The set-up's done, and Torchwood gets on with some damned good business...

[Spoilers]

“Miracle Day – Rendition”

The second episode of the new season of Torchwood slows down a little, but still hands the viewer a lot to digest. Rex, who at the end of episode one had announced that he was extraditing the team to America, is being railroaded by a colleague and former lover, Lyn (played with effective evilness by Dichen Lachman), who is taking over the arrest. Rhys and Anwen are sent back home as Jack and Gwen are loaded on a plane for the states. Most of their time is spent on the flight, but even on a plane, a lot can happen.

Esther is suddenly making unwanted waves as she is trying to get more involved with the Torchwood investigation. Her inquiries and interest are catching the eye of someone that doesn’t want Torchwood to come out of this alive. However, the reasons for that are still a mystery. And Rex’s newest acquaintance, Dr. Vera Juarez (Arlene Tur), is becoming quite an asset to him, as well as joining forces with other doctors who are looking for any answers for the “miracle”, and what can be done to stop it. With people no longer dying, we don’t just have to worry about overpopulation and food shortage, we now have to worry about sick people breeding germs which can become resistant to drugs at a much quicker rate. Oswald Danes gives his first news interview, where he breaks down in a moment of regret – or is it just an act? Big things are being set up here, and one can only guess where they will lead.

Two new faces make an appearance in 'Rendition', and both are fitting in quite well. First, we have Jilly Kitzinger (played with true enthusiasm by Lauren Ambrose), a PR rep who shows an interest in Danes. After his “performance” on the news program, she offers her services, which he turns down. She explains that he needs her, and that he could make a real living out of this. But when he gets word that Oprah Winfrey wants him on her show, he sneers at her, and merely tells her that he’s doing alright on his own. Pullman is hitting this performance out of the park, giving us moments where he seems entirely vulnerable as he’s crying on television, and in the next moment, he gives us pure, cold evil. There’s more to the character than meets the eye, but how much more, we won’t know just yet. Ambrose gives an interesting performance as Kitzinger, being bubbly and bright one moment, and then having a determined, set look to her, showing more than just conviction and certainty. She later offers her services to Juarez after seeing her take charge with her fellow physicians. If I had to make a bet on the outcome, I would say she has a little something to do with the “miracle”, but since this is RTD, anything could happen.

The other new face is that of Brian Friedkin, played by Wayne Knight. Having read his name listed in the cast some months ago, I was a little put out thinking that he would be on the series, thinking he would bring unnecessary comic relief to the show. Thankfully, I was wrong, as he plays it with understated coolness, and an almost cruel gaze. Soon after Esther speaks with him about assisting Rex with the Torchwood crew, she suddenly finds that her password doesn’t work and that $50,000 has been deposited into her bank account by an unnamed benefactor in China, a country that is currently threatening the United Nations. She meets up with Rex (who brags to Esther that he was bribed with twice that amount), Jack and Gwen, only to go on the run, and Gwen just says “Welcome to Torchwood”. And what a welcome.

The episode was written by Doris Egan, who has written for Smallville, Dark Angel, Numbers, Tru Calling and House, M.D., and her talents are a perfect match for Torchwood. The scenes on the plane are full of tension and action, especially so in the confined setting and the distance of any possible help. There’s a brilliant scene she has written where Danes is filling a bag with food from the catering table, when an assistant tells him the food is not just for him. He then berates her, telling her that he isn’t able to find work, and then asks her point blank if she would hire him, knowing who he is. The assistant has to sit and answer an ashamed “no”, proving his point. It’s really a testament to her writing abilities when she can make you feel both sorry for Danes, and still feel nothing but contempt for him and his actions. Combining that with Pullman’s brilliant performance here, and you have television gold.

Some other moments that made tonight’s episode great were Jack being poisoned, and his reaction to being vulnerable to such an attack, Gwen knocking Lyn out (Lyn makes light of her being “the best that Britain” has, to which she replies “I’m Welsh!”), and Gwen making disparaging remarks about the CIA, America, and getaway cars. Gwen even gets a Doctor Who reference in as she tells off Jack for only showing up when she’s about to be blown up, telling his that her days at Torchwood seemed to feel like a fairy-tale, and that he would show up when she was old, her own, “special Doctor”, young and unchanged. The idea of Jack being the only mortal left on Earth may seem like a typical turnabout plot point, but it’s being played out quite ably so far, especially in the poisoning scene, as Jack shows real fear at the prospect of being able to die. A man who seemed at one point to wish to be normal is now frightened at the possibility of it actually happening.

Two episodes in and we have terrific acting on all counts, fantastic writing, wonderful direction, and Murray Gold’s score merely accentuates the action, with the familiar techno-laden orchestra that we have come to love. So while it may seem that “Rendition” isn’t as packed as “The New World” was, but that’s because that was setting everything up, and introducing the cast. Here, we start to try to unravel the mystery: What is the “miracle”; Who is behind it; Why is Torchwood being framed for it; And part do all of the new characters play in the ongoing plot? Davies is once again giving us some of the best drama on television, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

See also Caleb's review of the previous episode:

Torchwood S4E1 review

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