The Gathering (TV story)

The Gathering was the ninth episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day. It advanced the story 2 months from the previous episode and presented an apocalyptic scenario as the economies of the world collapsed as a result of the Miracle Day phenomena. The Cooper family went out of their way to protect Geraint from being discovered and taken to the ovens for Category 1 disposal. Torchwood also had a direct interrogation with Oswald Danes, who attracted their wrath, but willingly approached them and gave them leads to Jilly Kitzinger's involvement with the Three Families. At the same time, Rex Matheson quickly worked to pinpoint the origins of the Miracle, not aware that a Family agent, Charlotte Wills, was manipulating the CIA toward defeat. Finally, a great revelation concerning the Blessing was made.

This story was a landmark moment for former executive producer of Doctor Who, Russell T Davies, who had his very first in-universe role in a Doctor Who-related production, though a small one. His voice can be heard in the opening moments of the episode as a radio announcer, an easter egg for the viewing audience.

Synopsis
As the Three Families plunge the world into recession, the Torchwood team — defeated, powerless and hunted — must strike a bargain with the devil himself.

Plot
Two months have elapsed. Back at CIA headquarters, Rex is making progress trying to track down the Three Families. References to them are few and far between but he soon begins to think that there is a mole in the CIA. After her deportation back to the UK, Gwen has been working at keeping her father hidden from the government agents responsible for rounding up all Category 1's. Esther and Jack are hiding in Scotland while he recovers from his gunshot wound. They are all soon reunited and even Oswald Danes, also on the run, turns up. Collectively, they soon discover a connection in two places, Shanghai and Buenos Aires, and set out to find the source of the Blessing. Jilly Kitzinger is already in Shangai, having been drawn into the secret families. With the help of Oswald and Rhys, Jack and Esther figure out that Jilly is being used to mistranslate news clips from before the Miracle regarding the destruction of blood banks. One is in Shanghai and the other is in Buenos Aires where Rex has tracked the possible location of a man who was in the cellar in 1928 when Jack was repeatedly killed. The man in Shanghai, who died before the Miracle after burning down the blood bank but not before living for awhile, is shown to have said that "the Blessing saved me" which causes them to realize its there but leaves them confused about why the one in Buenos Aires was blown up. Rhys realizes that the two cities are antipodes, exact opposites of the world and that the Blessing must run between them. Splitting up, Esther, carrying her stockpile of Jack's blood, travels to Buenos Aires and meets up with Rex while Gwen, Jack and Oswald travel to Shanghai using old Torchwood connections after Gwen's father is taken away again. In Shanghai, the group discovers that Jack's blood is being mysteriously drawn from his wound into the ground, implying a connection between Jack's blood and the Blessing.

Cast

 * Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
 * Rex Matheson - Mekhi Phifer
 * Esther Drummond - Alexa Havins
 * Rhys Williams - Kai Owen
 * Oswald Danes - Bill Pullman
 * Sarah Drummond - Candace Brown
 * Mary Cooper - Sharon Morgan
 * Geraint Cooper - William Thomas
 * Charlotte Wills - Marina Benedict
 * Allen Shapiro - John de Lancie
 * Noah Vickers - Paul James
 * Jilly Kitzinger - Lauren Ambrose
 * Blue-Eyed Man - Teddy Sears
 * The Mother - Frances Fisher
 * Ralph Finch - Ian Hughes
 * Young Man - Adam Silver
 * Chinese Man - Willis Chung
 * Surveillance Guy - Danny Szam
 * Chinese Worker - Jesse Wang
 * Old Man - Gilbert Wynne

Story notes

 * Russell T Davies' voice is heard as a radio newscaster.
 * The first time we see the footage of the Chinese man in the hospital, the Mandarin-to-English subtitles read: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry". This is one of the Tenth Doctor's frequent statements.

Ratings

 * UK Final: 4.63 Million

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * When Rhys mentions Jesus, his mouth doesn't match the audio on the word Jerusalem.

Continuity

 * Gwen hides her looted drugs in Jubilee Pizza boxes. (TV: Dalek, TV: Everything Changes et.al.)
 * Gwen mentions "two quid a kid". Ianto's brother in law mentioned how "ten quid a kid" should be the slogan for their creche. (TV: Children of Earth)
 * Sarah Jane Smith had previously encountered Skullions who were sold as slaves in a black market trade in alien artefacts. (TV: The Man Who Never Was)
 * Victor Podesta was one of the men present at Jack's torture in 1927. He went on to write a book on what he saw. (TV: Immortal Sins)
 * Gwen asks Oswald if he really did say "she should have run faster". (TV: The New World)
 * The guy that watches Gwen and Jack is given Retcon to forget them. Retcon was previously used on several people. (TV: Everything Changes - Something Borrowed, The New World)

Home video releases
This episode was released worldwide in a box set containing all ten episodes of Torchwood: Miracle Day. In the United Kingdom, it was released on Region 2 DVD and Region Free Blu-ray on 14 November 2011. In Australia, it was released in Region 4 DVD and Region B Blu-Ray on 1 December 2011. In New Zealand, the same sets were released on 7 December 2011. In North America, it was released on Region 1 DVD and Region Free Blu-Ray on 3 April 2012.