Miracle Day: The Middle Men

"This isn't a hospital. This is a concentration camp."

Writer: John Shiban

Format: TV

Broadcast: 12th August 2011

Series: Torchwood 4.06

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Rex, Esther 

Synopsis 

With Gwen, Rex and Esther trapped on different sides of the Atlantic in respective overflow camps, it's a race against time as Captain Jack goes straight to the heart of the conspiracy behind the Miracle.

Verdict 

Miracle Day: The Middle Men was yet another brilliant episode of Torchwood and continued this fantastic fourth series along very nicely. It followed on immediately where The Categories of Life left off and the focus was on making the truth of the overflow camps public. That was eventually achieved thanks to some ingenuity from Gwen but I'll get to that a little bit later. I was quite surprised with how well Rex was coping with Vera's death. He obviously had feelings for her and they had engaged in a physical relationship so after watching her burn alive, I thought Rex might be in a bit of a breakdown. I get that he's CIA and has a strong mind but witnessing what he did would knock anyone for six. I liked his continued recording of the modules but he would go one step too far in trying to impersonate a guard. That would get him handcuffed and at the mercy of the pathetic Colin. He really was pathetic. Considering he was murdering people on a mass level, he wasn't much of a killer. He was just demented and didn't accept when anything went wrong. His stabbing of Rex's wound with a pen was disturbing to watch and then the fact he put his hands on Esther really annoyed me. How any man can hit a women is beyond me. Esther did though get the upper hand and as good as killed him which was a relief. I'm not sure I could cope if Esther dies as I really am loving her. Alexa Havins is just wonderful in every respect. That was the situation in America and things weren't too different in Wales with Gwen and Rhys attempting to free Gwen's father from the overflow camp after he was designated category 1. Gwen's comments to Dr. Patel about not being a doctor anymore were stunning. Gwen was back at her real best here and after her father was taken back home with Rhys, we saw her back at her kickass best. She was making things public and did so in an incredible way. The truth about the overflow camps, as well as Vera's death, was made public and now everybody knew what was going on. Would that be enough to force the closure of the camps? Time will tell but Torchwood is making a step in the right direction. We're getting closer to finding out the truth about the Miracle and we now know that PhiCorp are merely profiting from its occurrence rather than having instigated it themselves. Jack's meeting with Stuart Owens was very good and I loved the way he convinced him to talk. We had a mention of something that I imagine will be very significant in the form of 'the blessing' to add to the mention of families in Escape to L.A., an episode that was nicely referenced. With four episodes left, we're still clouded in mystery but things are starting to tie together. We're still no clearer as to what the geography element of the Miracle is but I'm sure we'll get there soon. I was very surprised that we didn't see Oswald Danes appear after his triumphant revelation speech in the previous episode but I've no doubt he'll be back in the next one. It didn't take anything away from the episode as this was all about making the concentration camps public. Gwen did that and returned to America soon after. It would not be a welcomed return though as through the lenses she was sent a disturbing message. Somebody had her family. And they wanted Jack. This might bring us closer to the Miracle so I look forward to seeing things unfold. Overall, another excellent episode.

Rating: 9/10