"End of Days" is the thirteenth and final episode of the first series of the British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...

''. It originally aired on the digital television channel

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

on 1 January 2007, alongside the previous episode, " Captain Jack Harkness". The episode was written by

Chris Chibnall Christopher Antony Chibnall (born 21 March 1970) is an English television writer and producer, best known as the creator and writer of the award-winning ITV (TV network), ITV mystery-crime drama ''Broadchurch'' (2013-17) and as the third showr ...

and directed by Ashley Way. Continuing from the events of "Captain Jack Harkness", the episode involves the time-travelling clock seller Bilis Manger ( Murray Melvin) manipulating members of a team of alien hunters called

into opening a rift in time and space which would cause the release of the

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

Abaddon. The episode received three 2008 BAFTA Cymru award nominations, though none of them was won.

Plot

After

Owen Owen may refer to: People and fictional characters * Owen (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Places United States * Owen, Missouri, a ghost town * Owen, Wisconsin * Owen County, Indiana ...

opened the

Rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben ...

to rescue Toshiko and Jack, the Rift splinters, causing temporal cracks to widen, bringing individuals from different eras to the present day. Jack orders

to bring anyone that fell through time into Torchwood's vaults. Toshiko and Owen investigate cases of the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

in a local Cardiff hospital, where Toshiko sees a glimpse of her mother, while PC Andy informs Jack and Gwen that they have a Roman soldier in police custody. In that time, Gwen sees a glimpse of Bilis Manger. Ianto sees his dead girlfriend

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

in the vaults, who tries to convince him to open the Rift. During a heated argument, Jack fires Owen. While at a bar, Owen sees Diane, who tries to convince him to open the Rift. Jack and Gwen go to Bilis' clock shop, where they learn that Bilis can step between eras in time. When Jack leaves, Bilis shows Gwen a vision where her boyfriend

Rhys Rhys or Rhŷs is a popular Welsh language, Welsh given name (usually male) that is famous in Welsh history and is also used as a surname. It originates from Deheubarth, an old region of South West Wales, with famous kings such as Rhys ap Tewdwr. ...

dies. Gwen rushes to Rhys and has him imprisoned in the vaults for protection. However, Bilis causes a power cut to raise a security breach in the Hub, releases Rhys, and kills him. Gwen and Jack find Rhys' body in a pool of blood. Jack tells Gwen that they cannot bring him back, but she knows the only hope of restoring him is to open the Rift. All but Jack agree to this. Jack attempts to stop them by holding the team at gunpoint. When he insults them, Owen attacks and kills him, and scans his and the team's retinas and opens the Rift. After Jack comes back to life, they discover that Bilis has manipulated the team to open the Rift, in order to release Abaddon whose shadow kills anyone who touches it. This gives Jack an idea; he cannot die, so it can feed off his life. The shadow attacks Jack, but a blue light flows out of his chest and destroys Abaddon, killing Jack. The Rift is now closed, but volatile. Gwen is relieved to see Rhys alive. After several days, Jack comes back to life. Jack forgives Owen and hugs him. As the rest of Torchwood go for a coffee run, Jack sees a severed hand glowing. He then hears the sound of the TARDIS materialising and departs. Gwen is perplexed at Jack's sudden departure, believing something has taken him.

Reception

"End of Days" aired on 1 January 2007, alongside " Captain Jack Harkness". It received total viewing figures of 1.232 million, placing ''Torchwood'' number one on the top ten most viewed television series on multi-channel television the week it aired in the United Kingdom. The episode represented ''Torchwood'' in three BAFTA Cymru awards, including "Best Drama Series," Ben Foster for "Best Original Music Soundtrack," and Eve Myles for "Best Actress." "End of Days" received mixed reviews from critics. Brigid Cherry of ''Total Sci Fi'' rated the episode 5 out of 10, describing the episode's gaps and dangling plot threads as "downright annoying," and felt preceding episode "Captain Jack Harkness" was more intriguing. Iain Clarke of ''Strange Horizons'' thought the episode "showcased every one of the show's worst excesses and precious few of its redeeming features," and that the episode was "heir to the myriad unresolved tensions and neuroses which the characters have exhibited over the course of the season." Paul Clarke of ''Outpost Gallifrey'' called the episode an "utter mess," thought Abaddon was less interesting than the Beast in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' " The Satan Pit", but praised the episode for Murray Melvin's role as Bilis.

Notes

References

External links

"End of Days" episode guide entry on the BBC website
{{DEFAULTSORT:End of Days (Torchwood) Torchwood episodes 2007 British television episodes Television episodes written by Chris Chibnall Television episodes about demons Television episodes set in the 2000s Television episodes set in Cardiff