June 3: "Immortal Sins" (TW)

So the last episode ended with Gwen's family being held hostage until she delivers Jack to a certain location.  This episode sees Gwen tying Jack up and taking him to the arranged place.  But that's just a small part of "Immortal Sins" -- the main part is an extended flashback, showing Jack in New York in 1927 and what he got up to.  It's a bit of an odd flashback, however, in that it's for the benefit of the audience, rather than Jack remembering -- he still doesn't know what he did "so long ago" that led to the Miracle.

Angelo and Jack. ("Immortal Sins") ©BBC Worldwide, Limited

The flashback is kind of interesting -- Jack befriends an Italian immigrant named Angelo Colasanto (played by Daniele Favilli) and then quickly takes him as a lover, before getting him involved in Jack's life of strange happenings.  They're rather sweet scenes and nicely character-driven, even if they are a tad slow-moving -- but then, this flashback isn't about the story, it's about the relationship between the two men.  It seems to be going well for a while -- Jack even contemplates taking Angelo along as his "companion", much like the Doctor does (and hey, our first explicit mention of the Doctor in Miracle Day), and even shows him an alien lifeform that's going to be used by "the Trickster's brigade" (so not just a Doctor Who reference, but a Sarah Jane Adventures one too) that Angelo copes remarkably well with.  So of course it goes wrong when Jack is shot in the head by the police in front of Angelo, who's taken away to prison for a year.

But when Angelo is released, Jack's waiting for him, which leads to the second part of the flashback, as Angelo thinks Jack is the devil, as he can't die.  This leads to Jack strung up and tortured by people who want to see what happens to the immortal man -- and it also leads to people collecting his blood and making an agreement to own him (which they make with an odd handshake that looks, from above, like a triangle -- so we're clearly meant to make the connection between them and the mysterious "Families" behind the Miracle).  Angelo sets him free, but apparently the fire has gone out of the relationship for Jack.  He says it's because he doesn't want to watch Angelo grow old and die (which is an awful lot like the Doctor's comments to Rose in "School Reunion"), but one gets the feeling that it's really because of Angelo's betrayal, even if Angelo feels remorse about what happened.  "They said you were the devil, but other people said you were a blessing," he tells Jack (which seemingly ties him into the "Blessing" mentioned last episode by Stuart Owens).  But it doesn't matter how Angelo feels; Jack disappears, leaving Angelo alone.

So, given this extended flashback, it's hardly a surprise that the woman who told Gwen to bring Jack (played by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Nana Visitor -- boy, they got all the genre actors in this series, didn't they?) is working for Angelo.  It's nice how Torchwood regains control of the situation at the end, though; "Next time, just ask for help," Rex chastises Gwen, after having followed her and trained a gun on Jack's would-be kidnappers.  "I'm sick of Torchwood acting like amateur clowns."

It's an interesting episode that provides us with some useful background, and it fills in some details and finally gives Jack the opportunity to take center stage (after having spent a number of episodes in the background).  If it weren't for the fact that "The Middle Men" also gave us an extended pause, this would be a good break from the action.  As it is, while "Immortal Sins" is nice, Miracle Day had better pick the pace back up soon.