April 8: Children of Earth: "Day Five" (TW)

"Day Five" sees things at their lowest and darkest point; Torchwood has failed, with their stand against the 456 resulting in Ianto's death and little more, and the only thing the world can do, it seems, is comply with the 456's demands in a way that doesn't make all the parents of the world suspicious until it's too late.

It's really terrible to watch the British government enact this plan to sacrifice children to appease an alien mobster (because that's how the 456 seem), and it's even worse when we learn why the 456 want the children: as sources of drugs.  "The hit," the 456 respond, after Colonel Oduya of UNIT asks them why.  "They create chemicals.  The chemicals are good. ... We feel good."  So this really does make the 456 seem like bullying pushers -- but it seems there's nothing we can do to stop them.

So we get a number of depressing scenes, as troops are mobilized to collect the selected 10% of the children under a pretense of receiving inoculations against being controlled by the 456.  Children being herded onto buses as parents and teachers voice their protests, while troops start breaking into homes to round up the remaining kids, are chilling moments, but it's the sight of John Frobisher slowly walking into his home, rounding up his family, and shooting them all and then himself so that they won't be handed over to the 456 (as Prime Minister Green has elected that Frobisher be the government's symbol that all is well with the "inoculations"), that is one of the most disturbing parts of the episode.  This tells us that there is no hope, and that the government will even betray its own to save itself.

Jack prepares to sacrifice his grandson to save the world.
(Children of Earth: "Day Five") ©BBC

The only reason we ultimately get out of this is because Johnson (of all people), when confronted with the truth of what the government is doing (thanks to those Torchwood recordings), breaks Captain Jack out of jail so that he can stop the 456 before it's too late.  And the only solution they have involves sacrificing a child in order to save the rest -- and the only child on hand is Jack's grandson Steven.  Jack, it seems, has no choice but to use Steven to send out a "constructive wave" along the 456 wavelength to hurt them.  It works (with a spectacular explosion inside the 456's tank before they head back to wherever they came from), but it kills Steven in the process -- an act which Alice seems unable to forgive her father for.  Not that Jack seems any happier about it.  So in the end the 456 are stopped, but it feels like a hollow victory.  (Although it seems Prime Minister Green is going to receive his comeuppance for being so politically manipulative -- Bridget Spears will see to that.  Which means that Britain's run through three prime ministers in as many years, it seems...)  So many people have died and Jack feels responsible for them, and he's tired of it.  So he runs away, out into the stars, leaving Gwen and Rhys behind.

Thus Children of Earth comes to an end.  It's been a tense, incredibly watchable thriller, and even when things seemed to be going down the tubes for the characters it remained compelling television.  This is a combination of good scripts from Russell T Davies, John Fay, and James Moran, and superb direction from Euros Lyn.  In many ways this series is pushing even further away from its parent show -- Doctor Who tends to go for triumphant endings, but Children of Earth is a depressing one.  It's really well done, but it's still as bleak as hell.  There are no easy answers here, and no Doctor to come in and save us.  As Gwen says in this episode,

There's one thing I always meant to ask Jack.  Back in the old days I wanted to know about that Doctor of his.  All those times in history when there's no sign of him, I wanted to know why not.  But I don't need to ask any more.  I know the answer now.  Sometimes the Doctor must look at this planet and turn away in shame.

(from The Torchwood Transcripts - Children of Earth, Day Five)

Children of Earth is a miniseries designed to examine the darker side of humanity, the one that makes selfish bargains to save ourselves -- the side that explicitly doesn't believe that "an injury to one is an injury to all".  It's not a pretty side, and ultimately the heroes come from unexpected places -- such as Johnson, who puts the actual welfare of the nation over what she's been told is best, or Bridget Spears, who's willing to bring down a government in the name of justice, disgusted by what she witnessed in those meetings (although the implication that Denise Riley is going to be the one taking over is hardly reassuring).  And even the victors have to make bargains with the devil to succeed.

It's not the easiest five hours of television to watch.  But Children of Earth is incredibly compelling, and probably the best Torchwood they've put on screen.  It ends on a note of finality: "Are you ever coming back, Jack?" Gwen asks at the end.  "What for?" Jack replies, and nothing Gwen can say will stop him.  It's a show that's run the gamut from awful to amazing, but Torchwood, it seems, ends on a high note.

(Which makes it even more surprising that they ended up with a fourth season -- but that's still in the future...)