Torchwood: Miracle Day follows "The Blood Line"

     Starz's Torchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth season of the British series, Torchwood, comes to an end this week with "The Blood Line." Torchwood team members new and old converge on the focal points of "The Blessing" in Buenos Aires and Shanghai. A mole threatens both teams, and destroys their CIA allies. Soon, it is discovered that only Jack's (John Barrowman) blood, fed to both sides of The Blessing simultaneously will reverse the Miracle, and restore death to the planet. Luckily, Rex (Mekhi Phifer) has had his blood replaced with Jack's, and with some sacrifice, Torchwood ends the disaster. 

     Torchwood: Miracle Day turns the notion of everlasting life on its head, and explores some real possibilities when immortality is unleashed on the real world. The horrors visited upon the population by governments may be necessary for the survival of the species, but is hard for individuals to swallow. A two month time jump shows just how much people are willing to accept things with authority says they must be so. No one is fighting back, except for Torchwood, as the medical community burns millions of still-living bodies.

     But is death so bad? This is a question that Gwen (Eve Myles) must face as she prepares to save the world. After all, restoring death to its proper place means that her father will be among the first to stop living. Gwen must acknowledge that, with the possible exception of Jack, most people need to have an end to their life. Quality of living is a consideration, and while Gwen tries mightily to hang onto her father, long after it becomes practical, in the end, she must face that reality. It's a moving moment, and a great way to personalize some of the large issues going on in the show.

     As expected from Torchwood, the finale ends with much death. Of particular sadness is the unexpected loss of Esther Drummond (Alexa Havins). Along with Rex, Esther joins the Torchwood team for this mission. After ten episodes, fans are surely rooting for Rex and Esther to make it through safely, so they can join Gwen and Jack, the essentials, on future adventures. Sadly, though, Esther is murdered right before Rex can save the day, This hits home even harder than Vera's (Arlene Tur) murder in an earlier episode, as it is easy to grow attached to these newcomers. Especially the plucky, earnest Esther.

     Since Rex's transfusion is what allows the team to save the world, it almost seems like he will be gone, too. But for those paying attention, the "surprise" twist that Rex now cannot die, like Jack, is anything but. It's a welcome new story, with plenty to explore in future Torchwood installments. It also makes Rex very important for upcoming adventures, and permanently changes the dynamic for the Torchwood crew. For these reasons, and the fact that Phifer makes Rex extremely intriguing, it is a welcome change for the current run to end with.

     The second surprise is that Jilly (Lauren Ambrose) survives. She must have "fun faster," as Oswald (Bill Pullman) says. Not only that, but she is soon re-recruited by the Families, which call Miracle Day simple a test run for what they have in store. Which the stakes so high in this latest Torchwood, it is hard to imagine how they can be topped. With those handful of words to Jilly at the end, it's enough to make viewers' blood run cold, and begin to imagine what can be worse than Miracle Day. Let's hope the Torchwood team gets a chance to show us. And maybe Ambrose can be upgraded to main character?

      Finally, it's worth noting the message that Oswald's sacrifice sends. Here is a real sociopath, who is shown countless times to care nothing for anyone but himself. Yet, in the end, he makes the choice to take himself and some of the bad guys out. Yes, he just faced his soul, and after that, he could not live with himself. But he finds the strength to make his death count, rather than just take himself out when it was convenient for him. There's actually almost a strength of character to admire, though it's only a desperate, last gasp to make up for the heinous acts he previously committed. It doesn't make Oswald likeable, but it finds a tiny morsel of good in a person who isn't expected to have any.

     Thank you, Starz, for Torchwood: Miracle Day.

     If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter!

     Click here for books, DVDs and streaming episodes of Torchwood.

Torchwood: Miracle Day sorts "The Categories of Life"

     In this week's episode of Starz's Torchwood: Miracle Day, the U.S. and other government unveils new categories of life, sorting people into three subsets. As dead no longer applies, this is the next best thing. Or so people are told. Gwen (Eve Myles) and Rhys (Kai Owen) break into a Wales medical facility to rescue Gwen's father (William Thomas, Alys), while Captain Jack (John Barrowman) and the rest of the new Torchwood team infiltrate a similar compound in California. What both teams discover is that anyone labeled category one, those who are not conscious, are burned to ashes. Gwen's father is labeled such, and Dr. Vera Juarez (Arlene Tur, Crash) ends up inside a chamber as the fire ignites.

