End of Days (TV story)

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End of Days was the thirteenth and final episode in the first series of Torchwood. It featured Jack's revelation of his immortality to the rest of Torchwood Three — something which had been a secret throughout series 1. It ended on a cliffhanger which prefigured Jack's return to Doctor Who in Utopia. As of 2012, the sound of the TARDIS at the end of this episode was the closest thing to an appearance of the Doctor on Torchwood.

Synopsis

The rift is open and beings from all the periods of time are seeping through. What exactly does Bilis Manger know and what lurks in the rift? Can Jack save the world?

Plot

Gwen and Rhys have a morning in, until Jack calls Gwen, to tell her to watch the news. UFOs have been sighted over the Taj Mahal and police have clashed with English civil war era soldiers. They speculate and Gwen concludes it can’t be an act of terrorism — terrorists use bombs. This is different.

Gwen sees Bilis in an illusion at the police station.

At the Hub, Ianto recites verses from the King James Bible, Daniel 12:8-9 (though he says it is 12:10). Jack cuts in as he moves onto an apocalyptic text on Abaddon the "great devourer," remarking how mankind is obsessed with anything that "denies the randomness of existence."

Institutions across the globe (including UNIT) have their eyes trained on Torchwood and the team question their responsibility. Running a simulation, Toshiko demonstrates how the rift — more specifically, Torchwood 3 — is the epicentre of all the temporal incidents. The rift is expanding and history is falling through the cracks. Jack is quick to put the blame on Owen, who justifies opening the rift to save Jack and Toshiko.

Jack has ordered Owen and Toshiko to investigate a quarantined hospital. They find the bubonic plague has broken out after the admittance of a plague victim from the 14th century, the time of the Black Death. Owen is not only terrified by this development, he also blames himself for it as the one responsible for opening the rift. He instructs the woman's doctor in what medicine to give her. Owen warns the doctors this may happen more often and leaves. Gwen and Jack go to investigate a Roman soldier who was arrested by PC Andy. They explain to him how the soldier arrived. Andy states that even if he believes them, he is still confused. He does not know how to treat the new prisoner. The pair solve this by drugging the soldier and taking him to the cells at Torchwood.

Back at the hospital, Toshiko sees her mother, who tells her in Japanese that the darkness is coming and Toshiko must open the rift to stop it all. Her mother vanishes.

When the team return to the hub, Jack says that this is all Owen's fault. Owen and Jack quarrel. Jack roars at Owen to get out. Gwen screams at them to stop. Owen tells Gwen nervously that Jack will wipe his memories. Gwen screams at them to stop again, but Owen has already walked out the door.

At the prison, Gwen sees Bilis Manger in a cell. He apologises - somehow speaking with his mouth closed - before disappearing. Back at the Hub, Ianto sees Lisa, who tries to convince him to open the rift. Ianto does not believe it is Lisa but being told to open the rift still makes him think. Owen and Jack fall out; Jack fires Owen, who goes to a bar to drown his sorrows. Diane appears and tells him to open the rift. He decides to do it.

Jack and Gwen go to Bilis' clock shop "A Stitch In Time". They question him and Bilis reveals that he can step between eras in time, then disappears. Jack leaves, but Bilis returns and shows Gwen a vision of Rhys dead in their flat. She runs home to find Rhys alive. He won't come quietly to the Hub, so she knocks him out and gets Jack to help her get him to Torchwood's base. Once there he wakes up and is very angry at Gwen. She says that she only wants to protect him. The team, minus Owen, are all in the central area of the Hub when the power goes off. Gwen runs to the cells, shouting Rhys' name.

The power goes off and Rhys' cell doors open. He tries to open the door, but Bilis appears and stabs him twice, twisting the dagger.

Gwen arrives to find Rhys dead and no sign of Bilis. His dead body is cleaned and brought into the autopsy room, where a sort of funeral is held. In the autopsy room, she cries and shouts at Jack, who consoles her. Owen bursts in and tries to console her, but she shuns him. Toshiko is very happy to see Owen, and hugs him. Owen announces that he's opening the rift. Ianto follows him and Jack orders him to stop Owen, but Ianto says no. Toshiko and Gwen follow as well and begin to open the rift, but they are stopped by a security protocol that demands retina prints of all Torchwood personnel.

Jack threatens Gwen with a gun, but she just walks up to him. He insults the gang, saying, "You're a united front now. Toshiko, the poor girl who'll screw any passing alien that gives her a pendant. Owen, so strong he gets in a cage with a Weevil, desperate to be mauled. Ianto, hiding a cyber-girlfriend in the basement. Your three comrades pumped bullets into her. Remember?"

Owen "kills" Jack.

Gwen insists that she must get Rhys back and Jack answers, 'Yeah, because you're so in love with Rhys that you spent half your time in Owen's bed." Gwen punches Jack, knocking the gun out of his hand. Owen seizes the revolver and turns it on him. They're relieving Jack of command and "getting back what (they) love." Jack tells Owen that if he wants to take charge, he'd need "significantly bigger balls." Jack picks himself up and walks forward and Owen opens fire. Jack is dropped by a head shot but Owen fires another two rounds into his torso and shoots him in the cheek. Ianto, stunned, drops to Jack's side and asks Owen "What have you done?" Owen answers he's "sick of people doubting" him as Gwen tries to calm him down.

With Owen calmed, the team activate the machine with all of their retinal scans, including Jack's. As the Rift opens, Jack revives. He comes round and asks what they've done. The team evacuate the Hub as an earthquake splits across Cardiff. Jack is weak so Gwen holds his hand while he walks.

