Starz (US) August 19; BBC One (UK) August 25
As Jack is held prisoner by Gwen, he recalls a Torchwood mission to New York City back in 1927…
Jane Espenson’s latest contribution to the Miracle Day saga starts to fill in the background to the whole Miracle / Blessing situation, with a very extended flashback to Jack’s visit to the United States where he met, and fell for, Angelo, an Italian immigrant. Their scenes together are touchingly written and played, an honest depiction of an affair, rather than just titillation. But when Angelo learns the truth about Jack, his actions aren’t quite what you’d expect, leading to an extended graphic sequence that plays on certain elements of Jack’s pre-Miracle Day condition in a way that we’ve not seen done quite like this before.
The other key part of the episode concerns Gwen and Jack’s relationship, with some honest talking between the two of them as Gwen takes Jack to be handed over to the people who’ve got her family. It’s interesting to see Jack’s reactions to Gwen’s comments when set against his relationship with Angelo, but what will be more important is what ramifications come from their discussion later on.
Fans worried that this is moving away from the extended Doctor Who universe needn’t worry: Russell T Davies’ comments in Doctor Who Magazine about a foe from The Sarah Jane Adventures appearing refer to elements of this episode, while the Doctor himself gets a very specific namecheck. The latter doesn’t feel as forced as the similar moment in Children of Earth when Gwen referred to the Time Lord, but we have to hope that the former isn’t a precursor of what’s to come in the final episodes.
With three episodes left, Miracle Day needs to get back on track, and at least this week we start to get some answers. 7/10
Paul Simpson
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