The Gathering (TV story)

The Gathering was the ninth episode of Series 4 of Torchwood. It was written by John Fay, directed by Guy Ferland and featured John Barrowman as Jack Harkness, Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, Kai Owen as Rhys Williams, Mekhi Phifer as Rex Matheson and Alexa Havins as Esther Drummond.

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
The culprits of the Miracle are now known: the Three Families.

Two months later, the world has further devolved into chaos, with everyone no longer caring about anyone other than themselves. The Category Ones are no longer a concern, with them all being burned without a care.

At the same time, Torchwood continues looking into the Blessing, while Rex and the CIA look into finding a lead to the identities of the Three Families' members.

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 1s. She has taken to stealing drug supplies from the local pharmacies, knowing she is being watched. Her and Rhys ensure others in the neighbourhood are able to use the pain killers to help their loved ones too.

Esther and Jack are hiding in Scotland while he recovers from his gunshot wound. Esther remarks on how they should go even further north, suspecting the local local butcher is becoming suspicious of why she keeps needing blood. Jack remarks how Esther has hardened over the past two months. Esther puts a bag of Jack's blood in a freezer filled with other bags of his blood. Jack claims his blood is not what makes him immortal but Esther insists on storing it anyway.

Meanwhile, Rex is back working for the CIA, doing everything he can on the inside to uncover the families bloodline. He learns from his superior, Shapiro, that cancer cells have become mortal, so he has resumed his old smoking habit since the risk of death has dropped dramatically. Eventually, he finds an old tale about a man who can't die. He theorises the man we inspired by seeing Jack die and that a family member was later killed. He informs the staff, who confirm the knife is still in the archives, meaning they can trace the blood on the knife to find the family's roots. Charlotte Wills offers to take the lead, which Rex agrees to. However, she comes back to Rex and Shapiro with no match. However, Rex is not ready to give up on it and insists Charlotte let him look into it on his own, which she hesitantly accepts.

At home, the police do a surprise search on Gwen's house, looking for his father. Gwen feigns her father was taken and burned, with them unable to say goodbye. Despite their efforts, the police check the basement. However, because of Rhys creating a separate room, the police conclude Geraint is not present and leave, the investigator insisting they will return.

Oswald Danes, also on the run, eventually locates Gwen's home. He sneaks in as a delivery man. Gwen initially does not recognise him until her picks up Anwen. She takes her daughter back as Oswald rambles about why he is there. Enraged, Gwen attacks him with a frying pan. Rhys stops her, despite realising who Oswald is. Gwen goes to strike again but Rhys stops her, citing she can't go to jail for murder. Oswald thanks him but Rhys reveals he will kill him instead, rounding on him, daring Oswald to explain why he there before he tells everyone where he is. Oswald says he needs Jack Harkness. He reveals he knows Jack came to her weeks earlier, Gwen helping secure him and Esther in Scotland.

Understanding such, Gwen covertly informs Jack, who drives down. A man across the street notes Gwen's activity. Gwen phones him, confusing the man. Jack appears behind him, holding him at gunpoint. He reveals they have met before and offers him a choice: take retcon and forget meeting Jack, or be shot and left a Category 1. The man chooses the latter, soon falling unconscious. Jack pauses the man's surveillance before he and Esther enter Jack's house. Rex also connects with them via their laptop.

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, with Rex confirming the translations have been altered to change the meaning entirely. They changed a patient's line from "The Blessing saved my life" to "it is a blessing my life was saved". As such, they deduce the families and the Blessing are in both Shanghai and 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 realise its there but leaves them confused about why the one in Buenos Aires was blown up.

However, their conversation is interrupted by the police barging in again, the investigator revealing they have brought heat sensors this time to ensure they don't miss anything. Jack briefly considers handing Oswald Danes to the police as a distraction but Danes protests Jack would be arrested as well for knowing him. Eventually, the police discover Gwen's dad in the basement and take him away despite Gwen and her mother's protests. The incident fuels Gwen's desire to combat the families even more.

Rhys realises that the two cities are antipodes, exact opposites of the world and that the Blessing must run between them. Rex informs Shapiro he must go rogue on the mission to find the Families himself because he suspects there is a mole in the CIA. Shapiro reluctantly agrees, telling Rex to get in touch should he need anything.

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

 * Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
 * Rex Matheson - Mekhi Phifer
 * Esther Drummond - Alexa Havins
 * Rhys Williams - Kai Owen
 * Oswald Danes - Bill Pullman
 * Finch - Ian Hughes
 * The Young Man - Adam Silver
 * Chinese Man - Willis Chung
 * Surveillance Guy - Danny Szam
 * Chinese Worker - Jesse Wang
 * Old Man - Gilbert Wynne

Uncredited

 * 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
 * Radio Announcer - Russell T Davies

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: 4.64 million (Final BARB ratings)
 * US: 1.16 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 Jones' brother-in-law, Johnny Davies, mentioned how "ten quid a kid" should be the slogan for their creche. (TV:  Day Three)
 * 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 about 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)
 * Jack later learned that the Three Families were actually being controlled by the Committee, a group of aliens from the planet Erebus. (AUDIO: Forgotten Lives)

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.