The Gathering (TV story)

 was the penultimate episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day.

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
Esther and Jack are on the run in Scotland. While in Scotland, Esther has been taking blood from Jack since they suspect it is significant to the Miracle, the families, and the Blessing. Jack's own blood bank is stored in a metal briefcase in the event it becomes useful. Eventually, when Oswald Danes travels to Gwen Cooper's home in Swansea with information about a man behind the Miracle, the team reconvene in the Cooper residence.

Torchwood discover that Jilly Kitzinger was hired by The Families to rewrite the English translations of foreign news clips, including a man in Shanghai who is actually saying he was saved by the Blessing.

Esther notes blood banks were burnt down shortly before the Miracle in two of the most populous cities in the world: Shanghai and Buenos Aires. Rhys, examining a globe, realizes that they are the exact opposite points on the Earth.

Meanwhile, police authorities under reinstated Category legislation have the authority to enter homes if residents are under suspicion of harbouring Category Ones. Considered legally dead, any Category Ones are taken into custody and held until such a time that they can be incinerated in the ovens. Gwen's father has been hidden behind some wood paneling in the basement. When an inspector returns a second time with a new thermal imaging application on his smart phone, he removes Gwen's father. Gwen begs them to leave him alone, but nothing can be done. She reminds Jack and the others that all she wants is to stop the Miracle and have this authoritarian disaster end.

Rhys' discovery of two geographic points running across the centre of the Earth reflects the logo of PhiCorp - a circle with a line running through it. They decide to split up and investigate: Rex and Esther travel to Buenos Aires; Jack, Gwen, and Oswald (who knows too much information to be released and who is at risk of being murdered by Rhys if he stays in the Cooper residence) are smuggled by gun runners into Shanghai. As Jack puts it, Torchwood has now gone global.

Meanwhile, Jilly Kitzinger is given an entirely new identity by the families as "Lucy Statten Meredith", effectively ceasing to exist under her former identity, and is promoted to a position in Shanghai. Meeting an unidentified member of the families, she is complimented on her storytelling skills and informed that she was hired to essentially write world history for the families. She is taken to the Blessing, which is revealed to be a massive crack or fissure running through the centre of the planet Earth.

In Shanghai, Gwen discovers that Jack has not recovered from his gunshot wound and is, in fact, faring worse after travelling. Undressing the bandages, Gwen assesses his wound and a drop of blood falls to the floor of the apartment they are staying in. Oswald notices it begins travelling across the floor, as if magnetized by an invisible force, and Gwen speculates Jack's blood is being drawn to the Blessing - Jack is connected to the phenomenon of the Blessing.

Cast

 * Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
 * Rex Matheson - Mekhi Phifer
 * Esther Drummond - Alexa Havins
 * Rhys - Kai Owen
 * Oswald Danes - Bill Pullman
 * Jilly Kitzinger - Lauren Ambrose
 * Sarah - Candace Brown
 * Mary Cooper - Sharon Morgan
 * Geraint Cooper - William Thomas
 * Charlotte Willis - Marina Benedict
 * Allen Shapiro - John de Lancie
 * Noah - Paul James
 * Blue-Eyed Man - Teddy Sears
 * The Mother - Frances Fisher
 * Finch - Ian Hughes
 * The 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.

Ratings
to be added

Myths
to be added

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * The hole in the Earth shown at the episode's climax should be at floor level as it is a gap in the Earth that spans the entire planet. However, when Jilly views it, she is able to see it while standing up straight

Continuity

 * This episode takes place two months after the previous episode. (TW: End of the Road)
 * Gwen hides her looted drugs in Jubilee pizza boxes. (DW: Dalek, TW: Everything Changes)
 * The first time we see the footage of the Chinese man in hospital, the Mandarin-to-English subtitles read: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry". This is one of the Tenth Doctor's commonly-used sayings.

Home video releases
This episode will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on the 14th November 2011, alongside the other nine episodes.