Torchwood: End of Days (S1,E13)

"The first thing you learn when joining Torchwood is Don't Mess with the Rift. Now everything that's happened is down to you."

End of Days (Season 1, Episode 13)

("The rift has opened--and time is splintering. Can Captain Jack save the world?")

What I Liked

* The return of PC Andy--the actor really does have great comic timing and livens up every scene he is in.

* The visions the Torchwood team members experience--I always appreciate it when writers put in callbacks to previous episodes.

What I Didn't Like

* Abaddon. Inferior CGI, not enough set up or development, not the sort of threat Torchwood is designed around. I know the showrunners wanted to end Season 1 with a bang, but a creature like Abaddon really needs to be hinted at and developed through the whole season in order to be a convincing threat.

* The aftermath. After this massive betrayal by every single one of his teammates, Captain Jack basically just "hugs it out" with everyone? Even Owen, who shot him in the freakin' forehead? If the team is really this dysfunctional (cripes, Ianto shot Owen just an episode ago), why would Jack keep the same mix of personalities around for Season Two?

What I'm Not Sure About

* Bilis Manger. I love the character, but (even with the novel The Twilight Streets) he just doesn't seem like an ancient god-worshipping zealot. Bilis is too good a villain to be anyone's lackey.

Commentary

By: Richard Stokes (producer), Ashley Way (director), John Barrowman ("Captain Jack Harkness")

Interesting Bits:

* In the original script for this episode, Rhys dies.

* They got a real BBC News presenter and graphics for the "disaster around the world" segment.

* Burn Gorman lost a crown during one of the scenes, and had to mumble the rest of his part. They filled in both the tooth and the missing dialogue later.

Deleted Scenes

* Owen & Tosh going into the hospital.

* Tosh and Ianto trying to persuade Jack to use Emergency Protocol # 1 to open the rift.

* Jack explaining to Gwen that perhaps the reason he can't die is because he's meant to sacrifice his life to stop Abaddon.

* Gwen finding Jack's body.

Torchwood Declassified: "To the End"

* A feature on Bilis Manger--labelled variously as "creepy," "ambiguous," and (by John Barrowman) "an evil gay"

* Bits about the visions of past character sequences.

* The making of Abaddon.