Torchwood: Miracle Day Finale Reaction
To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure what my thoughts are on this episode. The whole arc as a whole -- all ten eps of it -- has been such a whirlwind, and every time I thought I knew my feelings on it, they'd go all out of whack again. I guess that's just what good writing does to you.
I could see a lot of allusions to Jane Espenson's previous work in this final episode. I mean, needing blood both to open and close "The Blessing" is an idea taken right out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer series 5, and the way to open and close "The Lock Between Dimensions." I actually half expected Jack to throw himself forward into the huge chasm to close the thing for good. But, Jane was far too creative to use the same story twice (technically, Joss wrote the episode 'The Gift,' but based on interviews with the Mutant Enemy team, I'm pretty convinced the storyline was well discussed with Jane before Joss wrote it), and instead they merely needed blood.
Also, in a style typical of both Jane Espenson and RTD, we had numerous deaths right at the end, both of which were accompanied with the trademark macabre humour. I figured Oswald Danes would die, I can't lie. That was pretty much a given. I feel ashamed to admit that I actually really enjoyed his character (and laughed when I found out that his response on the stand during his trial was "she should have run faster." Yes, I know I'm a terrible human being and if it was real life, I wouldn't have found it funny; I'd have been enraged, but it's telly, so it's all good). However, I was more just bemused when I realised he was still batshit insane at the end there, what with his remarks that he would see that little girl in hell. I also found it interesting that people who were fine with murdering a whole bunch of people were passing judgment on Oswald for killing *one* person, and despite how disturbing it is to think about, I think it's something Jane and RTD really wanted us to think about. We look at people in disgust when they rape or commit murder (judging is so easy when we disconnect ourselves from their actions), but then we tell the gov't that it's okay for them to decide who lives and dies. It's an interesting idea to look at, and a nice twist on the "capital punishment" debate, but I like how subtle they made it. A footnote in a much larger story, but still something that sticks in your mind afterward.
I wasn't too shocked by Esther's death (cos both Jane and RTD LOVE to kill off main characters in the last few minutes), but I enjoyed how they made you think she just might make it. But then...nope. Nada. I will admit I was a bit upset at first that no one seemed that upset about her death -- not even her nieces or her sister. But then I remembered that there were ovens and death camps for over four months, and at that point the people had become so desensitized to death that it probably didn't really mean anything any more.
And my Torchwood team is back together!!! I can't say how happy I am about that. I could watch Gwen and Jack (and whomever joins them) kick butt together for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.
And then they threw in that nice little wrench at the end of having Rex not being able to die, and just made it even better. Jack needs someone who can be around for a while, and while I would rather it be Gwen than Rex, I like this new development.
I do think that Charlotte Wills should have had a more explosive death, but we can't have everything, you know. And I had kind of hoped that Kissinger woud die, but we need some familiar faces around in the bad guy grouping for next year (assuming the show gets picked up again). I especially loved how Gwen pointed out how much lipstick Kissinger wears, cos that had been bothering me the whole show. I love her hair and red jacket, but with her lips and all, she just kind of looked like a walking mouth. I was tempted to ask her to sing the "Science Fiction Double Feature" from Rocky Horror. She's got the perfect lips for it.
All in all, a well written story line that brought up SO MANY issues that I just can't even touch on them all. The ending was satisfactory, if a little rushed (but they only had an hour, so I can accept that). If the show had remained with primarily BBC funding, I think more people in the main cast would probably have died. (US shows seem to have a thing against killing their main cast too much). But all in all, a totally original idea that they pulled off really well, even if there are some issues I think would have been interesting to delve into a bit more (but once again, they only have so much time). Here's hoping the show comes back again next year. It'll be interesting to see how they top this story line.
I could see a lot of allusions to Jane Espenson's previous work in this final episode. I mean, needing blood both to open and close "The Blessing" is an idea taken right out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer series 5, and the way to open and close "The Lock Between Dimensions." I actually half expected Jack to throw himself forward into the huge chasm to close the thing for good. But, Jane was far too creative to use the same story twice (technically, Joss wrote the episode 'The Gift,' but based on interviews with the Mutant Enemy team, I'm pretty convinced the storyline was well discussed with Jane before Joss wrote it), and instead they merely needed blood.
Also, in a style typical of both Jane Espenson and RTD, we had numerous deaths right at the end, both of which were accompanied with the trademark macabre humour. I figured Oswald Danes would die, I can't lie. That was pretty much a given. I feel ashamed to admit that I actually really enjoyed his character (and laughed when I found out that his response on the stand during his trial was "she should have run faster." Yes, I know I'm a terrible human being and if it was real life, I wouldn't have found it funny; I'd have been enraged, but it's telly, so it's all good). However, I was more just bemused when I realised he was still batshit insane at the end there, what with his remarks that he would see that little girl in hell. I also found it interesting that people who were fine with murdering a whole bunch of people were passing judgment on Oswald for killing *one* person, and despite how disturbing it is to think about, I think it's something Jane and RTD really wanted us to think about. We look at people in disgust when they rape or commit murder (judging is so easy when we disconnect ourselves from their actions), but then we tell the gov't that it's okay for them to decide who lives and dies. It's an interesting idea to look at, and a nice twist on the "capital punishment" debate, but I like how subtle they made it. A footnote in a much larger story, but still something that sticks in your mind afterward.
I wasn't too shocked by Esther's death (cos both Jane and RTD LOVE to kill off main characters in the last few minutes), but I enjoyed how they made you think she just might make it. But then...nope. Nada. I will admit I was a bit upset at first that no one seemed that upset about her death -- not even her nieces or her sister. But then I remembered that there were ovens and death camps for over four months, and at that point the people had become so desensitized to death that it probably didn't really mean anything any more.
And my Torchwood team is back together!!! I can't say how happy I am about that. I could watch Gwen and Jack (and whomever joins them) kick butt together for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.
And then they threw in that nice little wrench at the end of having Rex not being able to die, and just made it even better. Jack needs someone who can be around for a while, and while I would rather it be Gwen than Rex, I like this new development.
I do think that Charlotte Wills should have had a more explosive death, but we can't have everything, you know. And I had kind of hoped that Kissinger woud die, but we need some familiar faces around in the bad guy grouping for next year (assuming the show gets picked up again). I especially loved how Gwen pointed out how much lipstick Kissinger wears, cos that had been bothering me the whole show. I love her hair and red jacket, but with her lips and all, she just kind of looked like a walking mouth. I was tempted to ask her to sing the "Science Fiction Double Feature" from Rocky Horror. She's got the perfect lips for it.
All in all, a well written story line that brought up SO MANY issues that I just can't even touch on them all. The ending was satisfactory, if a little rushed (but they only had an hour, so I can accept that). If the show had remained with primarily BBC funding, I think more people in the main cast would probably have died. (US shows seem to have a thing against killing their main cast too much). But all in all, a totally original idea that they pulled off really well, even if there are some issues I think would have been interesting to delve into a bit more (but once again, they only have so much time). Here's hoping the show comes back again next year. It'll be interesting to see how they top this story line.