Torchwood is defenceless and Gwen Cooper stands alone. As anarchy prevails, an ordinary council estate becomes a battleground for the future of the human race.
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Ha, what a story for my 50th TV club and the badge.
Children of Earth is as good and as heavy as they say. Its an exceptional piece of television that handles pretty much everything about itself perfectly. Its of the rare bread where its difficult to talk about how good it is becouse thereās just so much expertly going on.
And the reveal of why the aliens want the Children (might not actualy be this episode) somehow managed to land against impossible build up. And the delivery of āfor the hitā really made me feel like the UNIT guy in the scene. Starting off not even understanding what was said becouse itās just such an unexpected combination of words, slowly morphing into realization. Wow, just wow.
11/10.
5 Likes
The amount of restraint that it took to watch the episodes as the tv club came out instead of all at once is definitely deserving of the badge.
This season was pretty well written and this episode hurt. The choices made by the characters all through the episode; Andy, Gwen, Rhys, and Iantoās family; Jack and Frobisher. Good and bad decisions. There were so many things going on, and we see some of the best of people and some of the absolute worst. Iām also going to need to go watch something very happy and light hearted now.
1 Like
Itās a laugh. Well, not quite, but enjoyable in a way.
1 Like
Iām going to miss this series. SJA is fun but like, this is elite television.
- Probably my least favourite thing about this whole season is Gwenās recorded monologue thatās used to open this episode. It smacks too much of Roseās monologue in Doomsday and is similarly lazy in making a huge claim that obviously isnāt followed through. I do like that they acknowledge the Doctorās absence though.
- The girl who plays Frobisherās eldest daughter is an impressive child actor.
- As N_Squared said above, the reveal of why they want the children is horrific and manages to take the gruesome quality of this series to a whole new level.
- Assuming it will be explained in due course but Iām not quite sure why Johnson shows the 456 footage to Jackās daughterā¦ (Edit: Itās never really explained why she feels the need to do this?)
- The scene between Frobisher and the prime minister is completely brutal. Peter Capaldi is a true master. Ending it with āand Iām really very busyā actually caused me to make a noise, out loud, some sort of gut-punch gasp. Politicians suck, man.
- Then youāve got Frobisher requesting Requisition 31, and you can just see in Spearsā face that she knows what heās intending. More flawless acting with no words needed.
- Andy Davidson for PM.
- Iād forgotten that Frobisherās actions were underscored by the monologue from Spears. Itās a clever idea and very well played by Susan Brown. And of course the shots of Frobisher hugging his daughters and wife are all the more painful when you know whatās coming.
- My entire body was tingling from the moment he started to climb the stairs up untilā¦ well, that moment. That scene alone is one of the most gut-wrenching things the BBC has ever made.
- The ADR under Gwenās and Andyās approach to Iantoās sisterās house is really clunky, which is a shame given what happens directly before and after it.
- Given that the government is so determined to be seen as blindsided and defeated, Iām not sure the army and the armoured vehicles were a great call. Itās very obvious these are not for innoculationsā¦ I suppose it just shows how completely naive the government is about civilians seeing through their lies. We hope.
- Itās maybe a shame that we donāt see anything of the collection of the children in the other countries across the world. Not that thereās space to see much, but itās a bit odd that with this episode, itās suddenly just all about Britain.
- Gosh, thereās so much going on. This is beyond intense.
- Andy joining in the melee is glorious.
- Ben Foster aces the score throughout this season but especially in this episode.
- The chase of the children out of the warehouse intercut with the capture of Jackās grandson. Gosh this show is so hard to watch.
- The twist of what Jack has to do, on first viewing, is something I donāt think anyone could have seen coming and yet it works so well. Utterly devastating but such a clever way to end the whole thing with a āsolutionā that is far from a happy ending and demonstrates that maybe Jack hasnāt changed quite as much as everybody thought. And asks whether or not thatās a good thing. Genius. Horrible, awful genius.
- Kind of odd that Nick Briggs just disappears in this episode.
- Iād completely forgotten Spearsā plot against the prime minister. An excellent little adendum, sheās wonderful.
- The epilogue is a nice touch too. Jack is a broken man, and rightly so. I like Miracle Day a lot more than most people, but I canāt deny this would have been an impressively emphatic way of ending the whole show altogether.
- One criticism of this season is that Eve Myles is a little underused. But boy is she brilliant.
Verdict - Yeah none of this hits any less hard on a third watch-through. Oof. You need decompression time after something like this. I always remember Day Four as being the most difficult to watch because of how it ends - given that Ianto is the best character in anything ever, you wouldnāt think theyād top it for gut-wrenching, but they do, tenfold. Virtually unbearable but so, so good.
3 Likes
This episode is such a hard watch. It made my mum bawl her eyes out back when we first watched it.
It is magnificent television and possibly one of RTDās strongest outings ever.
3 Likes
Itās a 10/10 for me. A bleak yet satisfying ending for Children of Earth.
1 Like
This is quite possibly the hardest watch in the Whoniverse.
Even just reading through @mellis903ās summary is almost enough to get me crying again
4 Likes
Really devastating and incredible finale, canāt really say much that hasnāt already been said but this just thoroughly moved me.
6 Likes
9/10
A great ending to a great series, with much of the cast putting in fantastic performances. My review below.
5 Likes
So I just managed to get through this one. It was a really hard watch for me, but it was beautifully designed, haunting television with a message thatās still really relevant. 5/5 stars.
5 Likes