N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!

Murray Melvin is terrifically creepy in End of Days, and yes, it does have a not-so-timorous beastie stomping around at the end (which is admittedly more than a little reminiscent of the then-fairly recent appearance of another devil-like creature in The Satan Pit), but it’s still hard not to be disappointed by Torchwood‘s first series finale.

“Judgment Day is finally here.”

Woman on TV, End of Days

I mean — is Owen fired or not? Wouldn’t you take his pass from him there and then? Why does Gwen lock Rhys up without so much of a word of an explanation? When did Torchwood upgrade its security to retinal scans? Why have we waited this long to see PC Andy again when he’s so good a character?

Why the need for a flashback when Diane turns up? We know who she is. It’s why Owen’s being moping around for the past few weeks.

And if Jack’s being hanging around waiting for the ‘right kind of Doctor’, why didn’t he pop in to visit him in UNIT when he was working there in the 70’s?

All these questions — and so many more — and so few answers means End of Days is a mess. And an underwhelming one at that, especially after the setup Captain Jack Harkness gave it.

Finally, given how incompetent the Torchwood team seem to be in this, it’s no wonder Jack does a runner the minute the Doctor shows up (albeit off-screen).