Torchwood: S04E07 - Immortal Sins

With a title that sounds like the repertoire of a Gothic Rock band, Immortal Sins turned out to be, visually at least, one of the best episodes for me this series so far. The reasons? Well for a start it felt so much like a classic episode (you know, series one and two) that it could have easily have come straight from the databanks of cut scenes. Then of course there were the references to Doctor Who, with Jack and the new character Angelo becoming ‘Doctor/Companion’ and the blatant mentions of the Trickster’s Brigade (last seen in the Sarah Jane Adventures and Doctor Who’s Turn Left) and finally the roller-coaster of a ride that was the emotional exploits of both Jack and Gwen – one wanting to keep his life at every cost in the present, while falling in love and being betrayed in the past and the other doing all she can to save her family.

Now, rewinding back, Angelo Colasanto, a new character from Jack’s past and possibly an essential cog in the wheel of the Miracle became an interesting development. The whole exploration of part of Jack’s past is always fascinating, no matter in what form, yet it seemed that with nothing much left to explore in the present – the Camps’ story told, the Miracle explored as much as possible while keeping it in mystery, and PhiCorp now in shadow – the only direction the writers could turn was to the past. And so we follow the short and sweet tale of Angelo, an Italian whom Jack falls for via a meeting of identity fraud. Soon it spirals into Angelo becoming an unofficial member of Torchwood; the Rhys to Jack’s Gwen if you will and questions are asked, explored and not fully answered.

One bit that was particularly interesting was the subtle cultural differences between the two characters, particularly when it came to Jack. In modern day, simple jokes about doing it with the English teacher can jokily be waved aside, but it took an interesting turn with Angelo talking about the sanctity of the act, Jack simply making it seem cheap, which is what Jack does regularly. But it just goes to show at how desensitized the world, or at least the eastern cultures, have become to the matter. That aside, and remaining in the past, Angelo’s eventual betrayal of Jack by going on religion and believing Jack to be the Devil because of his very noticeable nature of being undying, was horrible. Tears were close to the foreground and local residence to the area Jack and Angelo stayed began to torture Jack, just out of pure, dark, human curiosity. And those three men… definitely something to do with the next episode, me thinks!

In the present now, more about Jack and Gwen was revealed as they were both put under pressure, alone in a car (and Gwen somehow managing to drive the car, stay on the road AND not crash even when looking into the rearview mirror for a WHOLE minute, so Jack could talk to the people in the lenses) with only their thoughts to occupy them. Gwen, of course, is free to reveal what the viewers have all known about her since episode one of the first series – that she loved Torchwood ever since she became a part of it. It’s like being a Doctor’s companion; your life is ALWAYS in danger but you just love every minute of it because, and the very same reason stands for Gwen, you know and experience things a normal life would never be able to provide. With Anwen, Rhys and Mary (no sign of Gwen’s dad I have to say) in complete danger though, massive regrets run wild in Gwen’s mind, and her knowledge of Jack – something other ‘villains’ (though Gwen is NOT a villain) didn’t have – enables to give her to have the upper hand on the only Mortal in the world.

Then there’s Jack and THAT line – “I’ll rip your skin from your body before I give this up!” – referencing his now-found mortality – allows everyone, including Gwen, to experience Jack’s more darker side, similar to the Doctor one can suppose, and it’s a discovery about the character to say anything about it… THEN atop the darker, more dangerous Captain Harkness, we get to see a more sympathetic side at what was to be believed as his final moments; telling Gwen about the firebird he once witnessed. Finally there comes the rescue. The fail-safe reliance on Esther and Rex – somehow managing to contact the Welsh Police, find where Gwen’s loved ones were AND get to Gwen and Jack all by the time of the hand-over. Of course, the reveal at the end, both shocking and amazing, seemed to be the only answer available considering that all other cards having been played to the full…

That seems to be most bases covered, ready and waiting for the next episode, End of the Road, and also nice to see they’re still leaving out Oswald and Jilly, considering there really is so much one can take of the former, although I’m still curious to find out more of the latter. And so...

• Jack = 10/10 – Always love to find out more of Jack’s past on Earth; his loves and his betrayals. John Barrowman’s performance is of course excellent and the reveal of a darker side we all knew he was hiding was simply chilling.
• Gwen = 10/10 – When situations run out of control, Gwen can still just about keep a cool head, although it’s harder for her to remain cool when her own flesh and blood, her child, is in mortal danger.
• Rex = 9/10 – Not much seen of him this episode, but I’m still loving him now, so yeah…
• Esther = 9/10 – The same goes for lovely Esther as it does for Rex, although VERY clever of her to get into the last recorded messages on the Lenses!
• Angelo = 10/10 – Fantastic acting from Daniele Favilli, and possibly the guys first major on-screen role. The character himself was very well written, portrayed and revealed through the hour given.

Episodic Rating: 8 out of 10. Although containing the feel of a series one or two episode, this installment of Miracle Day varied little to the others in plot – yes we explored Jack’s past, yes they saved Gwen’s family but how exactly does this move the Miracle forward, other than deeply explain a pivotal character of the NEXT episode? My only theory lies in the blood… Jack’s blood to be precise… and those three men, but we’ll see…

So, with another episode down and three more to go, are we going to get ANYWHERE with the Miracle nonsense? I keep saying this time and again, but there is severe lack of plot within Miracle Day – the potential is there, but development is still in severe disarray. Lucky really that Doctor Who is returning. Yes, Let’s Kill Hitler starts on Saturday at 7:10PM, the proper Who time! Who’s excited? (See what I did there? ;) )