     While Tur's name does not appear in the opening credits, five episodes in she certainly seems like a main character of this new season. Which is why it is surprising and sad when she is burned alive. Considering how no one can die on Earth right now in the series, and even a burned, detached head shows some sign of life, it is worth wondering if Juarez is still aware as a pile of ashes. Unconsciousness can happen, so she likely won't feel anything. But what happens to her soul, and those of the other victims? When they can be healed, why destroy them? Juarez's death comes as Torchwood begins to understand more of what is going on, but it wasn't necessary for her to die for that to happen. Instead, one must watch helplessly by, as Rex (Mekhi Phifer) does, while she perishes.

     Why would the drug company who is behind the whole thing choose to destroy living bodies instead of heal them? Certainly creating never-dying humans increases their business, so from an economic standpoint, it would make sense for PhiCorp to unleash Miracle Day. After all, they now have an endless supply of patients they can sell drugs to. Though it seems odd that a group sophisticated enough to put the "miracle" in place wouldn't also forsee the diastorous consequences. Is that why they are killing off some people? To try to prevent the human race from overpopulating too quickly, though it will still happen? And surely they have a plan to get over the planet before people begin starving en masse?

     Now the big question remains, what can Jack, Gwen, and the others do about it? Rex should be able to overcome loosking Juarez, whom was a love interest for him, with even more determination to stop what is going on. Jack and Gwen have been through worse, as long as Gwen can rescue her father. But the only other member of their team, Esther (Alexa Havins), isn't showing much field prowness, and losing Juarez, even though the two didn't know each other very well, may make her emotionally crippled to their operations. A small group going up against such a large corporate represents a long shot anyway. Things are not looking good for Torchwood.

     The other important thing going on in "Categories of Life" is the crowning of Oswald Danes (Bill Pullman) as a religious leader. Up til now, Oswald has had his fans, and put in appearances. But speaking at a rally is his first true test, and one that can easily go a number of ways. Jilly (Lauren Ambrose) does her best to prepare Oswald, but she can't speak for him. The moments Oswald is on stage, with Jilly and Jack's competing agendas in front of him, is a powerful trial by fire. Loathe Oswald as one must, it is hard not to be impressed by the reaction he provokes with his revelation that mankind has evolved into angels. It's obviously crazy talk, but Pullman has the charisma and gravitas to be a leader of gullible masses, and he shines.

     Torchwood: Miracle Day continues Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Starz.

      If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter!

     Click here for books, DVDs and streaming episodes of Torchwood.

Torchwood: Miracle Day finds "The New World"

     The newest, fourth season of Torchwood, dubbed "Miracle Day," now on Starz, as well as BBC, begins with "The New World." In it, everyone on Earth suddenly stops dying, including Oswald Danes (Bill Pullman, Independence Day, Too Big to Fail), a convicted pedophile and murderer, whose execution fails to take. People can still be severely injured, but even being blown up and having one's head severed from the body does not stop consciousness or life. Strangely, the event extends only to people, not animals, insects, or other forms of life. Which means that the planet has four months before total destruction, instead of the two days it would have taken otherwise.

     Oswald forces a debate over whether he should be released, as he has technically served his sentence, but the governor doesn't wish to let go of such a dangerous person. In the end, the legal arguments win out, and Oswald becomes a free man once more. What he will do with that freedom remains a mystery.

     At the same time, CIA Agent Esther Drummond (Alexa Havins, All My Children) sees the word 'Torchwood' flash across her computer screen, and begins to investigate a possible connection between Torchwood and the lack of death. As she tries to find paper files on the mysterious Torchwood, the computer ones being wiped, she is found by Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), one of the subjects of her investigation. Jack is normally immortal, but it soon becomes clear that he doesn't heal the way he used to, and is likely the only human being capable of dying on the planet. Jack heads to Wales to find his former co-worker, and the only other member of Torchwood left alive, Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles).

     Esther learns, as fans of the first three, British-made, seasons already know, that Torchwood is an institute set up by Queen Victoria to defend the Earth from all manner of strange things, including alien incursions. Many times over, Gwen, Jack, and friends save all life on the planet. But those comrades that work alongside them die off one by one, until only those two are left. While now defunct, Torchwood may be just what Earth needs now.

     Esther's superior, Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer, ER, Lie to Me), is in a car accident, and would be dead, if not for the "miracle" overtaking the planet. He awakens, and Esther tries to push him into finding Torchwood. Rex agrees, and flies to Wales, managing to find Gwen, who is in hiding with her husband, Rhys (Kai Owen), and their infant child. Gwen is suspicious of Rex, but before they have time to get to know each other, they are attacked. Luckily, Jack comes to the rescue. After the bullets stop flying, Rex has Gwen and Jack extradited to the United States to help him find out the cause of "Miracle Day."

