Torchwood: Dead of Night

The episode opens with a James Bond feel to it as Rex confronts Friedkin in his own home pressuring him to give up the people pulling his strings. Rex is able to get Friedkin’s phone, but as you can guess Friedkin does not know who contacted him, but he does know they have been around for years.

After their escape, Team Torchwood meets up in their temporary hideout, but just before meeting up with them Gwen sees a group matching in the street in the dead of night. These silent, candle-holding people wearing white paper masks with sad frowns on them are known as the Soulless and they believe that by not dying that humanity has lost its soul.

This sets up a theme that humanity is looking for guidance and Oswald Danes appears to be the leader some are looking for. Danes continues making television appearances as more and more people look upon him as part rock star, part cult figure.

Team Torchwood is slowly coming together as there is a lot of character building in this episode. While there is tension between Jack and Rex, we really get to see the team working together. Esther discovers a warehouse that Team Torchwood ends up investigating and finds a massive stockpile of pain medication from the drug company Phicorp.

It is reiterated again that pain management and medication will become increasingly important since humans no longer die, but can still become sick and feel pain. We also learn more about how humanity reacts to Miracle Day including the crime of attempted murder and murder being no longer valid. Dr. Juarez attends a medical panel where they learn some countries are putting birth control in the water and babies with severe birth defects are still being born.

At the panel, Jilly asks Dr. Juarez to attend a presentation with Phicorp. Later, Jilly asks Danes to meet with Phicorp representatives as well. Learning that Phicorp began developing and stock piling drugs a year before Miracle Day leads Team Torchwood to believe that Phicorp is more involved than they even believed. Rex, using his personal relationship with Dr. Juarez, convinces her to go to the presentation.

Using a contact-like camera device Gwen also goes to the presentation to gather information on Jilly and Phicorp. When Jack sees Danes at the presentation, he goes after him while Dr. Juarez calls Rex allowing them to listen to the presentation.

The goal of the presentation is to push new legislation that would allow prescription drugs to be sold without one. This would raise the company’s profits tenfold. Meanwhile, Gwen is able to copy information on Jilly’s computer and Jack confronts Oswald.

Danes admits he does not feel sorry for what he has done, and in the end tells him Phicorp wanted him to deliver a message. Jack records the conversation, but Danes has Jack beaten and the recording taken away. At the end of the episode we see Danes on television using all the airtime he is receiving to also push for drugs to be made available without a prescription and for Phicorp to lead that charge.

Overall, a good character building episode that advances the story along. Unfortunately, we do not learn anything about the “triangle” group, but Rex believes he has them on the run when they call the cell phone and he answers.

I doubt Miracle Day is just about Phicorp and drug profits, but this does set up Danes to really take a stronger role in the story. I still want to know who Jilly really is. Is she just a go between or does she really have some power, either way, a good episode and a great series so far.

Visits: 95