Fresh Meat, series 3 finale, review Fresh Meat was once a jolly good, unashamedly immoral, riot. It was all cheap booze and meaningless sex for the six housemates of the fictional Manchester Medlock University. This series, however, they have been required to grapple with some weightier concerns, most poignantly in episode five when Vod's (Zawe Ashton) abusive and alcoholic mother came to stay. It seemed that the show had developed a conscience. This is no bad thing of course and the more sincere tone of the series has allowed an exceptional group of young actors to further explore their characters but, as JP (Jack Whitehall) pointed out when reluctantly deciding that he probably shouldn't sleep with Kingsley's (Joe Thomas) girlfriend Josie (Kimberley Nixon), "having a conscience is so s - t." At times it was hard to disagree during a series finale that was long on drama but disappointingly short on laughs. JP decided it was time to sell the house and, as he swigged from a bottle of spirits and showed off the phallic artwork he had painted at the beginning of term to a prospective new owner, he admitted: "I was happy then, we were friends then." This brazen, but strangely likeable, public school boy, brimming with self confidence, has appeared more brittle and lost by the week. Elsewhere, Kingsley and Josie's relationship disintegrated painfully and with an air of finality, while Oregon (Charlotte Ritchie) and Vod's simmering feud boiled over, with Oregon explaining that "I'm not your wingman, I'm not your sidekick and, if this carries on, maybe I'm not your friend." There was some comic respite from the doom and gloom when Howard (Greg McHugh) took Candice (Faye Marsay) for a predictably awkward drink: "You're going to ruin the date if you don't say anything," she grimaced. Throughout all three series, there have been a number of attempts by the show's producers to integrate new characters into the group, including Sabine, Heather and Javier. Candice is the only one dysfunctional enough to really fit in, however. She has become increasingly relevant and deserves to stay in the fold. Fears that the group would be forced to move house were allayed when JP announced he had taken it off the market and, as he set about cleaning the place, fuelled by an industrial quantity of cocaine, there was a sense of hope. "God, I'm horny," he announced in the final scene and, although it has been a grim few weeks for these students, it was hard not to believe that brighter times await.