Theology, Economics, and Politics
**SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT!**
“When the Founders wrote the Constitution, they had me in mind.”- Oswald Danes, Miracle Day: The New World
This July was filled with excitement; in fact, I posted exactly why– Warehouse 13 returned, SYFY’s ALPHAS, and yes, TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE!
Every week, for 10 weeks, I was on the edge of my seat with Torchwood: Miracle Day. Bill Pullman as Oswald Danes, the child murderer who was executed and lived because of the “Miracle” was brilliant. I loved to hate Danes; he was a symbol of evil and privilege. I found it quite interesting that the memorable quote from episode one, “The New World,” was about the U.S. Constitution, and the issue of double jeopardy. The Tea Party got a second nod in the 4th episode, “Escape to L.A.,” where a “right-wing” housewife begins a crusade to marginalize the people who should have already been dead. They are wasting the nation’s resources, right? Ellis Hartley Monroe and her Tea Party-like Dead Is Dead campaign became a looming threat to the elites at PhiCorp and the Family had to have her dealt with.
Class is one of the largest themes in Torchwood: Miracle Day. Gwen Cooper becomes, by midway through the second half of the series, a defender of the rights of the poor, the sick, the oppressed. Her father becomes the ultimate symbol for working class heroes in the final episode, Blood Lines, as Gwen Cooper and Captain Jack Harkness go on a mission to bring back death, and give Pappa Cooper a natural death rather than have him burn in an overflow camp. Jilly Kitzinger, the journalist behind the rise in popularity of Oswald Danes, chooses to embrace extreme evil over the the current system, since it sounds like “salvation” to her, with the rich and powerful having a tighter grip of control over the world. I find the topic just a bit close to home with a recent article, in Vanity Fair of all places, showing how much influence the world’s 1 percent wields.
The religious imagery at the conclusion was blatantly obvious, the whole world saved by the blood of Captain Jack Harkness, a timeless Time Agent from the future. The funeral scene at the very end for Esther was a nice touch, even though, I was quite confused about why Esther had to be so incompetent throughout the series, and how she and Rex decided to become friends, almost more than that is beyond me. One moment they were antagonistic co-workers, the next, they were sharing a passionate kiss.
Also, the whole BLESSING thing I just found to be perplexing. What exactly was it made of? And really, the three families had to wait until Google was invented just to find “the Blessing” in the first place? What was up with that? There were a few holes in the story that did not add up, but overall, I enjoyed the adventure.
just finished it. I loved it. Love love loved it. Is Rex now the American Captain Jack? Can they now send Jack back to Cardiff and have two Torchwood teams? Hope so. Let starz deal with Rex, let BBC have Jack and Gwen back. Also, all-star award goes to Rhys for being awesome at every turn and not complaining, even while he is the 5th member of Torchwood throughout the entire series.