‘We’ve heard about The Blessing. They found it. Whatever The Blessing is, the three families found it.’ Almost a bottle episode, enlivened by the brief presence of John de Lancie (predictably great) and the rapid exit of Nana Visitor. It’s very slow and talky, making explicit what was implied in the previous episode – that the miracle has something to do with Jack’s blood, coveted by the three families who originally obtained it in the 1920s.

The most touching moments here are Jack, reunited with a terribly aged Angelo and groping his way towards answers. Angelo’s surprise mortality is somehow linked to a null field generator that interferes with the morphic field Jack’s mentioned through the series – a revelation that layers bafflegab on bafflegab, even while it gives Jack an opportunity to work things out with Rex and Esther. Had Torchwood continued, it gives us a sense what this team might have looked like on a regular basis, without Gwen – who’s heading back to Wales.

Meanwhile, the Danes plot crawls on in the background as he yo-yos between obnoxiousness and penitence. He wants to make a new start but demands a prostitute – who needles him with the reveal that his stay of execution is about to come to an end when he’ll be burned alive for his crimes. In its favour, the series isn’t painting him as a saint, but (aside from providing a contrast to Jack, another child-killer albeit in very different circumstances) it’s hard to see where his story is going.

Captain Jack will return in The Gathering

Next Time: Night Terrors