TL;DR - My god they weren't lying when they said Children of Earth is really good

Day Five is in some ways the quietest Children of Earth episode. We sit in long, deliberate silences. Screams come through muffled, if they come through at all. The devastation after the storm. It is breathtaking to watch.

As far as series finales go: oh my god. We get a couple of extra blows to drive home Ianto's death last episode (no, we never really did know him much, did we? Hell!, he was barely a character in s1!) Jack and Gwen's relationship reaches its natural conclusion, and I think we all know who (or Who) he learnt the trick of Leaving Behind People Who Need You from. Peter Capaldi as Frobisher is once again the star of the story, we've watched his breakdown and now we get to see him truly at rock bottom.

This episode is also interesting politically. It, of course, hits different post-2020, but then again politicians have always been slimy liars looking out for themselves first. What's notable is how Andy - a policeman, puts his foot in it sometimes but ultimately is a good man because of the work he does - joins the fight with the people on the council estate against the army. The army have always been The Bad Guys here, but the police have been good, helpful; Gwen was police and she's our beloved if flawed main character!

Except in this instance, Andy very deliberately removes his police hi-vis before he can become one of the heroes.

I just found it interesting.

I also find it interesting how they've got another series of Torchwood after this, such an obviously show-ending finale. Admittedly, I've heard nothing good about this series, so it was probably a bad idea all around, but I have to wonder who greenlit it.

An excellent ending that I feel nicely pays off all that had been built up in Children of Earth.  I don't have a ton to say beyond that.  It's a well made episode with excellent acting, direction, and writing.  I LOVE the opening with Gwen talking about the Doctor - that might be the best single scene in all of Torchwood, at least in my opinion.

There's a lot to like beyond that, though.  Frobisher's ending makes for a pretty unforgettable experience and left a lasting legacy of Peter Capaldi's acting chops.  It informs a lot of why I was excited to see him eventually become the Doctor after this.  Jack also gets a lot of chances to shine here and really goes through the ringer in this one.  He has a few episodes like this where Jack has to endure some truly traumatic experiences over the course of his time on Earth these last few centuries, but Day Five feels like a particularly tough example of that.  Even losing Ianto kind of pales in comparison to the stuff Jack has to do to his own grandson here to defeat the 456.  It's good stuff, and informs nicely why he takes off at the end of the story.  It feels earned and a natural consequence for everything that has happened these last several episodes.  All this death and tragedy doesn't mean nothing - it is a true death of Torchwood they only barely survive enough to continue forward.

This is one of my favourite ever episodes of Torchwood. It's such a powerful and hard-hitting hour of television, from Gwen's devastating speech about why the Doctor isn't always there to save the day to those shocking scenes of the army grabbing the children and carrying them away from their terrified parents.

I keep saying this, but this five part story really does feel topical in 2020. I mean, reopening the schools and insisting it's safe for the kids to return even though it isn't - need I say anymore? That's literally what is happening right now! The only difference is the threat isn't aliens getting high on kids.

That moment when Frobisher first learns his kids will be among the sacrifices to the 456, so the government can be painted as the victims, is so hard-hitting also. Anddon't get me started on that depressing montage where he kills himself and his family to avoid his kids' otherwise even more horrifying fate. I could go on forever about just how brilliant the last part of Children of Earth is.

This is a dark story done right. It's not dark for the sake of being dark. It's dark because the narrative commands it to be so. This is the only way Children of Earth can be told.

With all the children of the world, or at least the most vulnerable among them, at stake, what will Torchwood do with no base and no influence?

This was a complete game changer for Torchwood. For the first time, in large part due to the increased focus from Russell T Davies, it was able to briefly outshine its parent show over 5 evenings with some of the best drama ever seen in the Doctor Who universe. All improvements between series 1 and 2 of Torchwood feel like a drop in the ocean compared to what was achieved here.

There are moments that in retrospect feel clumsier than they did in 2009 but no-one could deny the sheer power, raw emotion and dramatic brilliance of the final episode and a half of Children of Earth. Ianto’s tragic arc is rewarding - in part thanks to the excellent introduction of his wider family, bedding in his character before seeing him off. Jack’s daughter and grandson provide an even more chilling arc ending with the terrible but compellingly reasonable sacrifice that Jack Harkness must make. But most strikingly of all, Peter Capaldi’s civil servant character and his family provide the most awful and memorable blow in the show. These are all story beats which would be far, far too much for Doctor Who.

I know certain types of Doctor Who fans over-emphasise the positive qualities of the darker sides of the show, but this is a definite case where shocking themes are married up with brilliant writing. RTD has a knack for writing tragedy and the 456 as an non-relatable but believable menace, provides the perfect set up and payoff.