"Small Worlds"
A very enjoyable episode indeed. It was interesting to see the gang battling a foe they really couldn't do anything to stop - and for that foe to be of this world, rather than alien or technological. It sort of reminded me of some of the better
X-Files "creature" stories, though "Small Worlds" had the added element of filling in some of the Captain Jack backstory.
In an eerie take on a bird-watching expedition, Estelle, an elderly woman with a thing for fairies, catches a few on film in the woods. Jack (after an unsettled, shirtless night spent at HQ) drags Gwen to see Estelle present her images. It seems that the two old friends have an ongoing debate as to whether fairies are good or evil, Estelle preferring to believe that they are kind and harmless (boy was she proven wrong), Jack recognizing them for old, restless earth spirits. When Gwen sees a faded photo of what looks like Jack, he explains that it was actually his father, and that his father and Estelle were inseparable and in love before the war. Of course, we know that Jack is much older than he seems, and it turns out that he himself was in fact the man who once loved Estelle.
When Estelle later drowns, after the fairies turn on her and cause a freak rainstorm in her backyard, Jack is devastated. It was actually quite touching and provided welcome insight into the consequences of Jack's not being able to die. But perhaps my favorite scene of the episode was the sepia-toned flashback to 1908, Jack's military days: He and a group of soldiers under his command were traveling by train, playing cards, blowing a harmonica, generally laughing and enjoying themselves. Until the fairies struck - seems the men had accidentally run over a young girl a few nights before - and killed them all... all except Jack, that is. Definitely brought the dark side of immortality into focus.
The main story revolved around Jasmine, the fairies' "chosen one," a little girl with no friends and a mum with a jerk boyfriend, Roy. When a pedophile tries to abduct her, the fairies come to her rescue: First the man is made to spit out rose petals, à la
Jack Nicholson in
The Witches of Eastwick. He begs the police to lock him up for his own protection - but the fairies find him and suffocate him in his cell. Later, when cruel classmates push Jasmine down, the fairies nearly blow them off the playground in a sudden windstorm. The fairies also break into Gwen's apartment; they're going to continue causing havoc until they get their chosen one. Roy builds a fence to keep her from going into the woods to play with them, and then smacks her when she pitches a fit about it, basically sealing his own fate. They attack during the family's party, and Roy gets a fairy arm down his throat and a mouth full of rose petals.
Jasmine, meanwhile, has run off to be with her friends, who are beckoning her to join them. Jack and Gwen try to keep the girl from them, but they threaten to basically annihilate the world (they can control the weather, after all, and can appear wherever and whenever they like). And moreover Jasmine wants to join them; she will live forever with them, and she's not really tied to her mortal existence. Over Gwen's objections, Jack lets her go, and all, presumably, returns to normal. For now.
As for some of your comments regarding my reference to the origins of the cyberwoman in last week's episode: mea culpa. I have indeed watched some of the new
Doctor Who (and a great deal of the old one, especially in the Tom Baker incarnation), but alas there are only so many series I can keep up with. I was hoping - and I think I was right - that
Torchwood would be interesting and intelligible even without the benefit of having seen the background. In any event, feel free to add
Doctor Who context when I've overlooked something - I think it greatly adds to the discussion!
For more on
Torchwood, visit our
Online Video Guide.
