You have to hand it to Misfits, they never do anything by halves. The dawdling first half is the sort of greatest hits episode that has been seen many, many times before. With the body-count having upped its number considerably even in the last couple of weeks, it was only a matter of time before Misfits got its hands on a ghost story, with a slightly seasonal ‘ghost of probation workers past’ paying a visit to the ASBO five. These include Sally, the twisted love interest for Simon in his early adventures, Tony, the first guy to bite the dust, and Rachel, the religion-nut killed by Nathan in the first series finale. Most of them are none too pleased to find themselves back in the community centre, and Simon is the first to fall for the manipulation of Sally. Of course, she was always his weakness in the early days, and was partly responsible for his rise from zero to hero, but the actress makes her extra creepy and dubious in her apparently romantic intentions towards the former geek. After all this time, it’s actually pretty fascinating to see the conflict between the shy boy that was and the capable hero he has become since. In true Misfits fashion, and in a way that builds the tension to a finale you won’t have seen coming, scenes of sex and revenge are shown in parallel more than once. Alongside Rachel’s attempts at ‘seducing’ Curtis we’re presented with a more dangerous side to the returning ghosts, and as Simon and Alisha enjoy some time as a couple after some misunderstood turmoil, she seeks revenge on those that killed her in the first place. I’m tempted to say that more should have been made of the character’s fall from grace that led to the climactic final act, but the truth is that she’s there to serve a purpose, and that purpose is to push along to an exciting conclusion. There are several opportunities to explore next year; will Simon and Alisha return? Is there some timeline loophole we don’t know about yet? And can Kelly, Curtis and Rudy really keep their heads down for long? No matter where the Misfits team decide to go from here, they have instilled the kind of trust in their audience that promises something just as creative and suprising as what they’ve cooked up so far. Very rarely do they go wrong, and I predict these new developments are no different. In a brave move from a truly unique series, Misfits has delivered another game-changing finale to chew over until next year. Brilliant stuff, and an effective tease for things to come. Read our review of the last episode, here.