     To have Jack and Gwen back after such a long absence (season three aired two years ago, and only has five episodes) is gratifying. While time has surely passed for them, and many things are different, they seem much the same people at heart. Gwen is hiding with her new family, and Jack stays missing to protect her. But their glee at reconnecting and having a new mission is as satisfying for them as it is for the fans. Whether Rhys likes it or not, the two are back in action, and with some new friends, it is likely they will save the day once more.

     As "Miracle Day" will be longer than "Children of Earth," the subtitle for season three, there is no urgency for everything to happen right away. More than one critic has complained that it makes "The New World" move a little slower than one would like. I disagree with this assessment, glad that time will be spent getting to know the new players in the game, as well as to slowly unravel the mystery behind what is going on. Torchwood once did cases of the weeks, but a longer arc is a much more gratifying way to digest the adventure.

     A fun little bit of trivia, Jack introduces himself at a hospital as Dr. Owen Harper. Owen is a character in the universe, and serves as Torchwood's doctor. Played by Burn Gorman, Owen perishes midway through season two, but continues on the show until the end of the year in an arc where he deals with being a dead person. Then Owen is gone for good. With just that offhand line, Torchwood manages to bring back the memory of a great character who is sorely missed.

     Also nice is PC Andy's (Tom Price) brief role in "New World," which brings Gwen and Rhys out of hiding. Though he is never a major player in Torchwood, the familiar face evokes nostalgia of days past. It's good the Americans working on the show now choose to include him.

     At first glance, it appears that the whole Miracle Day event may be a personal attack. Surely, it is extreme to doom a whole planet, throwing it into instant chaos, just to kill one person. But with an unknown assailant trying to kill Jack, and Jack being, for the first time we've seen him, vulnerable, it may just be a plot to eradicate the good Captain. This is only a theory, and after a mere one hour, it is hard to argue that it will be the correct one. Yet, it is the most obvious as the story begins, and sometimes obvious is what works.

     The new characters are pretty interesting, too, expanding the world of Torchwood, which has become rather small by the time season four begins. Bill Pullman is expertly playing a psychopathic creep. It's Pullman as he's never been seen, gaunt and pale, with malice in his eyes. Every word exudes a sort of evil. While Pullman has played the hero in other projects, it is great fun to see him slither into such a bad man, and it will be intriguing how this killer's plot plays into the overall state of the world at large.

     Rex Matheson is a hero, but a much more modern one than Jack. While Jack oozes with chivalry and old fashioned morality, Rex goes for the guns blazing method. Mekhi Phifer plays him with veiled intentions, and it is difficult to see whether Rex will be more of a help or hindrance to Gwen and Jack. He could go either way, and will likely be both at times. At the moment, Rex is much more concerned about saving his country than helping anyone else. His stubborn refusal to stay in a hospital bed proves he has great, noble qualities. But instead of asking Gwen for her help, he shows up with a gun, and has her and Jack forced to do what he wants. It's a very different type of character for Torchwood, and it is unknown how he will fit into the mix.

     Esther Drummond is much more likeable. She is not the action type, at least from what has been seen of her so far, though she does get into it a little when Jack comes around. But she is clever and determined, which can be just as good. Hopefully, Esther will soon join the Torchwood team and assist them. She is wasted behind a desk, even as she continues to dig up secrets that will help, because she is kept separate and out of the loop. Though Havins is not a familiar face, she is surely already winning admiration for her portrayal of the bold woman.

     Other new faces will soon enter the fray including Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), Arlene Tur (Crash), Candace Brown (Head Case), and Dichen Lachman (Dollhouse, Neighbours). All of these are complete unknowns. Which is fine. Torchwood works best when the surprises come fast and furious.

     One question that hangs in the air, and will not be answered anytime soon, is, what becomes of Torchwood after this crisis? Both seasons two and three end fairly definitively, with the institute suffering heavy loss. Gwen clearly isn't happy in an isolated house. It seems unlikely she will be willing to go back there. Presumably Jack will survive. Could Miracle Day by the beginning of a whole new series, with a large ensemble besides the duo? Or will it be a ten episode adventure that ends with Torchwood still defunct? The former is the better option.


     Watch Torchwood Friday nights at 10 p.m. ET on Starz.

     If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter!

     Click here for books, DVDs and streaming episodes of Torchwood.

Article first published as TV Review: Torchwood - "Miracle Day: The New World" on Blogcritics.