Torchwood: Miracle Day has been a roller coaster ride, to say the least. The ups have been AMAZING while the downs have been so abysmal (mostly episode 6) that if I had not committed to writing reviews for this series, I would have abandoned it and not looked back.
However, episode 9 ‘The Gathering’ delivers the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The big reveal before the final confrontation where we finally get to see The Blessing and know what this all has been about.
Eh, not so much.
Right at the onset I was a little disappointed to see a SUPER saying “Two Months Later.” This is almost never good and is usually just a convenient plot device used when the writers feel a plotline has stalled out, and is a way to circumvent having to bring it back to life. However, the opening scene was so brilliantly crafted and executed by Gwen, Rhys, Mum, et al that it gave me all the exposition that I needed without having to state it out loud.
Borders are closing all around and the entire health care system is in shambles. The government, worldwide, has taken a much more aggressive role in collecting the Category 1s and the countries have all gone paranoid bat-poop crazy. So much so that when Gwen does a smash and grab for prescriptions to help out her friends and neighbors, an old man states how worried he is to let anyone know his wife suffers from arthritis lest the local police drag her away to the ovens.
Over in the States, Rex is working non-stop within the CIA to uncover the truth and we see a little more of the method that The Mole uses to direct information away from The Families. I’m really enjoying seeing Q back on television (oh how I miss Star Trek: The Next Generation) and I do hope that, post-Miracle Day, he continues to be somewhat of a part of future storylines.
Even within the episode itself, finding out that there are two points at the heart of the conspiracy that our heroes infiltrate on direct opposite sides of the planet gave so much anticipation that I couldn’t wait to see what awaited Jilly/Lucy in Shanghai when she stepped off of the lift. What we got was something akin to a giant gaping body cavity that seems to be magnetically attracted to Jack’s blood. Not exactly up to the level that we’ve been led to expect.
‘The Gathering’ isn’t bad; in fact, it is quite good in select spots. I wouldn’t have been as disappointed if it were more of a middle plot device/progression episode, but it was meant to be a Torchwood: Miracle Day grand reveal.
Given what ‘The Gathering’ was supposed to represent and pull off, you can’t be anything but disappointed by it.
– James Zappie
