TV REVIEW: In The Flesh - Episode One

The first series of Dominic Mitchell's In The Flesh was a very welcome surprise, a politically-infused small town drama that just happened to be about zombies. Whilst the first series was extremely close in its focus, following Kieren (Luke Newberry), a Partially Deceased Syndrome sufferer who attempts to re-integrate into his former community and finding resistance at every turn. The series was brilliant and heartbreaking from start to finish and Mitchell picked up a well-deserved BAFTA in the process. 

The second series begins several months after the events of the first. Roarton exists in a fragile state, peaceful for the most part but with outside threats spilling into the village every now and again. The wider country is also in turmoil with factions set up as a reaction to the Rising; extremist attacks are carried out by the Undead Liberation Army whilst the pro-living political party Victus is making ground. Kieren is desperate to leave Roarton for Europe where he believes people to be more tolerant of PDS sufferers, but this is complicated when his best friend Amy (Emily Bevan) returns from a commune with her new boyfriend Simon (Emmett J Scanlan), a disciple of the Undead Prophet.

The expansion of events to include the wider political landscape proves to be a masterstroke, further highlighting the microcosmic nature of Roarton whilst also building an atmosphere of unease. The presence of Victus feels particularly astute, especially considering the amount of publicity a certain intolerant, right-wing political party is getting. Maxine Martin (Wunmi Mosaku) looks set to be an antagonist for this series, considering the way she allowed Kenneth Cranham's vitriol-spouting reverend to die in his own garden. She's collecting the names of the risen for some as yet undisclosed reason, but it seems to be to do with the rumour that the first to rise were the dead of Roarton village. Her reactions to PDS sufferers makes your skin crawl and her intolerance and discomfort in the face of Kieren is uncomfortable.

However, Mitchell doesn't let the other end of the spectrum off the hook either. The opening attack on the tram is a blistering first scene, tying events back to Roarton with Ricky Tomlinson's Kenneth Burton (who also provides some handy exposition). The tram attack is chillingly realised; the sudden transformation of the Undead Liberation Army is as shocking as any zombie horror movie, made all the more so by the claustrophobic location of the train. Much like Victus, it also carries uncomfortable parallels to our own reality in a post-9/11 society where we're constantly told to be on the alert for potential threats.

Despite their continued affirmations that PDS sufferers and the living are very different, both extremes are remarkably similar, chiefly through the use of religious rhetoric. The Undead Liberation Army's attack is preceded by paraphrased extracts from the Book of Revelation. Roarton's right is characterised by their belief that this rising has somehow prevented the real Judgement Day from happening. Then there is the Undead Prophet, a Jesus-figure complete with his own twelve disciples, one of which happens to be Amy's boyfriend. The religious aspect builds into the social commentary that is inherent within In The Flesh as well as the uneasy atmosphere. In both extreme factions, there is a sense that it irrationalism rules and it makes them all the more predictable.

With this background, it could be easy for the personal aspects of the story to get lost in amongst it. However, Mitchell creates the perfect anchor in Kieren, helped by Luke Newberry's melancholic yet warm performance. In Kieren, the conflicts become more focused; he is still struggling psychologically with who he is, unable to confront himself in the mirror without his mousse on and refusing to take out his contact lenses which hide his undead eyes. His desire to escape is particularly relatable, especially as Roarton has swept most things under the carpet in that very Middle England way, and he has no one with which to share his torment now that Rick is gone. 

The return of Amy and his repaired relationship with his family particularly his sister, Jem, go some way to repair that, but they are not without their complications. Jem is clearly suffering her own mental anguish from her militia days and his father, though better at sharing his feelings, is perhaps sharing them a little too much. Amy's return, along with the arrival of Simon, offers Kieren a form of escape, but one that he doesn't wholly agree with. They are more in favour of Kieren embracing his undead self, stopping him from using words like 'zombie' and standing up to those who are prejudiced against him. 

Setting up several threads and themes to explore over the next six episodes with ease, it's a fascinating opening for In The Flesh. The expansion of the social and political landscape around Roarton proves to be an inspired decision and the show expands its mythology organically and quickly whilst losing none of the emotional power that made the first series so special.

- Becky

You can read Becky's reviews of the first series here: Episode One, Episode Two, Episode Three

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TV REVIEW: In The Flesh - Episode Two

The second episode of BBC Three's excellent zombie drama continues with Rick returning to Roarton and Kieran continuing to deal with his troubled homecoming as best he can.

Denial and the subsequent hypocrisy are very much the key themes of this episode with Bill Macy (Steve Evets) having to deal with his PDS sufferer son Rick (David Walmsley) returning from Afghanistan and the fallout of his return for the Human Volunteer Force. Keiran (Luke Newberry) continues to struggle at home as he is forced to hide from the town whilst his parents try to keep the news of Rick's return from him. Fortunately, his existence is interrupted by the arrival of Amy (Emily Bevan), a loud and proud PDS sufferer who helps Luke out of his shell. Once Rick and Keiran are reunited, even more tension comes to the fore in the small town of Roarton as none of the residents are quite sure how to deal with having PDS sufferers in their midst.

The beauty of this episode is that if you took away the supernatural elements, there is still a touching and affecting story about a troubled relationship at its heart. The build-up to the meeting between Rick and Kieran was deftly handled, drip-feeding information about their relationship rather than stating anything explicitly; Rick's emotional reaction to hearing of Kieran's death was a small but significant moment and Kieran's constant glances towards portraits of Rick said far more than any few lines stating they were in a relationship could have done. Whilst it is again yet to be stated outright, the two are, or were, in love with each other and having to deal with the consequences of this in their small-town nightmare would have made for an intriguing drama in itself. The fact that they are both undead goes even further to making the waters that little bit more muddied.

Rick and Kieran's relationship may be transferring some of the show's themes from the more metaphorical to the more literal, but there is still plenty to be mined from the way in which In The Flesh is using the zombie aspect to elaborate and explore different themes of prejudice. The Partially Deceased Syndrome and its sufferers have become a well-handled symbol of any societal outcast and this week, various were explored. The obvious was the relationship between Rick and his father Bill, a man who clearly has a difficult time accepting his son for who he is. We get lines loaded with meaning about Rick's handling of guns, his treatment of women and his drinking habits and for Bill, this is all about creating his son into the ultimate masculine symbol. I suspect that, with his animosity towards Kieran, Bill deep down knows that Rick is gay, but refuses to acknowledge this fact, just as he knows his son is a PDS sufferer, but will not treat him as such, nor will he allow anyone else to. 

Elswhere in the episode, the performances continue to be excellent and Bevan's Amy is breath of fresh undead air in the town of Roarton, challenging prejudices and provoking all of the characters into thinking about their situations just that little bit more. I'd like to see more of Kenneth Cranham's hate-spouting vicar, but he forms an intriguing background figure though given little more development than as a physical manifestation of the town's prejudice. Evets also continues to portray the conflicted father well, able to register his internal struggle with his son with little more than a frown. However, it is to the two leads who I reserve the most praise; Walmsley and Newberry have managed to make an undisclosed relationship very affecting in just a few short scenes and the exchange between the two of them in the Jeep was a fantastic piece of drama.

With only one more episode remaining in this current run, there are a lot of loose ends to be tied up for the characters in In The Flesh, but with a series that has stated its intent and carried out its purpose with such confidence, I have every faith that we will be provided with a satisfying conclusion. Now all we need is for BBC Three to commission another series. 

- Becky

You can read Becky's review of Episode One here.

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