Remember how scared you felt when the men with sticks and rope appeared in Episode 2? There’ll be another jump-out-of-your-skin moment before this episode ends. But then, you’ll be expecting that. With only one episode to go before the doors to the world of Being Human close for good, this episode was always going to up the ante. Heck, some of us who have watched more Doctor Who than is good for us have been expecting a ‘we play the contest again, Time Lord’ moment since Episode 1…

How far our predictions have come true is not for us to say. More than ever, we’d like you to enter into this one unspoilered – and for the events of the denouement to leave you breathless for next week.

What can be said is that this episode is quintessentially Being Human and that, until the devastating final twenty minutes, there is the customary balance of humour, humanity and horror. No small part of this is delivered by new character, Natasha: part-time waitress; part-time avoider of invisible cats; full-time object of romantic interest to a confused Tom.

Cheeky, savvy and remarkably in her depth for someone who is so out of it, Natasha (Skins star Kathryn Prescott) may well be the guest character of the series: the sort you wish turned up, oh, two series back. She is a perfect fit for the show, and, you suspect, would be a perfect fit for Tom, too, were Tom’s circumstances and knowledge of the world comparable to hers. Her presence on the scene only highlights the different approaches to courtship of Tom and Hal.

Still, it’s any drama that can use a woman to come between best friends. It’s a rare drama that can use the lyrics of Gilbert and Sullivan as a counterpoint to impending horror, or indeed have the courage to play out thirty crucial seconds as monologue.

Prophecies of one kind or another hang over the action, tinging even the tender moments with foreboding. For Alex and Hal, Crumb’s calling them out on their unspoken attraction is something which resonates awkwardly with them both. Meanwhile, the refrain, ‘He will rise’, sounds more insistent than ever.

With so much bad blood between friends, it’s unlikely that simple goodness is going to be charm enough against the monsters. This doesn’t mean to say that it is all bad moon rising. Fans of Damian Molony will be pleased that he gets no fewer than two shirtless scenes this week, one in considerably more horrific circumstances than the first. But it is true that each of the three leads ends the episode in very different places to where they began it. With its claustrophobic use of location, this episode may feel budget-lite compared to last week’s CGI transformations; but boy, does it pack a heavy emotional wallop.

Oh, and if your blood pressure isn’t raised by the closing scene, then the Next Time trailer is certain to do the job.

Airs at 10pm on Sunday 3 March 2013 on BBC Three.

> Order Series 5 on DVD on Amazon.

> Buy the complete Series 1-4 boxset on Amazon.

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