The Fades, Episode Two - An Episode Review

I know, this is a little late in coming, as Episode 3 has already aired. But I can't review the next episode with a clear conscience without reviewing its predecessor first. That's the way I roll. Deal with it.

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In this episode, things are heating up - and getting better. We get back to Paul, who has basically been recruited by the strange 'ghostbuster' Neil to combat the forces of The Fades, the restless, vengeful spirits of the dead. The Fades have evolved further, now being a troupe of at least half a dozen psychopathic zombie fools with a taste for human flesh. There, that's a spoiler for you.

The story is progressing fast. People are getting killed for as-yet only half-known reasons, The Fades are growing stronger and Paul's beginning to realise that he's 'got a destiny, and I'm sorry, but that's important'. In the previous episode, a female Fade seemed to be popping up fairly often. Needless to say, she reappears in this one. I can tell you that she's not good news. That's as much as I'm willing to say.

Paul and Neil travel to Neil's old home to see a very, very old Fade named Eric (don't fret - he's a good one). Somehow, Eric tells Paul something - not sure what. Then he runs off. Paul, not the Fade.

Paul later discovers that he has amazing powers, like those exhibited by Helen in the first episode. He can heal people. And kill crows with lights in his hands. But we don't know anything about that yet.
It appears that the Fades are amassing a small army to take out more humans and bring in more Fades, who will kill more humans, etc, etc. The plot thickens, the death-count mounts and the questions just get bigger: What do the Fades want? What's happening to Paul? And why does Neil seem so shady about that girl Natalie?

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The whole series has just taken a big step forwards. This is much better than the first episode, answering a few questions but asking more. The whole plot is making a little more sense, though not much. Yet somehow, things are seeming like more's happened.
 
Whereas the first episode focussed on opening the series, this part actually has a problem at the heart of it: Can Paul leave his family and friends behind in order to join forces with Neil and use his powers to combat the Fades? This makes it a lot stronger than the first, with a motive to keep watching, which the first lacked. I don't think you could watch this one without seeing the first though. Some things are like that, eg Eastenders (which I do NOT watch), however some just aren't, like Star Trek. With a shorter series like this (just six episodes), I feel it is important to have this linking effect while keeping each section of the story seperate from the rest. You get me?

I'm going to give this episode a solid seven. It's got a good story, the plot advances fairly well and there's no letting us forget the zombies that are running amok. The only thing it's a little lacking in is those crows dying all over the place. I'm sorry; I'm not a cruel person, but those birds falling from the sky crack me up something terrible.

Watch it at this address: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b015d8ld/The_Fades_Episode_2/