Torchwood review: Aliens Among Us episode 12: Herald of the Dawn

And so, we reach the conclusion of “Torchwood: Aliens Among Us.” But does “Herald of the Dawn” resolve the story, or is it really a new beginning?

When we think of “season finale,” we usually have certain expectations. We tend to expect something large-scale and epic. Maybe filled with plenty of emotion. And, with certain series, we tend to expect a great deal of resolution.

James Goss took a bit of a different approach when he wrote “Herald of the Dawn.” While the end of the world is part of the story, it’s a very small part. Instead, he develops the characters more, and sets things up for brand new beginnings.

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Across the course of the finale, we get to hear from virtually all the major characters. Jack, Gwen, Mr. Colchester, Orr, Tyler, Rhys, Andy and Yvonne are all given key scenes. That’s quite a challenging task to do in just one hour with that many regulars. But I think Goss does an excellent job of giving all of them just the right amount of time they need. (I was especially glad that Yvonne got plenty of focus in this one.)

Resolutions

There are two storylines that feel resolved by the end. The first is the terrorist group “the Red Doors.” Jack has been trying to bring them down for a while, and in “Herald of the Dawn,” he…well, he actually makes a mistake. A pretty big one, too.

The other ongoing thread that gets resolved – one far more personal to the team – is Gwen. Listeners will know that she really hasn’t been herself this entire season. It was nice to get a resolution to this particular storyline, of some sorts.

While there are a lot of questions left open – especially about one key character tied to her story this season – Gwen’s role in it has reached its end. There are hard choices made in this final episode, but they’re certainly not surprising ones. In fact, in some ways, the entire season seems to have been building towards one particular choice.

New beginnings

As for other key storylines? Honestly, there are a lot left open. If you wanted the tidy resolution of “Children of Earth,” where virtually everything plot-wise has reached its natural conclusion, you might be disappointed. There’s no return of the status quo. In fact, the whole episode feels less like a conclusion, and more like it leads into a brand new beginning.

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It feels bold to attempt something like that with Torchwood. To leave such major storylines open for subsequent seasons says a lot about how confident everyone is that it will continue.

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And honestly, I think they’re right to do that. While I wish a little bit more had been resolved in this episode, I think “Aliens Among Us” has been enough of a success that we can definitely expect season six to arrive. Certainly, it will arrive much, much sooner than this season did.

It may not be a completely satisfying resolution for some, but “Heralds of the Dawn” is still a strong episode to finish the season on.