The British government have also figured out this is bad with a capital B, and Frobisher meets with some military guy to sort it all out, or explain for us what’s going on. It’s in his office that we meet his new assistant, Lois, and his old assistant, Bridget Spears (anyone else laugh at the vague similarity to the name of a former pop star?). Neither woman really has a clue what’s going on. Lois gets a phone call from Jack Harkness himself, when Jack tries to reach out to Frobisher, who is Torchwood’s government contact. It’s enough to make Lois wonder what the heck Torchwood is, and we all know that doesn’t go well for most people. Especially when her new boss sneaks off with some guy to have a cryptic conversation, and later puts out the order to have our heroes killed.
It’s eventually decided that it might be a good idea to check on some of these kids. Namely, Ianto goes and visits his sister Rhiannon and her kids, only to get called out on being in a homosexual relationship – so he finally admits it, and she doesn’t take it half badly, even if she does needle him about it. And in the rare comedic moment in this miniseries, the Torchwood SUV gets stolen. Enjoy it: it’s one of the last laughs you’ll get in this series, but it Is a good one.
Meanwhile Alice Carter gets an unexpected visitor: Captain Jack Harkness, who happens to be her father. (My first reaction was eyerolling, but then you have to admit with all the women he’s flirted with or hit on, he’s probably lucky he’s only got one kid. If this show were more realistic, it might end up like Maury.) Alice and Jack have a caring but frostly relationship, since she hasn’t inherited her father’s immortality and would like her son not to be involved in anything weird. Who can blame her? To his credit, if he was overacting earlier, Barrowman infuses this scene with the appropriate sublety and somberness. Not to mention, Lucy Cohu takes a character that could easily be some Mary Sue creation of a fangirl’s mind and makes her realistic. Not to mention, I appreciate how it’s handled full-on, nothing made nice for television. Alice knows who her father is and about his immortality, and copes with it; Jack shows a genuine concern for his family and isn’t just an absent father. For a show that can be somewhat soapy at times, this was a nicely done development.
Meanwhile, Gwen is talking to Clem and trying to figure out what he knows and what makes him similar to the children. Clem, as it turns out, has a heightened sense of smell, and tells Gwen she’s pregnant. Wow. Didn’t see that coming.
Rupesh tells Jack there’s another disappearing body to look at in the hospital, and then goes and shoots him dead. Government spook (and not the Rupert Penry-Jones kind) Agent Johnson turns up seconds later and has a bomb implanted in his stomach. Oooh, kinky. She has a whole room full of lackeys, and orders them to find Clem before she kills Rupesh. Really, this woman couldn’t be any more stereotypical: dressed in black, carrying a big gun, scowling a lot, but I suppose that’s what 
makes her a bad guy. It could be worse. Better a stereotypical bad guy than one that doesn’t scare you at all.
Everyone meets up back at the Hub. Gwen finds out thanks to some device that looks like a glorified photocopier that yes, she is pregnant. Jack is all ready to celebrate when he accidentally puts his hand on the magic copier and sees the bomb in his stomach. He shoves the others out the door, but not before one last decent snog with Ianto, of course. And so Jack and the iconic Hub go boom in a big way. We know one of these things will be back, and so will something else as the children are now chanting “We are coming…back.”
Told you that flashback was there for a reason.
For an opening episode to the season, this first installment sets everything up very well. My only complaint is that if you’re a regular viewer of Torchwood, certain things you can already see coming if you’re thinking hard enough, like Clem having been a child during the initial abduction, et cetera. And for a show that promised fans of Jack and Ianto would be pleased with their relationship in the season, it looks downright cold. I’m also not happy with the stereotypical villain, but she serves her intended purpose. (I’d just love to see the day the bad guy drives a minivan, but that’s in general, not just this show.)
Yet for the criticisms, it is a strong episode, moreso considering that the BBC has limited the number of episodes this season, which means the creative team has to do more with less. We all know Jack will survive the explosion, obviously, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful when it happens. I certainly didn’t expect him to be shot earlier in the episode. And the destruction of the Hub – the beloved set iconic to the show – is risky. 24 blew up CTU in the second season, and while it paid off, the following HQ was always colder than that first set. What Torchwood will do remains to be seen, but the message is clear: this season is going to completely obliterate everything that came before it. Whether or not that is going to be a move of brilliance, or an incredible controversy, remains to be seen.
Sound off below. How did you spend your wait for the new season, and was it worth it? What do you think about this new series? Let me hear your opinion.
