Spoilers. The best episode since the double-bill start, by a country mile. Adrian Hodges' script finally makes Survivors' group feel like a living, breathing, cohesive entity -- not just a rag-tag collection of archetypes and shallow characters.Episode 5 focuses on John (Kieran O'Brien), bearded preacher to a religious group who have appointed him their spiritual leader in these dark times. Claiming he can converse with God, see mysterious patterns in his environment, and lead them to ultimate salvation, John's become a compelling beacon of light for his traumatized followers -- who include heavily-pregnant Linda (Claire Keelan). Najid (Chahak Patel) finds John giving a sermon in the woods, and takes them back to his own friend's house, where they can eat and find shelter.
Abby (Julie Graham), secular leader of her own merry band, isn't sure they can trust John's people, but a democratic vote sways the decision in their favour. The health of pregnant Linda is a particular concern, particularly when she goes into labour and forces Anya (Zoë Tapper) to admit to everyone she's a qualified doctor. Turns out Anya's traumatized over her inability to help the victims of the 'flu virus, especially when her friend/lover Jenny died in her arms. Yes, it transpires that Anya is a lesbian (or possibly bisexual), which draws out an ugly, homophobic reaction in Tom (Max Beesley).
Meanwhile, Al (Phillip Rhys) grows close one of John's "disciples", a young woman called Louis (Louise Dylan), before discovering she has a boyfriend and is using Al to get pregnant and repopulate the planet. Sarah (Robyn Addison) continues to sleepwalk through the whole episode; now sleeping with Tom, but jealous of his unspoken feelings for Anya. Addison's playing the role as written, but it's a shame Sarah's such an awfully bland and irritating personality. The justification for her becoming a regular after her introduction in episode 2 still isn't clear, such is her vapid uselessness.
While it's a cliché to stumble on a religious fanatic in post-apocalyptic times, it's a rich source for drama. Anya begins to suspect John is actually a paranoid schizophrenic, after he begins acting very strangely and suspecting people of wanting to steal or harm Linda's newborn baby. Kieran O'Brien is excellent in the role, and manages to make a rather jarring descent into full-on lunacy somehow work. Keelan (fresh from superhero sitcom No Heroics) also gives a good performance in a dramatic role, proving she's quite adept at both disciplines.
Greg (Paterson Joseph) almost sits this episode out, but it's made clear that his character has become invested in the group Abby helped create, and seems to symbolically act as the father figure, with Abby as his platonic other half. Tom has been one of the more interesting characters (if only by virtue of having an enjoyable dark side), and his selfish relationship with Sarah and bigoted views on Anya's lesbianism helped deepen him some more.
The real standout here was Tapper, whose character Anya has been pushed aside since episode 1. This episode capitalizes on Anya's only mentionable set-up (her secrecy over her doctorate), and Tapper manages to draw out some good, believable moments -- from her fear of getting involved with Linda's pregnancy, her suspicion that John is mentally unwell, and a standout clash with Beesley's Tom over her true sexuality. An actress on the precipice of big things (she co-stars in spooky drama Affinity this Christmas, and is the female lead in fantasy series Demons in January), this episode proves she's more than a diminutive, tomboy cutie.
Overall, episode 5 (why no titles?) put the emphasis on its characters and saw them open up to each other. It's this kind of human interaction that will keep us invested in Survivors, so I'd like to see more done with Greg, Najid and Al. Disappointingly, the mysterious scientist storyline (briefly returned to here) appears to be simple and straight-forward: they're after a 'flu vaccine so they can safely leave their facility. In the last scene, Sami (Ronny Jhutti) finds the video plea Abby made in episode 3, which mentions she survived the virus' full effects. As I predicted, Abby is who they've been looking for. Of course, there must be something more to their scheme, because I don't think Abby would have a problem helping scientists perfect a vaccine. Do you? I guess we'll find out what the full story is in next week's finale, when the survivors return to the big city…
16 December 2008
BBC1, 9pm
Writer: Adrian Hodges
Director: Iain B. MacDonald
Cast: Julie Graham (Abby), Max Beesley (Tom), Paterson Joseph (Greg), Zoe Tapper (Anya), Phillip Rhys (Al), Robyn Addison (Sarah), Kieran O'Brien (John), Claire Keelan (Linda), Nicholas Greaves (Whitaker), Ronny Jhutti (Sami), Chahak Patel (Najid), Andrew Grose (Mike), Louise Dylan (Louise), Bryony Afferson (Patricia Kelly), Heather Brady (Fiona Murray) & Robert Maxfield (William Arnott)
