Misfits: S04 Ep01

What happened?

A man with a stolen briefcase, possessing the power to infect anyone who touches him with a desperate need to take the case for themselves, wanders into the community centre and into the midst of existing probationers Rudy and Curtis, and the two new ones, Finn and Jess. With Seth also amongst them, the group trick and attack each other until only the man's death ends their ruthless lust.

On returning to the community centre they are greeted by their new probation worker, who sets a stern and threatening tone.

Thoughts

This new series perhaps had a harder place to start from than the previous series, which set the trend for how the show could continue after losing major characters. With this fourth series the show lost three out of the five original cast members (only Curtis remains as the veteran!) so it was up to the likes of Rudy and Seth to pick up the mantle, but they have been aided quickly by the intriguing newcomers.

However, what most helped this new series get off to a great start and wipe away the memories of the old gang was a cracking script. Having the episode start at the climactic end point isn't a particularly novel concept, but then further peeling back the layers as various characters relayed their views of what was going on to drip-feed us the truth was clever stuff without, as is Misfits way, not being conceited about it. A wry line from Rudy as he tentatively brushed against the fourth wall with his remark about being an "unreliable narrator" was where the script gave the audience a knowing wink. And at the end, as the gang stood at yet another burial site (has every first episode of Misfits featured a person being buried?) Rudy ticked off the checklist about how the episode had featured action and violence and humour. Even at the very end he cheekily said that the new probation worker was unlikely to see out the end of the week, paying respect to the longstanding joke within Misfits that probation workers arrive and die with unrealistic frequency.

The new probation worker looks like he has rather more formidable qualities about him that suggest he is going to be around for longer than other probation workers, and is going to feature as more of an antagonist. But he's for the future. This episode gave us a couple of new misfits to get to know: Jess and Finn.

Jess, by  the episode's end, had the least interest about her (though she was lovely to look at and had a nice straight to the point attitude - I enjoyed her on both levels!). She possesses the power to see through walls. Usually a person's power reflects something that already exists in their character. Like the guy with the briefcase, he was filled with greed and thus, when the storm hit, he developed the power to infect other people with his same unquenchable greed. I don't quite see (no pun intended) how Jess being able to see through walls feeds into her character, but then there's not really enough known about her full stop so I'll give that a few more episodes to percolate.

Finn was deliberately played for laughs, as a fool, and even his power was used for comedy effect. Given the build-up to suggest his telekinetic powers would be enough to send an object flying across the room, the plant pot instead shuddered and then toppled over ineffectually. I am sure it's something he may get more adept at using. But what was most interesting about him was saved to the end, where it transpired he had a girl tied up in his bedroom, clearly being kept captive. The previews for the next episode looked like it was going to tackle that plotline head on, which is fine with me.

Rudy has taken over the reins as leading man (mainly by virtue of him having the biggest mouth). Joseph Gilgun has a brilliantly improvised feel to his performance (the moment he was caught watching porn at his computer was a minor masterclass in making a scripted comedy staple look fresh and ad libbed). I particularly liked the moment where the fact that he has a twin was held back until it could be used to spring the surprise that 'Rudy' hadn't been rendered completely incapacitated after Seth knocked his counterpart out. That was just one of a number of clever touches the episode employed. As stated, its real smarts came out of its enveloping of narratives, shifting chronologies, perspectives and even false threads. 

Seth is a bit of a dull character. He was most interesting when he was a literal power broker with a murky past, and then in his romance with Kelly. As a little bit of exposition detailed here, Kelly was overseas (read: had left the show) so the only interesting counterpoint to him has been taken away. A bit like Curtis, his is a character that needs something else more purposeful otherwise he will become a tad dull. Curtis himself is now most interesting on account of being around the longest. I must confess that since he had the power to transform into a girl taken away from him I can't remember what his current power actually is. Whatever it is, he didn't use it here.

Unless, of course, he still has the power to change into a girl!

It was good to see Misfits back and, most importantly, back and strong despite the cast losses. I was actually surprised as I didn't expect to enjoy the show as much as I did. I watched it again more out of a sense of curiosity than of genuine excitement. But now it's back and in fine form I'm right back bang into the swing of it. There's nothing else like it on television and, so long as it can maintain this kind of form, anything else even trying to be would never fit the bill.

What was the best part?

I really enjoyed seeing the interplay between Finn and Jess when they were locked in the freezer. Finn's propensity to tell porky pies (hinting at the big lie revealed at the end without ever making it apparent a twist was coming - another clever riff in a tight script) reached its peak with the horrible untrue story of being repeatedly raped by his uncle. I liked that the show found time to just stay locked inside the freezer with the pair of them bickering and talking and, excellently, pissing themselves in unison. The show needed space to allow these two to breathe and, ironically, that space was afforded in the cramped confines of the freezer.

What do I think will happen next?

As the previews suggests, we're likely to see what the deal is with Finn and the girl he has tied up. I'd have to figure she's either a girlfriend who cheated on him or, perhaps, an object of his affection that he was never able to obtain until he took her prisoner. The latter one seems more likely but, to be honest, both ideas sound tired so I hope my predictions are both wrong and the truth is something more refreshing.

Meanwhile the matter of whether the new probation worker has a power is worth considering. I am going to predict that he doesn't have a power and his strict qualities are purely his natural nature. We'll see.