Each season, Being Human has been able to reinvent itself with stories fresh and completely different than anything being done on the other crop of supernatural shows that have popped up around it.

And Being Human Season 4 Episode 1 was no different.

The love story of Josh and Nora, which really put viewers through the ringer as they couldn't decide from one moment to the next whether to stand behind Josh's love for Nora or wish her dead, has been put to a new test that both awe-inspiring and achingly sad.

It appears that all of Josh's soul searching for his inner wolf succeeded on a level beyond his wildest imagination. He is now more wolf than man, and on a full moon the wolf becomes man while on the other 30 odd days of the month the man is stuck inside of a wolf running free. 

This change means that Nora and Josh are married only for about an hour each month -- just after he becomes a man and before she changes into her wolf and then the morning after when she changes back into a woman and before he changes back into his wolf. Gone are the days when they ran together as human and beast. 

I find that plot device simply fascinating. Does anyone know if it has ever been done before? It's a little bit convenient that they have the time that overlaps, but without it there would be no story to tell.

Aidan has been helping Nora and "running" Josh, now up to three times daily, to keep him from going wild, I suppose, and to help her find a cure and to cope with the loss of her husband. Aidan has removed himself from all things Vampire as the virus has resolved itself and the emergency is over.

Aidan still dates Kat, and he and Nora take turns going to work and back to the walk-up to take care of the plants, empty and replace the food in the refrigerator as necessary and do all the chores, but since Sally is gone, their main goal has been to try to break through to Josh.

We learn Sally was sucked into a "holding cell" because she has too much power and Donna believes they both need a time out until she can figure out how to end them. Sally must be fairly powerful, because not only can she create their surroundings at will, but Donna doesn't want to let her roam freely wherever it is they are. Once Sally discovers Donna closed her death spot to end them, Sally makes short order of discovering Donna's and getting out of Dodge.

Watch Being Human Season 4 Episode 1 Online

How or why Sally is so powerful must be her story this season. Once she hit topside again, the writers had fun bringing her back to earth, and when she met up with Nora and Aidan, her powers were definitely of use to the living. With the return of Susanna (more on that in a moment) and the chanting women around the bed at the end, perhaps Sally has somehow crossed paths with a coven and their powers have intermingled. She's not your ordinary ghost anymore.

Since Josh only gets one night to be human, Aidan tends to put his life on hold to be with him, as any good friend would. Not this month. Josh insisted, once Aidan wouldn't kill him as requested, that he join Kat. It was indeed Susanna that we saw getting out of a cab in Being Human Season 3 Episode 13 and she's been doing some recon on Aidan. 

As in any good drama, Susanna chose the exact day that Kat told Aidan she loved him to show up on his doorstep. Why wouldn't she? The question is, how much of her happy persona will be an act and how much will be anger on her part at his not finding her for the last couple hundred years? 

Maybe it's just my pessimism and familiarity of genre television to never trust an ex who shows up a couple hundred years later, or perhaps it's Katharine Isabelle has already been down the werewolf path as Ginger in Ginger Snaps and its follow-ups that I get that eerie feeling from her. When I look at her, I still see that cool teenager who makes quick meals out of the locals. 

As if there weren't already plenty of surprises in the Being Human air, when Aidan spots Blake picking up bodies for transport for Sapp & Sons at the hospital, he puts a stop to it. It's only when she goes back empty handed that we learn who's running Boston these days. Aidan's son, Kenny! They didn't kill Kenny after all. Not only is he virus free, he's not deformed and dude had a 'tude. He asked about his daddy, but thought it would be best he let Aidan know he's alive and ruling the roost.

The real kicker was that Blake was practically quaking in her boots after being admonished by him. Where has Kenny been and where did he learn that way to rule?

The story that tugs most heartily at my heartstrings is that of Josh, because he said he has moment when he recognizes his friends and feels this urge to reach out to them. Those instances are fleeting, but may be the key to his cure. Somehow his wolf needs to center and want to find his human as much as Josh wanted to connect with his wolf, but Nora pointed out that when you're the wolf, being human is the last thing on your mind.

To be imprisoned, lost and so far away from those you love, even if you only feel it for moments here and there would be enough to consider ending your life. It reminds me of the movie The Notebook when Gena Rowlands would have her moments of lucidity, just enough to know what she was otherwise missing. I can imagine nothing worse. 

This was a fabulous premiere. The basics are still here, but the characters have changed just enough to make turning the page imperative. I want to know what's next, and how they got here. I cannot wait for the story to unfold.

I don't mean to speak ill of the UK show that made the US Being Human possible, but when comparing the two, the US won. It's not very often that we can hold our heads up proudly and say we may have used your idea, but where we took it surpassed your wildest dreams. With Being Human, that's the case. The ideas are still flowing and the stories unique. Well done.

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Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.