This episode isn't quite as good as the last two, as it's primarily an episode in a holding pattern. The biggest advancement of the plot is that the drug company Phicorp (and note the similarity to real-world pharmaceutical company Pfizer) has been stockpiling pain medications for a long time: they knew the Miracle was coming and they were ready for it. But we learn this in the first 15 minutes, and then the rest of the time is spent waiting, it seems. It's a nice reveal, to be sure, with the gigantic warehouse filled with painkillers, but after that there's a sense of wheel-spinning. Jack goes off to get drunk and laid, while Rex quits the team, gets laid himself, and then comes back. I suppose if you're a fan of butts this is exciting stuff, and I suppose they had to show Jack's lifestyle, but in terms of the larger storyline it feels rather irrelevant.
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Jilly Kitzinger and Dr. Vera Juarez. ("Dead of Night") ©BBC
Worldwide, Limited |
I get that this episode is moving pieces into position for further down the line, as Vera realizes that pain medications are going to be the next big need, Oswald Danes starts his media ascendancy, Jack has a confrontation with Phicorp (via Danes), and Gwen steals some information (hopefully) on Phicorp. But it's a rather joyless episode -- not that this storyline is particularly happy, but there've been flashes of cleverness. Here, however, it's more an exercise in plot functions, and little here is particularly surprising or exciting.
I suspect I'm making things sound worse than they are. It's not a
bad episode by any means -- it remains entertaining throughout, and toward the end, as Gwen infiltrates Phicorp while Jack goes to find Danes, things start to pick up. It's just not up to the high standards
Miracle Day had set for itself, as it does start to sag in the middle. But if a bit boring is the worst things get, they should be just fine. Just so long as this isn't the start of a slow slide into mediocrity.
(Oh, and I keep meaning to mention it, but... with all the media coverage we've seen within this series so far, where's Trinity Wells, the newsreader who would always show up on
Doctor Who,
Torchwood, and
The Sarah Jane Adventures to let us know how the world felt about things? It feels like a weird omission, given that they've gone to the trouble to get so many other recurring characters from previous series in this.)
