End of the Road (TV story)

 was the eighth episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Synopsis
Jack faces a showdown with a man he thought long since dead. Rex takes extreme action, but is it too late to prevent the collapse of society?

Plot
The Torchwood team arrive at the Colasanto residence. The woman who brought Jack is Angelo Colasanto's granddaughter. She explains that since meeting Jack, Angelo has devoted his life to making immortality possible. Angelo himself is now aged and infirm, lying on a bed connected to life-support machines.

His granddaughter, Olivia Colasanto explains the three men who witnessed Jack's resurrection represented three different families, who were in some way responsible for the miracle. When Esther tries to trace them, there is no record of them.

The CIA enter the residence, having tracked Rex through a phone call he made to Vera Juarez's brother. Rex confronts Friedkin, getting a confession out of him that he is working for the families, which he transmits through the contact lenses.

Allen Shapiro arrests Friedkin, but he triggers a bomb he is carrying, killing him and Olivia. Rex and Esther are once more allowed to work for the CIA.

While speaking to Angelo, Jack removes his breathing apparatus and kisses him. This causes the life support machines to start beeping frantically, and Angelo dies, leaving the CIA attempting to figure out how he died.

Esther notices the flooring under Angelo's bed is higher than the rest of the floor. After investigation, Jack states that it is a null field, cancelling the morphic field causing the miracle. Jack warns that any state with knowledge of this alien technology could cause catastrophic disaster, since a null field can conceal mass weapons, among other things.

Jack begs Rex and Esther to get him out of there. As they do so, Jack is shot and Esther spotted, leaving Esther driving away with a critically wounded Jack in the back seat.

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
 * Olivia Colasanto - Nana Visitor
 * Sarah Drummond - Candace Brown
 * Mary Cooper - Sharon Morgan
 * Charlotte Willis - Marina Benedict
 * Allen Shapiro - John de Lancie
 * Brian Friedkin - Wayne Knight
 * Jilly Kitzinger - Lauren Ambrose
 * Noah Vickers - Paul James
 * Blue-Eyed Man - Teddy Sears
 * Claire - Megan Duffy
 * Shawnie - Constance Wu
 * Agent Baylor - David Desantos
 * Wilson - Nayo K Wallace
 * Angelo Colasanto - Uncredited

Story notes

 * Nana Visitor (Olivia Colasanto) and John de Lancie (Allen Shapiro) are both best known for their roles in the Star Trek franchise. They appeared together in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season One episode "Q-Less", first broadcast in February 1993, in which they played Major Kira Nerys and Q respectively. This means that Visitor and de Lancie have appeared together in spin-offs of both Doctor Who and Star Trek.

Ratings

 * UK:4.64 million

Myths
to be added

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * Esther hangs up the phone after Rex gives her the names of the three families, but the call somehow stays connected.
 * When Brian Friedkin interrogates Rex, his voice isn't turned into the generic male voice by the Eye-5 contact lenses.

Continuity

 * Jack mentions Ianto when he is talking to Angelo, asking him whether he saw Ianto while watching Jack. He speculates about whether the two would have liked each other or not.

Timeline

 * This story takes place after TW: Immortal Sins
 * This story takes place before TW: The Gathering

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