BBC1

Episode 8 starts with Jack, Gwen, Rex and Esther being driven to a Mansion to be introduced to Angelo. Jack is expecting Angelo to be like he remembers him. So when Jack enters the room to see a old man in a hospital bed strapped to various machines on a raised platform, Jacks shocked and slightly saddened.

The woman who brought them reveals that Angelo is her grand father. She reveals that Angelo never stopped following Jack and never stopped loving him despite having a family. She explains that Angelo kept himself alive for this long by natural means, giving the example of how he kept his temperature two degrees below normal. She adds that Angelo dedicated his life to trying to achieve immortality.

Jack asks the woman why Angelo never came to find him. The woman explains that Angelo was ashamed that he had aged, knowing that Jack hadn’t. The woman explains that Angelo (her grand father) had asked her to protect him and that Jack isn’t the only immortal on this planet. In nature, she explains Jelly Fish can regenerate cells meaning there are Jelly Fish on the planet that have been around for thousands of years. Finally the woman reveals the names of three families behind Miracle Day. Esther searches the Torchwood database but it reveals no such families – obviously they’re good at hiding themselves.

Then the CIA storm the Mansion after tracing Rex’s phone call to Dr. Vera’s family. Rex’s corrupt boss, working for the families leads the storm. Surely Rex wouldn’t be so stupid as to make a call to lead the CIA to them?

Your right, Rex’s CIA boss takes Rex into a side room where Rex gets him to confess. But Rex is wearing the Torchwood contact lenses and transmitting to every video screen available. A big boss of the CIA turns up and sees it all. The big boss has Rex’s boss arrested and takes control. Meanwhile Angelo dies as Jack speaks to the unconscious old man. But how can he die? No body has died since Miracle Day? Jack doesn’t believe it at first, but a quick check of Angelo’s pulse leads to Jack screaming for help.

Rex’s corrupt CIA boss triggers a bomb that explodes the car he’s put in with Angelo’s grand daughter. The big CIA boss takes control and tells Torchwood that they are working for them. He deports Gwen back to Wales. Then he says that none of the others are leaving the house until they work out how Angelo died. Esther works out that there’s something under the raised platform of the floor. Jack encourages Esther not to tell the big CIA boss, but she does. It’s alien technology from when the Torchwood Insitute was blown up and Angelo had used it to protect himself from Phi Cop’s and the families morphic field which is causing Miracle Day.

While all this is going on Oswald Danes is annoying Jilly Kitzinger and making more and more demands of her. One of his demands: “get me a girl.” You can tell with Jilly’s reaction that she is disgusted with this request. Oswald thinks he has all the cards, he thinks people love him. Jilly gets a new assistant who she instructs to get Oswald a girl.

Jilly has a stiff drink and knows that she wont have to put up with Oswald for much longer as the government are looking to pass a Category Zero law for all those people who have committed major crimes, allowing them to be taken to the incinerators. Oswald finds this out and he hits Jilly after she says “No Oswald, television loves you. Not the people.” Jilly’s assistant then gets shot with the man who shots her revealing that she’s a CIA agent. The man gives Jilly a plane ticket, tells her she’s being promoted and that she’s being offered a job with the families.

Back at the Mansion Jack convinces Esther and Rex to help him to escape. But while attempting to escape Jack get’s shot and Esther drives away with Jack bleeding, unsure where to go or what to do next. I found it odd that they were still introducing and even killing off new characters with only two episodes to go. Introducing the big boss of the CIA and Angelo’s grand daughter for example.

In this episode there was a large emphasis on narrative and giving information to the auidance. I couldn’t help but think that perhaps some of this information could have been given earlier in the series? A criticism of the series for me is that too many characters and introduced and got rid of before we can decide whether we like them or not and that often their motives are far too apparent. There’s conflicting motives in these “quick characters” and it leads to you thinking – Not another new character that I wont be able to remember the name of or what their transparent intentions are.

That brings Episode 8 to an end. You can read previous Episode reviews I’ve wrote here:

Write soon,

Antony