Abbadon Falls

Outside, the team find Bilis, who speaks of "[the] son of The Great Beast, cast out before time" named Abaddon trapped inside the Rift, before disappearing. Suddenly, a huge creature rises above Cardiff. Anyone in its shadow immediately dies. This gives Jack an idea: he can't die, so Abaddon can feed off his life. Gwen drives him to an open space. Screaming, she tearfully tries to stop him without success. Jack shoves her away, shouting at her to drive to safety. Still she doesn't leave, crying by the SUV.

Jack stands before Abaddon. The shadow begins to kill Jack, but a blue light flows out of Jack's chest to destroy Abaddon. The creature is dead and the rift is sealed. Jack lies dead before Gwen as she holds him, crying over his body.

The Team look on a dead Jack.

The timeline has been restored with the opening of the rift. Rhys is alive. Gwen is so happy to see him that she kisses him on the lips. Yet there is a price: Jack has not re-animated.

Owen, Ianto and Tosh appear resigned to the reality of his death, but Gwen refuses to move from his side, telling them forcefully that she 'wants to sit with him'. Days pass, the team increasingly concerned for Gwen, but she remains faithfully by Jack's side, watching him, occasionally smoothing down and re-arranging the body bag he lies in on the morgue slab. Ianto is seen crying into Jack's military coat. Finally, Gwen appears to give up. She picks up Jack's hand, pressing her cheek to the back of it before hesitantly leaning over him and kissing his lips. She stands and walks away, almost crying, from the morgue before hearing him gasp a breath and weakly calling, "Thank you." Gwen sprints back to find him alive and smiling up at her.

Jack has recovered some strength, although he is still pale. Gwen accompanies him into the main Hub area, taking his hand and smiling up at him. Toshiko runs into his arms and Jack embraces her. Next, Ianto comes forward somewhat uncertainly, extending an unsteady hand but Jack pulls him into an embrace and then kisses him on the lips. Owen, clearly shaken, steps up to Jack as the Captain walks towards him. He begins to stammer his apology but Jack cuts him off. "I forgive you." Breaking down, Owen sobs into Jack’s shoulder and clings to him as Jack hugs him.

Jack hears a familiar sound.

In Jack's office, Gwen and Jack are talking. Jack tells her that although the rift is sealed, it will be more volatile than before. Gwen asks him what vision would have tempted him to open the rift. He says simply, "The right kind of Doctor." Jack walks out of his office to find the severed hand of the Doctor glowing, the preserving liquid bubbling actively and its tank sounding some sort of alert. His excitement is obvious, a nervous smile mixed with confusion covering his face as a wind sweeps through the area and the sound of the TARDIS materialising is heard. Jack turns his head to something we can't see, smiles widely and picks up the Doctor's hand. Gwen looks on. The sound of the TARDIS dematerialising is heard and Jack has gone.

Gwen enters the room, calling for Jack, who is nowhere to be seen. The rest of the Torchwood team enter with coffee and Gwen asks them if they’ve seen Jack. Owen remarks that the Hub has been dishevelled after they cleaned up. Gwen looks around the emptiness of the Hub, "He was just here." Crossing her arms over her chest, she frowns. "Something's taken him; Jack's gone." The team stand in the Hub, wondering what has taken Jack.

Cast

Crew

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.


References

Cultural references from the real world

  • While in the police station, PC Andy calls Jack and Gwen "Mulder and Scully", referring to the FBI paranormal investigators in The X-Files.
  • When a policeman at the hospital realises that the medication Owen has told them to use on the Black Death infected patients is for the condition, Owen says, "Well done House", referring to Gregory House played by British actor Hugh Laurie on the American Medical drama House a.k.a House MD. Coincidentally, 'House' featured an episode that included a patient with the Black Death.
  • Captain Jack was going to be stored in morgue drawer 007.

Objects

Organisations

Spacecraft

TARDIS

  • The TARDIS materialisation and dematerialisation sounds are heard.

Theories and concepts

Story notes

  • The same camera shot of the Taj Mahal was used in 2006's TV: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday.
  • This story was originally titled Apocalypse.
  • This episode is the second of the continuous arc (the end of one episode immediately leading into another) that starts in the episode Captain Jack Harkness, switches over to Doctor Who in Utopia and ends in Voyage of the Damned.
  • The Torchwood website states that Jack disappeared in early February.
  • This episode first aired on the same day as Invasion of the Bane, the hour-long premiere of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
  • In the shot where the camera zooms out of the bay. Look very closely at Roald Dahl Plass. You could see a figure running towards a blue object. That is Jack running towards the TARDIS, which continues in Utopia.

Ratings

  • 1.2 million viewers

Filming locations

to be added

Production errors

  • In the final shot of the Hub, the jar containing the Doctor's severed hand can be seen, even though Jack supposedly takes it with him as he runs to reunite with the Doctor and the TARDIS, as seen in TV: Utopia.
  • Rhys's stomach moves up and down when he's on the autopsy table.
  • On the morgue table, Jack's pulse is visible, even though Owen claims he has no vital signs.
  • When Abaddon is rampaging through Cardiff, in the shot in which his shadow kills several fleeing shoppers, some of the shoppers fall down before Abaddon's shadow even touches them.
  • After Jack kills Abaddon by feeding the latter his unlimited life force and temporarily dies, in the shot of Jack's body from above, both his arms are spread out. But in the next shots in which Gwen runs up to Jack's corpse, Jack's left arm is at his side.

Continuity

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

Home video releases

Series one, part three DVD cover
  • End of Days was first released on DVD with three other episodes, in Torchwood: Series 1, Part 3, on 26 March 2007. It was later included in Torchwood: The Complete First Series on 19 November 2007.

External links

Footnotes

v • e
Torchwood television stories
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
Children of Earth: Day One • Day Two • Day Three • Day Four • Day Five
Series 4
Stories listed here are only those that have been officially licensed by the BBC.
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