Torchwood steps up the pace towards what looks to be an unmissable finale...

“Miracle Day: End of the Road”

Spoilers Within

We have been teased with the promise of answers, and yet, every step we take toward those answers just brings up new questions. While some mysteries are closer to being solved, they just spawn new mysteries. Frustrating? Yes. Entertaining? Absolutely.

As it turns out, the Illuminati-style group that seems to be pulling the strings is known as the Three Families, and it would seem that they have a lot of people working for them. One of those people was Angelo, whose granddaughter is responsible for bringing Jack to him. But Angelo is an old man on life support, who has spent his life keeping tabs on Jack and trying to achieve immortality himself. Apparently, he’s been working with the Three Families, who have been interested in Jack since 1928, as represented by the three men who were negotiating to buy Jack. Angelo went on, researching how to reach the goal of living forever, had a family, and yet never forgot his immortal lover.

But the CIA has tracked the gang to the house, and they come to apprehend them led by Agent Brian Friedkin (Wayne Knight), who is simply following the orders from the families. On top of that, more CIA show up, led by Allen Shapiro (played by John de Lancie, “Q” from Star Trek: The Next Generation), who arrests Friedkin and his cronies, only to have Friedkin blow himself – and Angelo’s granddaughter – up in a vehicle. He then tries to get Jack to cooperate, and in doing so deports Gwen. Jack, who is trying to come to terms with everything, promises his old friend Angelo he’ll take care of him, just before he dies. As one can imagine, someone dying when no one else can just makes things even more complicated.

Some new things were thrown into the mix this week’s episode, including the new development that people can volunteer to be category 1’s – one of which turns out to be Esther’s sister, who is volunteering herself and her children, because she can’t handle the world any longer. There’s also the new category zero, which is designated for anyone who was sentenced to death but can’t otherwise be punished as such. Oswald Danes is furious when he finds that he is one of those who is destined to be categorized a zero, and beats Jilly. He is shocked to find out that even though he’s become a television sensation and a face for the living dead, society still views him as disposable. Pullman gives a great performance as he shows the underlying frustration he feels as he comes to terms with the fact that people love him only at a distance. In one scene, he asks Jilly to get him a girl. Jilly hires a prostitute for Danes, who believes she is there for sex. But when Danes makes it apparent that he just wants company, and possibly a “relationship”, she balks at the notion, due to his past. He becomes furious, and seems to go from calm to enraged in seconds and back again. He brilliantly portrays the duality of a person who wants to be loved by millions and tries to keep a public persona on at all times, and the monster that lies beneath.

We also get back to the heart of Torchwood – alien technology. There is a null field lying under the floorboards under Angelo’s bed, which seems to block out the morphic fields that may or may not be behind the miracle. The panels creating the null field were buried in the ruins of the Torchwood Hub, but were retrieved by Angelo, who knew of the oncoming miracle. And somehow, I have the feeling that the families are more than a human adversary.

Really good performances all around. Barrowman is showing so many more sides to Jack than we’ve ever seen before, and his ability to play a man older than he appears is amazing. His talent in showing the pain of someone who has to deal with those he loves getting older and passing on while he never changes is incredible. Alexa Havins is given some very emotional scenes, and pulls them off quite remarkably. The scene where she talks with her sister is moving, and she pulls it off without a hitch. The final scene of the episode is her driving off with an unconscious Jack, who has just been shot, and she breaks down, confused and scared, unsure of what the next move should be. Havins is marvelous in that scene, and we feel the fear that she is feeling at that moment. Wayne Knight really gets some good moments as well, first being quite menacing as he threatens Rex, and in his final moments we see his regret, as he laments that he’d done so much good, but that this – his final betrayal and ties to the families – would be all that he would be remembered for. And John de Lancie is absolutely magnificent as CIA Director Shapiro, all calm thunder and real threat, yet somewhat charming in his performance. He is a fantastic actor, and a welcome addition to the series.

We seem to be getting closer to the greater truth of it all, even though more questions pop up with every answer handed to us. But it keeps me watching, and for that, I have to commend the writers, who have woven such a wonderful conspiracy, involving the Three Families, their accomplices in high places, the players who are recruited by those accomplices, and the innocent bystanders. And so far we’ve had hard looks at the medical community, big business practices – especially those of pharmaceutical companies – religion, society and its love for the next big thing, and now we see art imitating life as the continuance of life is causing the stock markets to crash, with several European countries about to go bankrupt. Davies has always tried to keep his work rooted in real life, and he succeeds once again with this new series. And if the trailer for next week’s episode is to be trusted, we should be in for more answers, even if they just make us ask more questions.

See also Caleb's previous review:

Torchwood S4E7 review

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