The American incarnation of Being Human has long since surpassed its British forebear, if only in terms of consistency.  Where the British version’s ambitions often exceeded its grasp, the American version continued to pave new ground and take some narrative chances.  That attitude persists into the series finale, where there is a feeling of inevitability, but in a way that feels largely earned.

 

The house, for better or worse, became an actual metaphor for the series itself in the past several episodes.  Killing the house (as personified by Ramona) is ultimately what must happen for the series to end, and there was always the question of how to do that without some major sacrificial plays.  As it turns out, it required more than one sacrifice.

 

The finale begins with Sally sacrificing herself to stop Aidan from killing Josh.  That’s the surprising part.  Sally’s role in the finale is a bit minor as a result, but her presence is still felt in Aidan’s restored humanity.  Only, as is often the case, Aidan’s restoration is destined to be short-lived, as age began to catch up with him.  Conveniently, it was over the course of a week or so, but it put a deadline on his choices.  And it also made the solution to dealing with Ramona once and for all rather obvious.

 

The biggest question regarding a happy ending was how it could happen.  By the established rules, vampires didn’t have the same afterlife as humans, and Sally was soundly within the human afterlife.  The finale neatly resolves the problem by restoring Aidan’s humanity, and then letting doubt over his spiritual fate linger just long enough to make the happy reunion with Sally a fine farewell to both.  It not only gave the two lovebirds a chance in the Happy Hunting Grounds, but also felt like the proper resolution to Aidan’s ongoing deathwish throughout the series.  He made his death matter.

 

Having all but come to the end of their character arcs, Josh and Nora’s child then becomes the embodiment of the future that must be protected from Ramona.  It’s also clear that they aren’t the ones to make the sacrificial play.  It might seem pat if it wasn’t for the fact that it is the logical way for the story to resolve.  The house would have always been a threat to the child and others.  It had to be dealt with, and that meant Aidan, if the ending wasn’t going to be overly tragic.

 

Ending the show on a hopeful note is at the heart of what made this version of Being Human different.  The British incarnation could never quite overcome its sense of inevitable doom.  A happy ending was never really in the cards.  Not so for this version, which seems to have taken the actual point of the premise a bit closer to heart.  One could argue that what defines humanity is love and hope born of love, and that is what the series delivered at the very end.  From that point of view, I would say they managed to bow out gracefully.