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Torchwood Miracle Day: The Gathering

"We have a theory. We say the Blessing shows you to yourself."

It's two months later, and things aren't going so well. Economic depression, a halt to immigration, rolling blackouts, and very Anne Frank home invasions looking for category ones. Everyone has become accustomed to living with the horror. Gwen pulled off an adept robbery for medical supplies, and I got the impression it wasn't her first. Rhys was even considering a job driving lorries with category ones to the ovens because they needed the money.

In such a chaotic world, it seems unlikely that the police would have the resources to hunt down every possible category one. And when they finally found Gwen's father in the basement, Gwen and Rhys weren't taken away; I thought they'd wind up in a concentration camp. I did like the little dig that Gwen and Rhys were "wrong" somehow because they didn't have the same last name ("You never shared a surname. That says a lot"). As in, with the world going to pot, who has time for those damned liberated women?

At least we finally saw the Blessing, and it's as red as Jilly's lipstick. Or maybe the more appropriate comparison is that it's as red as Jack's blood. There's something rather science fictiony cool about the hole through the center of the earth, with the ends in Shanghai and Buenos Ares. (I bet that's because the antipodes of Cardiff is in the ocean; couldn't use that.) http://www.antipodemap.com/

The Blessing is actually represented on the PhiCorp logo, with a line through a circle. And how about the Miracle Day exploding Earth graphic? Hey, I thought Rhys tossing that globe around was just symbolic. So how long has the Blessing been there? Probably millions of years, because you'd think written history wouldn't have missed the arrival of an immense shaft penetrating the entire planet. (Feel free to insert an obscene joke about the Earth getting screwed here.) Is that what the guy in the restaurant meant about Jilly writing history?

How did the Three Families in New York gain access to the Blessing? Frances Fisher mentioned something about excavation, but Shanghai and Buenos Ares are a long way from New York. I still don't see how it could possibly relate to burning down blood banks, Jack's immortality, or why Jack's blood would literally be attracted to it. Or how the Blessing can be a good thing while it's causing all this pain, evil and suffering in the world. Is this a religious allegory?

The Blessing makes you "see yourself", which is why the evil commit suicide. Can we take Oswald there right away? (One of the best moments in this episode was Gwen whaling on Oswald with a saucepan.) What does Oswald really want? You know what? I don't care. Anyway, the point might be that the Blessing makes the evil see the vile thing within themselves, and Oswald knows he's vile – he doesn't hide what he is. Maybe it won't affect Oswald.

Back at Langley, John DeLancie is now the boss and Rex appears to trust him. The place is a mess and they're understaffed and overworked, trying to figure out what is going on. Please tell me Rex suspects Charlotte; she was way too obvious about not wanting him to read "The Devil Within" by Victor Podesta. Is Rex healing? Was his wound reacting to the Blessing in Buenos Ares, too?

I liked this one, and I have to give them credit because I still have no clue what's going on or how it will end next week. Here's hoping that the Big Answer will make a whole lotta sense.

Bits and pieces:

-- Jack and Esther appear to have bonded while he was recovering from his bullet wound. They weren't flirting, were they? Esther has been stockpiling Jack's blood. I'm sure it'll be important.

-- Now we know what Jilly has been doing: hiding any emerging information about the Blessing. She's sort of Harry Bosco.

-- Loved the Jubilee Pizza. It was a great call-back to original Torchwood. It was also nice to see the retcon again.

-- There was mention of the unsolved murder of John Podesta in 1927. Did this happen in the flashback episode, I assume? I don't remember, but it would make sense.

-- Gwen's poor father. At least he wasn't exactly conscious. And maybe Torchwood can stop this before he meets his end.

-- "The Gathering" is a Highlander reference. Or it could be. Just from the casting, I'm sure the Torchwood powers that be are all geeks.

-- The guy at the restaurant said that Jilly's hair was a work of art. I have really enjoyed the colorful costumes they've given Jilly all season.

Quotes:

Gwen's mother: "Strange days, sweetheart."

Guy: "We need you to write history."
Jilly: "I can do that."

Jack: "I'm tired, Gwen. This mortal life, it hurts so much."
I don't know what will happen in the finale, but we'd better get "our" Jack back. If he dies or stays mortal, I'm going to be truly pissed.

Three out of four bright red lipsticks,

Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

3 comments:

  1. I understand that the writers probably want Oswald at the epicenter of the Blessing when it all goes down but for me, it didn't make sense that the Torchwood crew didn't just retcon him after they found what they needed to know, especially since they just reintroduced retcon. It seems like it'd be a huge risk taking him along which will probably end up coming back to bite them in the end.

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  2. I would have been quite happy to see Rhys kill Danes tonight. He's been utterly unlikeable all season. Here's hoping he gets his next week. Where's Dexter when you need him? ;o)

    I still feel a little in the dark about what's going on. Let's hope next week's episode is chock full of answers... and Danes exploding.

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  3. Just finished watching. A couple wtf moments balanced out by wooohooo! moments. Though I did love Jack & Ianto, I'm also a big fan of Jack & Gwen. And as much as I like Reece in all this - would have loved for him to do some damage on Danes - I was almost hoping for a kiss along with that hug...knew it wasn't gonna happen but interesting.

    Really hope that Rex clues into his colleagues connectedness to the families and is the leak. Can't wait for this week's finale. :D

    I also really like the interactions btw Gwen and Esther, and Esther and Jack.

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