Torchwood: Miracle Day Episode 9

• Courtesy of Starz
• WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS? OH, RIGHT. Bill Pullman as Oswald Danes

“Miracle Day’s” penultimate episode begins with a surprise. As the titles tell us, it’s “Two Months Later” from last week’s cliffhanger that left Jack shot, Gwen deported and Esther a fugitive and at a loss. We open on the streets of Swansea, Wales, and hear a broadcaster refer to “the new Great Depression,” which is apparently so depressing, they couldn’t even think of an original name for it. The two-month leap to dysutopian future really ups the dramatic stakes — too bad “Miracle Day” didn’t do it sooner.

An old man walks along the deserted streets and sees a car come roaring up and crash into the front of a fortified pharmacy. It’s Gwen, of course, making a smash-and-grab of meds: she’s like the Robin Hood of prescription drugs. The old man asks if he can have some for his wife, and mentions, “They say Hugh Jenkins has gone up in smoke and all he had was a bad back.” So the ovens for Category 1s, far from being a horrific anomaly, have become business as usual. Rhys even considers driving a truck for the camps (but not the actual ovens.)