TV Club reaches the end of the first series of Torchwood, the demon Abaddon has been summoned and it is truly the End of Days. What are the true intentions of the enigmatic Bilis Manger?
@deltaandthebannermen you had put this in the Audio Club. I thought about commenting on it before I moved it, that would have granted me an exclusive badge. But I was a good mod and did not use my powers for evil!!!
Love this one. Surely, maybe they bite off more than they can chew in terms of CGI Abaddon, but it feels properly epic to me. Bilis Manger is a really charismatic villain
So this is how series 1 of Torchwood ends, not with a bang but a whimper.
Did anyone even for a second think we wouldnât get a patented âJack Harkness exaggerated coming back to life inhalationâ at the end? Itâs his whole schtick! (Well almost, but I donât see Abaddon getting brought down by innuendo)
I am not really sure why people think Bilis Manger is such a good villainâŚ
Yeah, itâs just a big guy thinking he could snatch Jackâs soul but overestimated how much he could suck out and just couldnât take it anymore. Nope, no innuendos to be found here.
Yeah, this finale is fine. Pretty underwhelming, to be honest. CG Abaddon is an uglier Beast, and Bilis, as much as I find him creepy, is just not in this much. The tension between the team members is the best part, easily.
Itâs a 6/10 from me.
End of Days aims for epic, emotional, and explosive, but ends up rushed, muddled, and strangely small. While it gives us some fine character beatsâespecially for Gwen, Owen, and Jackâand boasts a chilling performance from Murray Melvin as Bilis Manger, it fails to build up or sustain real finale-level stakes. Abaddon is a damp squib of a monster, the reset button is hit far too casually, and the pacing doesnât do justice to either the personal stories or the larger narrative.
A finale that wants to be the end of the world, but feels more like a therapy session hijacked by a half-rendered demon.
Youâre welcome to read my full review below (spoiler alert!):
Of all the Torchwood innuendos, this is surprisingly one of the most innocent ones tbh.
(Iâve just read a book where a character purposefully similar to Ianto is infantilized and refers to other characters as âmummyâ sooooooooo, it can always be worse )
I just finished my rewatch of this and yeah it is bad. Sorry but there is just too much going on and it just doesnât make any sense. Donât like Bilis either.
Some positives. Gwen is good in this. I like that Owen gets fired even if it is just for a short moment. I like Andy and Ryhs but they need more time on screen.
I am not much of a Finale Person, while I get they exist and there is certainly Appeal, especially when itâs a great one, they often fall a bit flat with their Ambition and do more than they really can chew on. This Episode is kinda a good Example of that, and yet I still quite like it. It is messy. Yes, that CGI Monster hasnât aged too well, and I donât think it would have looked all that great even back then, and yet I do think itâs kinda a perfect Finale for Series 1 of Torchwood. This Series certainly needed to find its footing and can be at times quite messy with a great Idea but a poor Execution of said Idea.
Of course there is a bit too much happening, and ideally I would have taken a âLess is moreâ-Approach, but there are some genuinely great Bits to it in particular with our Characters such as Gwen for example. A bit of a mess, but one that I enjoyed watching quite a bit.