End of Days
Torchwood Season 1 Episode 13
The first season of Torchwood concludes with alliances splintering on the team, and one super-sized death demon.
The Review
In the most pivotal moment of Torchwood, the four employees of Torchwood are all united against one person: Captain Jack. Tosh has the weakest motivations for opening the rift, but they get stronger from there. Ianto sees Lisa, as she really looked before getting Cyber-converted. Owen sees Diane, asking to be bought home, and finally for Gwen Rhys is actually murdered by Bilis, the caretaker who can step across time. In the face of so much heartbreak, it turns out that the weight of the world is too much for Torchwood to bear. Maybe if Captain Jack had been more honest about himself he would have been trusted more as a leader, but even his lover Ianto really does not know much about him. Faced with four grieving employees and the world spiraling into chaos, Jack’s pleas that this is all a trap fall on deaf ears. He might have been right: but Jack needed to show more humanity to his team. Owen shoots him dead, and he eventually survives, but the team seemingly backs up Owen. How can Jack redeem himself to a team that just killed him?
It turns out the answer is to stop one of the craziest threats we’ve ever seen, Bilis’ master, the son of the Beast, the ridiculously tall Abaddon. Seriously, the physics of this thing’s height are ridiculous but I give the show props for trying to pull it off. To prove his worth to his team, Jack sacrifices himself to Abaddon, which ultimately overdoses on Jack’s infinite life force. It takes a week, but Rose’s curse still holds and Jack weakly comes back to life, kissing Ianto and forgiving a blubbering Owen. (I was most pleased with Owen’s arc at the end of the season, a big success for the show in my mind). With Jack, actions spoke louder than words, and Torchwood is together again. Well, not exactly as we hear the TARDIS and Jack goes to see who he’s been waiting to see for years and years: the Doctor. Overall I thought this was a successful episode in healing the bonds between the characters. Pulling Abaddon out of nowhere with ten minutes left was certainly a bold choice and it doesn’t quite land, but it is worth it for the metaphorical resonance. Hopefully next season Jack loosens up a little now that everybody trusts him for real.
Torchwood ends with the crew finally getting to learn who Jack Harkness really is.
8/10. Bilis really just gets off free, huh?
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