Humans: Review: Series 1 Episode 3

Anita gets a stay of execution, and George makes a break for freedom…

While it still feels as if we’ve got a lot of different series going on simultaneously here set against the same background, Humans continues to be enjoyable drama. The plotlines with Gemma Chan’s Anita and Emily Berrington’s Niska are the most intriguing, with both actresses giving intense performances – the former’s moment of clarity when Mattie connects to her, and the latter’s scenes when she’s being picked up are particularly strong. Katherine Parkinson and Tom Goodman-Hill’s interactions with Chan are also a highlight of the series.

Although initially William Hurt’s George reminded me rather too much of the late Lennard Pearce’s Granddad in the early Only Fools and Horses episodes, he’s now becoming a much more tragic figure, particularly when opposed to Rebecca Front’s very unlikely Terminator-esque nurse. Equally, Neil Maskell’s torn detective is at the front line of the difficulties with Synths, both at work (at least until he’s suspended) and at home. There’s no doubting the passion that Colin Morgan is bringing to the part of Leo, and I hope that episode 4 will start to explain some of the many queries about the character, and how he’s become involved with this group of Synths – and exactly how Danny Webb’s Hobb fits in…

Verdict: The questions continue to pile up both for characters and viewers. 8/10

Paul Simpson