Torchwood: Children of Earth; Day Two
Well I said I'd write a review thing and I actually got round to it, go me. It's a bit all over the place, but here we are...
Torchwood: Children of Earth; Day Two
After such a big start to Children of Earth with Day One the second episode had a lot to live up to. Luckily it managed it, and then some.
The episode started without giving the audience any time to recover from the explosion that gave us the amazing cliffhanger at the end of episode one. We go straight into it from Gwen's point of view, using some brilliant techniques to have the audience see it through her perspective with the blurry view and muffling of sound. The CGI shot of the destroyed Roahl Dahl Plass is simply stunning. A genuine hand over mouth moment.
The pace keeps fast, even while giving us moments with well love characters like PC Andy. Rhys really gets to come into his own again in this episode after just small glances of him in the first episode. The moments with Gwen and Rhys were lovely. Little glimpses of their relationship which really show how close they are. The moments of them together in the back of the trailer especially, with the reveal of the pregnancy.
Ianto's thread of the story was handled nicely, with seeing his involvement once again with his sister and her rather colourful family. It will be interesting to see if their involvement in the remaining three parts expands at all.
Jack's story, though rather silly and with it's flaws was done nicely. Most chilling moment being when they found his arm amongst the rubble and seeing his body reconstruct from inside the body bag.
Lois ccoming to Torchwood's aid was not surprising, but it was still nicely played. She's a lovely character and very much Torchwood material for the future - which, if the past is anything to go by, means she's likely to end up dead before the end of the series.
Gwen and Rhys infiltrating the government compound was more than a little bit silly, given they've been searching for her. It seems a little odd that she wouldn't account for people recognising her. But really, that's my main niggle with an otherwise great episode.
The chase scene at the end was utterly ridiculous, but wonderful at the same time. It was crazy and more than a little bit stupid, but it worked for the show, keeping it's silly charm that makes it what it is. They manage well too to mix the riduclous with the poignant. The look on Jack's face as the car approached, before he realised who it was - he looked utterly terrified and vulnerable in a way that we've never really seen Jack before (and I don't mean the nudity).
Episodes which serve to bridge the story and the action like this can often fall victim of feeling like the content itself is somewhat lacking. I feel this episode certainly had elements of that with not much really happening other than regrouping and a lot of talk about the aliens coming, but nothing really happening. This build though should hopefully have a payoff over the next three episodes.
Until tonight....
Torchwood: Children of Earth; Day Two
After such a big start to Children of Earth with Day One the second episode had a lot to live up to. Luckily it managed it, and then some.
The episode started without giving the audience any time to recover from the explosion that gave us the amazing cliffhanger at the end of episode one. We go straight into it from Gwen's point of view, using some brilliant techniques to have the audience see it through her perspective with the blurry view and muffling of sound. The CGI shot of the destroyed Roahl Dahl Plass is simply stunning. A genuine hand over mouth moment.
The pace keeps fast, even while giving us moments with well love characters like PC Andy. Rhys really gets to come into his own again in this episode after just small glances of him in the first episode. The moments with Gwen and Rhys were lovely. Little glimpses of their relationship which really show how close they are. The moments of them together in the back of the trailer especially, with the reveal of the pregnancy.
Ianto's thread of the story was handled nicely, with seeing his involvement once again with his sister and her rather colourful family. It will be interesting to see if their involvement in the remaining three parts expands at all.
Jack's story, though rather silly and with it's flaws was done nicely. Most chilling moment being when they found his arm amongst the rubble and seeing his body reconstruct from inside the body bag.
Lois ccoming to Torchwood's aid was not surprising, but it was still nicely played. She's a lovely character and very much Torchwood material for the future - which, if the past is anything to go by, means she's likely to end up dead before the end of the series.
Gwen and Rhys infiltrating the government compound was more than a little bit silly, given they've been searching for her. It seems a little odd that she wouldn't account for people recognising her. But really, that's my main niggle with an otherwise great episode.
The chase scene at the end was utterly ridiculous, but wonderful at the same time. It was crazy and more than a little bit stupid, but it worked for the show, keeping it's silly charm that makes it what it is. They manage well too to mix the riduclous with the poignant. The look on Jack's face as the car approached, before he realised who it was - he looked utterly terrified and vulnerable in a way that we've never really seen Jack before (and I don't mean the nudity).
Episodes which serve to bridge the story and the action like this can often fall victim of feeling like the content itself is somewhat lacking. I feel this episode certainly had elements of that with not much really happening other than regrouping and a lot of talk about the aliens coming, but nothing really happening. This build though should hopefully have a payoff over the next three episodes.
Until tonight....