Torchwood Miracle Day | Rendition

SPOILERS FOLLOW. DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THE EPISODE.

Episode 2 is, in short, fantastic. Admittedly, episode 1 was good, but Episode 2 is really, really good. While it doesn’t quite fit into Torchwood of old, it demonstrates how far the show has come, and it shows the exciting new direction the show is heading.

Episode 2, and the scene in the archives in episode 1, is an example of how alike Torchwood is to video game Perfect Dark. There’s a level on Air Force One in Perfect Dark, and oh look, Torchwood spend most of episode 2 on a plane! While spending the majority of the story on the plane, excitement and comedy is still there.

In fact comedy is featured a lot in episode 2. There’s the jokes about Danny the air Steward, there’s the somewhat comedic scene when trying to save Jack, and there’s even humour with the musical video of Oswald’s execution.

The thing I love about this series of Torchwood so far is that it’s IN the modern world. While the miracle is happening, everything still surrounds the modern world. There’s mentions to trending on Twitter, there’s modern attitudes and the whole thing is just so… modern. It really is excellent.

Character terms: Captain Jack is on top form as always. John Barrowman is brilliant in this episode, and unfortunately Eve Myles as Gwen is still irritating, but she’s back into Torchwood so she seems more like a proper character again now. But episode 2 is about the other characters. Esther Drummond continues to be fantastic in this episode, as does Dr Juarez (who’s name I can spell this week!). They’re both excellent, and even Rex is getting better. The real highlight of this episode is Bill Pullman as Oswald Danes. He’s the prime example of how the world is changing because of the miracle, and Oswald, while a very nasty character, is a character that’s vital to Miracle Day. The scene where he’s interview is shocking, heart-breaking almost…. and then he accepts another TV offer, so his apology is somewhat short lived. Another character mention goes to the Jilly. Jilly is an excellently written character.

In terms of writing, this series excels. All the characters are written perfectly, and the writers mix humour and horror and sadness all together. Characters like Oswald and Jilly are excellently written, and even with different writers, there’s a consistency with all the characters and how they’re written for.

In terms of the plot, the episode is a bit slow moving. However, it gives you a chance to think, and enjoy the bits of action even more. Esther’s escape and the CIA turning their back on Esther, Rex and Torchwood are all brilliant moments, and a real suspense and mystery is built up. Now we just need it to be resolved in future episodes. Part of the slow movement is due to the stretch of ten episodes, but with tension building up and the miracle, and indeed the show, beginning to find it’s feet in episode 2, the show should return to being fast paced and action packed. And the moments of horror or gore are plotted carefully throughout the episodes – and they’re quite fitty. The most gory and shocking bit has to be where the evil CIA Agent has her head on backwards and she’s in the middle of the road. It’s disgusting.

But, overall, Torchwood is AMAZING so far. It hasn’t been ‘Americanised’ too much yet, the characters are excellent, the plot, while slow moving, has perfect moments of tension and action, and really help to get the audience interested. Torchwood has been excellent so far. Let’s hope it keeps it up.