The Others: Life Is for the Living (1.13)

As a group, the Others were drawn together because of their own outcast nature. While each member was easily dismissed as eccentric and unusual by the outside world, they all possessed one key similarity that pulled them towards one another -- they were psychics, tortured souls who repeatedly fall victim to communication from the other side, used as sounding-boards for messages from the great beyond. But like so many groups of outcasts, there is still that undeniable desire to pursue separate things away from the team. It's most evident in the uncomfortable Marian character, desperate to become an ordinary young woman. But this episode, which ended up being the series finale, proves that every member of the group is similarly eager to escape. And it's that desire that leads to their eventual destruction.

I just noticed that I used the term 'ended up being' when writing about this as a series finale, something I'm honestly a little ignorant about. It's hard to discuss this episode without immediately addressing that ending, with every character seemingly meeting their demise. Because The Others was a short-lived series that aired before internet fandom came into major existence, and because it never gained that much of a fanbase in general, it's incredibly hard to find anything online about this show, let alone intricate answers about this episode's final moments. Were the writers aware that this was the end? Or would they, if the series was inexplicably renewed, create an elaborate get-out for each character? It's confusing on that level, but as a real ending to the show manages to be daring, provocative and engagingly mean-spirited.

Life Is for the Living follows a similar trajectory to The Ones That Lie in Wait, but the eventual demise of each cast member only helps make both hours so powerful. In that earlier episode, the Others were similarly targeted by Kristen Cloke's demonic spirit-woman, but luckily were mostly stranded together and able to escape the spirit via communication and research. Here, the Woman is able to bring each member down by intentionally splitting them apart in varying directions. This time around, the demon materializes in various different forms, each form offering group members an unexpectedly promising new opportunity -- Marian gets a new roommate, someone who helps her become more pro-active and strong; Miles is offered a promotion at the university; Albert finds love; Warren's screenplay attracts industry attention; and the environment suddenly become less violent whenever Mark and Satori get intimate.

Most of the episode is profoundly moving, seeing each character suddenly get what they want in life (another throwback to the Woman's first appearance and her chilling catchphrase), only for it to be undermined by that subtle undercurrent running beneath the hour that this is all too good to be true. In the end, the walls begin to close in and most of the characters are horribly killed. Marian is strangled, Warren is hit by a car, Mark and Satori perish in an explosion, Miles meets his demise in a car accident, and Elmer (the one character still concerned by the gathering storm) is murdered by the Woman in his hospital bed. Only Albert survives, but is still emotionally crippled by his suddenly-cruel love interest.

This is all ridiculously depressing, but still manages to be engaging. I've never seen anything like this before, watching as characters we've grown to love all meet their end, evil taking control and proving victorious. It's ballsy-as-hell, either a bitter attack on NBC for canceling such a promising show, or an admirable attempt to shake up our preconceptions. It's a wonderful finale that book-ends so much of the season, while simultaneously showcasing how much potential the series had.

I don't know what will happen with The Others. It's unlikely it'll ever get a DVD release, so the most I can hope for is that some obscure sci-fi network will pick the season up at some point and introduce it to a new generation of audiences. Because The Others was an unexpected treat, a short-and-sweet mystery series with strong characters, interesting themes and scares that genuinely rattled you. Even after this re-watch it remains one of my favorite ever TV series, one that really deserves something of an audience if anybody ever stumbles across it. Rest in peace, show. You could have really been something. A

Credits
Guest stars Kristen Cloke (The Woman); Wendy Moniz (Eva); Mary Gillis (Mrs. Paulsen); Jonathan Levit (Producer); Michael Ensign (Professor Dan Teplin); John Aylward (Albert McGonagle)
Writer Daniel Arkin Director Thomas J. Wright