and the others, followed by Kelly's revelation that “Eye 'ad sex wiv a munnnkay.”
The primary guest star and villain, a “lactokinetic” named Brian, is a key reason for that. His story is pretty cliché—shy guy gains power, then abuses it due to resentments—but the actor and episode play up the conflict between the silliness of the milk-based power and the carnage that ensues. It's mirrored by Nathan's attempt to blow his brains out on television, which is horrifying and hilarious.
So even though my instinct to analyze this episode structurally would call it frustrating, what I really see is a show firing on all cylinders. It had everything I want from a Misfits episode, because I don't really want mythology. I think it works better as a hangout show, watching the interplay of the characters, with the necessary light serialization. And here's where the British tendency to have short seasons doesn't really work: Hangouts work best over long seasons. Comedies—and I'm willing to say that Misfits is a comedy in a dramatic shell—work best when given time to grow. Which is not to say that Misfits is bad—rather, that I wish we had 10 or 13-episode seasons instead of being done next week. Curses.
Stray Observations:
- “In The Hall Of The Mountain King” is the king of montage music.
- “That has to be the shittest power evarh.”
- “Nice cock, man.” “Fuck. Off.”
- Gonna really miss Nathan: his “little peek” at the media was perfection.
- “Three bodily functions… doin' the triple.”
- “Right. She wants to cure the world, she can start with my cock.”
- “I'm not gonna rub your cock!” “Where's your humanity?”
- “We have just been shat out onto a huge pool of piss, with all the other long-term unemployable.”