There was, of course, a dead bit, in between.

The Fades are coming; it's inevitable.

Lately I've been feeling slightly frustrated by the numerous shows I follow on a regular basis: nothing really moved me, nothing had that emotional impact that reverberates even after the episode ends (with the exception of Parks & Rec, which never fails to leave me in a state of happiness), that makes you want to share how amazing something was (possibly in all-caps, using expressions you'd otherwise never use). But here it is: The fourth episode of The Fades, scripted by Jack Thorne and establishing Joe Dempsie's role in the series, was the best episode of television I've seen in a really long time. It was gripping, it was heart-breaking, it made me cry (just as a general rule: when Lily Loveless cries, I cry), it was brutal and it undermined every pre-conceived notion about who was "good" and "bad" (in fact, the whole point of the show seems to be that there is no distinction and that it is only a question of perspective). The acting is superb; and Joe Dempsie was a revelation (his character describes in gruesome detail how it felt not being able to communicate or protect the person he loved - and all of this took place on a ROOFTOP, because clearly the main intention here is to break the hearts of Skins fans even more). The best thing about The Fades is that it isn't "like" any other show: it's not like Buffy, or Freaks and Geeks, or Being Human, or Misfits. It feels like an incredibly amount of thought went into how this world functions, who these characters are, how to make it count, rather than creating just another half-hearted, crude story. 

Paul: So these are bad people?
Neil: Good, bad, why do people somehow believe that death is fair? Death is random, same as life is.