Having never been a show that shies away from the darker side of prime time drama, this final episode of The Fades‘ first series was far lighter on the human body count scale, but infinitely darker than its siblings. A measure of a show’s success – how well it achieves its aims, as opposed to how many people watch it – is how willing the team are to take risks and make hard choices. Killing off 90 per cent of the cast is pretty hardcore, as is having Mark secretly ditch his reborn wife while she’s off snacking on some entrails. For Jack Thorne and his team, harsh times equals great TV, and how right they are. The reality of The Fades is grim as all hell, and it’s only right that the characters decisions should reflect that all-consuming grimness. The cast cursed up a storm during the episode, quite possibly uttering more expletives in 55 minutes than in the preceding five episodes put together. To paraphrase consummate curser Ade Edmondson, this is how real people talk – they quote movies, ask dumb question and they swear. Any show purporting to even have a hint of reality should really reflect that, and while it might not be the most cultured of a script’s high points, it’s a high point nonetheless. While the reborns’ time on earth was always going to be limited – Paul and his fiery hands were never in any danger of losing – as with all great stories, it’s the journey that’s important, and this was a great story. Familiar enough to be instantly recognisable, but unique enough to be interesting, engaging, and at times, plain gripping, Paul’s journey from bed-wetting nerd to winged saviour has been an absolute pleasure from start to finish. From the wittily written script, to the fantastic and entirely believable performances, particularly from Iain De Caestecker, even the slightly boxy BBC direction and occasionally ropey VFX can do nothing to detract from the show’s obvious quality. And no, your eyes do not deceive you. Having sent the reborns packing via a massive ascension event, The Fades left us with one final surprise. Paul messed with ascension, and now it seems ascension might be about to mess back. Leaving us with a cliffhanger was a spot on choice, as was keeping Mac and Anna the best of enemies. Clearly Jack Thorne et al know their stuff. The visual references in this episode alone prove that, and to be fair, they’ve been proving it for the last five weeks. Horror TV made by horror fans, for horror fans – a rare and beautiful thing. If Paul and Mac don’t make a welcome return to the Beeb next year, something has gone very wrong indeed. Check out our review of episode five, here. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
