One Sentence Review

Not quite Deus ex Machina, but a slightly disappointing resolution to the “456″ problem, in an otherwise excellent episode

Episode Synopsis

Find it here

Thoughts and Analysis

The 5 day Torchwood event comes to a close with an episode that could also double as an end to Torchwood as a whole. While the resolution to the problem was not quite as “Deus ex Machina” as I feared it would be, I was still unconvinced by it however. Fortunately the drama of the episode more than made up for it, with an ending that is both heartbreaking and satisfying at the same time.

The “456″ Arc

We finally discover what the “456″ need the children for, and we find out that they are using them as some sort of drug, which explains a lot especially how weird they act within their facility.

As far as the solution to getting rid of them go, I was unconvinced as why would they be affected by a sound/radio signal that was designed by them to use on humans, and surely they should have some sort of jamming technology. I was also unconvinced by the way they were affected by something that was no where near them. The “constructive” wave solution would have worked a lot better as a failed plan at the end of the last episode in place of the “I’m Captain Jack, and aliens flee when they here my name” on.

So not the most satisfying of resolutions to this Arc.

The “Torchwood” Arc

So first off Ianto’s death seems to be permanent, which in one way is good but another bad as the timing and mechanism was such that I did not believe it was a proper death as it came about half and episode too soon. If Clement hadn’t died as well then it may have been convincing but the implementation of his death was in my opinion poor

We then have the team split up so that we can see Gwen get all depressed and protect some children and explain why the Doctor hasnt shown up, while Jack gets to save the day and get a massive dose of guilt at the same time. Leading effectively to the end of Torchwood until Captain Jack returns in Doctor Who, or at the start of the next series, when he beams off into space.

Unlike the “456 arc” this arc was resolved fairly satisfactorily.

The “Family” Arcs

As expected Rhiannon (Ianto’s sister) acts as a focal point for seeing the “collection” of the children, using her to split Gwen off from Jack and to let Gwen become all disconsolate.

Alice and Steven, on the other hand seemed to be put in solely to make Jack feel really guilty, and I internally groaned when it was clear that Jack would have to kill Steven.

So I have mixed feelings about how these were resolved

The “Government” Arc

So Frobisher has his bad end, in a disturbing piece of television when we see nothing but know exactly what is going to happen. Unfortunatley I just did not buy the setup for 2 reasons. Firstly Frobisher was hardly significant enough for the media to care if he had his children innoculated, and secondly who in their right mind orders someone to sacrifice their children. Lets assume for one second Frobisher went ahead, do you really think a person could be convincing to cameras knowing what is going to happen? If you are going to give this order you give it to someone who does not know what is going to happen.

I just did not buy this aspect of the story, if Frobishers children had been taken away by accident then I could understand him killing himself out of guilt, but the set up was badly flawed.

His death did of course lead to Bridget “spying” on what had occured and giving the PM his just deserts, the only problem is that his apparent replacement Denise is hardly in a position to do much given that she was the one who first brought up the whole bottom 10% of society one.

Other Thoughts

While enjoying the episode, I did have mixed feeling about certain plot points. One thing that was never adequately explained was why the 456 did not just control the children into going to designated points. I also don’t recall anyone asking what guarantee is there that the 456 wont come back in the future and do it all again, since if they had given them 10% of all of Earths children all they had done was bought time. That is actually assuming that they had the means to kill everyone on Earth.

I also thought that the way the “456″ were defeated was badly thought out, since while Clements death as predicted was a key to defeating them, I just did not buy the mechanism and as I said earlier thought it was something that should have been used and failed in the last episode. The more I think about it, the weaker it gets especially as we dont know if the “456″ could ever return or not as it was just their embassy that was killed.

If  you can overlook these flaws, the for the most part the episode worked, but I am still of the view that while Russell T Davies is great at dramatic setup he is no better than average at bringing things to a satisfying conclusion.

Episode Rating

8/10

Thoughts on the Whole Series

Overall I thought that the 5 day event format worked, as while there were slight dips in quality the quality was still high even at its lowest points. I did have a few issues with the series as a hole though

Apart from the resolution problems detailed above, the main problems I had were the fact that the “456s” demands were accepted too easily, I would have at least liked them to have demonstrated their destructive potential or have unleashed a timed bio weapon to demonstrate their power and convince people to go along with their demands, rather than the quick accepting of it.

The second problem was that the decision to take out Torchwood becuase of Jack’s prior knowledge of the “456″ was badly thought out, if they were going to be taken out, it should have been due to the “456″ demanding it for some reason especially given that given it is an alien threat that is at hand, you want everyone you can to help, and Jack is one of their best assets. The Torchwood on the run plot thread to me seemed shoehorned in to fill time, which could have been better spent fleshing out the “456″

The final problem was the one I mentioned above that the control of children was underused, image how creepy it would have been if instead of just speaking we saw scenes of mindcontrolled children walking towards predetermined destinations around the world.

Despite these gripes, I hope that a new series of Torchwood is commisioned, whether it be the tradition 13 episode series or another 5 day event.

Series Rating

7/10