Torchwood COE: The End is Near

Now that I’ve seen all but the final episode of Torchwood: Children of Earth, I can understand the high praise that has been heaped upon the series. These last three days have gotten progressively more intense, more exciting and they hurt like heck. My only wish? That I hadn’t been spoiled for tonight’s big finish.

Let’s turn the clock back to Day Two. Even though the action was up, I wasn’t any happier with the plot twists of Two than I was with One. What it comes down to is simply this — I like my team as a team. I like how one is when the other two are around. I like the banter and I miss all of that when they spend an entire episode apart.

And minor point of confusion. Who was the third dead body at the facility where they were holding Jack? I got the doc, but who was in the other body bag? One of the paramedics that tried to apprehend Gwen?

Jumping to the end, yes, having Ianto rip that cement block out of the building and smash it in a ravine was delightfully huge but it was a little too crazy and humorous for the tone of this episode. End of Day Two and I still wasn’t completely sold.

Then Day Three came around and I was hooked. The plot twists from that point forward were all exceptional and so many were unexpected. (Jack’s involvement in the original incident — never saw that coming.) It makes me wonder if five hours was simply too long a period for the story they wanted to tell.

By the time we get deeply into the request for the children this becomes a sci fi show unlike anything we’re used to seeing. Watching Jack reassure those children as he sends them off to certain death was chilling, as was the shot of the mutated child attached to the creature in the tank. But even more chilling was the reference to “units” instead of “children.” It’s how we’d have to do it, right? Dehumanize the thought, make it about numbers and facts. It is how we get through these things.

Once the politicians even think about negotiating with the 456, the parallels to terrorism become abundantly clear. Do we capitulate and risk being held hostage time and time again, or do we fight and face even greater casualites?

And then to the discussion of who deserves to live and who is expendable. It almost makes sense, doesn’t it? To cull the weakest links, to sacrifice the less capable in order to protect the strong? And yet, the thought of handing over a child, any child is so repugnant. I wonder if it would play out differently if they’d asked for ten percent of the adults in the world?

So the politicians are up against it and for the first time you see them not as the archeticts of this mess, but as average people charged with a monumental decision. Now, I don’t think any government on Earth has been faced with an alien ultimatum, but I do think that we have people running our planet who have had to make some grave decisions. Decisions that have likely ended in deathes and you gotta wonder how they sleep at night.

Enter Jack Harkness, who already has so much to answer for, he’s not going to let fear get in the way — not this time. He blackmails the officials into letting him handle the situation and if this was a 1950’s alien invasion movie then it would all turn out fine. But it isn’t and it doesn’t and Jack’s decision to fight gets Ianto and dozens of others killed.

It’s a horrendous final scene when Jack wakes up among the bodies. And I know from the comments that I’ve kept back until today, that people were not happy about this turn of events. But Torchwood has always been about consequences and taking responsibility. From Suzie and the glove to Ianto and the cyberwoman — good intentions aren’t good enough.

“An injury to one is an injury to all,” says Jack. That means its time for the human race to fight back.

Tomorrow night is the big finish. Day Five of Torchwood Children of Earth on BBC America. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

Photo: BBC America